JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Quay Holmes ran for 161 yards and scored twice and FCS No. 14-ranked East Tennessee State held off 18th-ranked VMI 27-20. The Buccaneers, Chattanooga and Mercer all sit atop the conference with 5-1 records.
Chattanooga plays Mercer on Nov. 13 and ETSU plays Mercer on Nov. 20. Chattanooga beat East Tennessee State 21-16 earlier in the season. Seth Morgan threw for 248 yards for VMI.
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With the loss, the Keydets (6-3, 4-2) fall into a tie for second place in the race for a Southern Conference title while the Bucs (8-1, 5-1) can earn the championship by winning out their remaining two games.
With nine catches for 90 yards, Jakob Herres now has 226 receptions which stands eight behind VMI all-time leader Aaron Sanders (2013-16). He also moved past the 3,000 yard career receiving mark and now has 3,006, which is 85 behind all-time leader Mark Stock (1984-88).
“I’m proud of the way our team fought to the end. We had a lot of adversity,” said VMI head coach Scott Wachenheim.
“We had three turnovers and we jumped offsides on the field goal attempt - which really makes it a fourth turnover – and those led to 21 of their points. It was an uphill battle.”