LEXINGTON, Va. – In a Southern Conference showdown on Saturday, the VMI Keydets came up short against East Tennessee State, 44-21.
Seth Morgan was back under center for the Keydets. He looked sharp early as he led VMI down the field with the drive ending in a Korey Bridy touchdown run for the 7-0 advantage.
But the Buccaneers responded with 27 unanswered points to hold a 27-7 halftime lead. Despite racking up 12 penalties for 94 yards, ETSU finished the game with 416 total yards with most of its damage coming with the ground attack.
VMI did get a spark in the second half from Roanoke native and Patrick Henry High School grad Leroy Thomas. He scored his first touchdown of the season on a 21 yard pass from Morgan in the third quarter, bringing the score to 27-14. He then followed that up with a 10 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to bring the Keydets within 13 points.
With the loss VMI is now 1-4 overall, 0-2 in SoCon play.
“I thought we got off to a fast start, but then ETSU captured momentum and it took us a while to get it back in the second half,” said VMI head coach Scott Wachenheim.
“While I think we can compete for the SoCon title, and our players did as well, sometimes it leads to playing tight. I’ve been trying to shift the focus to just taking it one play at a time.”