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Both teams punted on their first possessions, before WCU took advantage of a turnover to strike first. Justin Fryer, who was named conference defensive player of the week, recovered Wells' fumble putting the Cats in business at the 18. Boateng carried on three straight plays. He started with an 11-yard gain then scored from the five. Josh Jones added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 10:07 to go in the first quarter.
A special teams play got the Buccaneers on the board less than four minutes later as Howard Nix went 31 yards with a blocked punt. The extra point failed keeping Western on top 7-6 with 6:30 left in the period.
The Cats gave the ball right back when Aaron Wright fumbled and Ryan Vaughn recovered at the WCU 23. They dodged a bullet as a holding penalty moved the ball back and Con Chellis missed a 47-yard field goal.
ETSU regained possession at the Western 44 when Bryant was stopped for a five-yard loss on fourth-and-one. A 27-yard pass from Wells to Martin led to Corey Carter's nine-yard TD run on the first play of the second quarter. A conversion pass failed keeping the Bucs' lead 12-7.
The Cats answered by marching 65 yards in nine plays. Highlights were Rivers-to-Banks passes of 14 and 28 yards. Rivers scored form the five, but a conversion pass was no good and Western led 13-12 with 10:41 remaining in the half.
A 16-yard punt return by Banks gave WCU good field position at the Buc 42. Four plays later, Bryant scored on a 23-yard run. Jones added the PAT for a 20-12 advantage at the 4:33 mark.
Patrick Leach picked off a Wells pass at the WCU 28. However, a few plays later the Bucs had the ball back when Denario Smalls intercepted a Rivers pass at the goal line.
A 28-yard run by Boateng led to a 46-yard field goal by Jones extending the margin to 23-12 with 23 seconds on the clock.
Western got a break early in the second half when Keyandre Fenn fumbled a punt and Mitch Miller recovered at the ETSU 35. Lee Williams scored on a 20-yard run five plays later. Jones' point after made it 30-12 with 10:44 to go in the third stanza.
The Cats quickly got the ball back when Michael Rader fumbled with Leach recovering at midfield but they couldn't convert the turnover into points.
Carter's two-yard run capped an 80-yard drive in six plays. Chellis' extra point cut the gap to 30-19 with 2:15 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bucs came even closer when Wells hit Rader on a 20-yard TD pass with 8:59 left in the game. He passed to Cecil Moore for the conversion bringing ETSU within 30-27. The 69-yard drive took nine plays, including Wells passes of 16 yards to Moore and 10 yards to Martin. It was aided by a pass interference penalty.
Western then took six and a half minutes off the clock with a drive from its 20 to the ETSU 16. A key play was a 23-yard pass from Cella to Banks on third-and-one from the WCU 29. When the march stalled, Jones kicked a 33-yard field goal for a 33-27 advantage with 2:22 on the clock.
The Bucs' hope for a victory ended two play after the kickoff as Fryer picked off Wells' pass and brought it back eight yards to the 29. Two plays later, Cella sealed the win with a 30-yard TD pass to Banks at the 1:16 mark. The extra point was no good.
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Herald photo by Mark Haskett