ETSU celebrates win before turning attention to UNC

JOHNSON CITY — East Tennessee State took a little time to celebrate its first win of the season against Tusculum before looking at a major test upcoming in five days. The Bucs (1-1) will travel to Chapel Hill to take on North Carolina (1-0) Saturday at noon at Kenan Stadium. Before going into detail about the Tar Heels, ETSU coach Will Healy looked back at the 48-14 win over Tusculum. The Bucs struggled offensively much of the first half, but executed flawlessly the final two quarters. 'Our offense had four possessions and four touchdowns in the second half,' Healy said. 'Defensively, we played well in spurts and defended the option well. Special teams, we had a massive advantage. Our returns were really impressive, and we covered kicks really well.' There were a few disappointments as the defense gave up a 45-yard pass on a scramble and the tackle was suspect on a final Pioneers touchdown. The defense will face a different challenge with North Carolina which runs a spread offense with an emphasis on fast tempo instead of Tusculum's triple option. Linebacker Dre Delinois has been a standout through the first two games with his 22 tackles, best in the Southern Conference. But, the defense has come up with just one sack over the first two games. Jarvis Johnson, who had that sack, is second on the team with 13 tackles. The offense has produced 1,012 yards and 85 points over the first two contests. Those are the most points scored in the first two games since the 1989 season. Healy pointed out that the Bucs had eight explosive plays on the offense for 256 yards. Healy has been particularly pleased with the play of freshman quarterback Mason Mims, who has completed 46 of 62 passes for 615 yards and five touchdowns. Mims overcame a slow start when he completed 6-of-14 passes in the first half against Tusculum. He hit all five passes in the third quarter and ended 13-of-21 for 242 yards and three touchdowns. This was after he completed 33 passes for 373 yards in the season-opening loss to Campbell. 'Mason showed his ability by going 33-of-41 in week 1,' Healy said. 'Then, the question becomes how does he handle success. In the first half, he struggled at times, but the beauty of it was his response. He responded in the right way. He's talented, gifted and can make every throw. I have extreme confidence in him.' The Bucs have done their part with a strong ground game. TJ Peyton rushed for 121 yards on Saturday for 201 on the season. He also has 100 kick return yards to average over 150 all-purpose years for the two games. ETSU is averaging 5.7 yards per carry as Jaiden Daniels has 95 yards on 12 rushes. Jason Albritton and D'Marius Rucker have nine carries each, but both have two touchdowns. Suderian Harrison is the leading receiver with eight catches for 170 yards. It includes a 55-yard touchdown on the game's third play Saturday. Brandon Winton has eight catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Charlie Browder has eight receptions for 87 yards, including a 31-yard touchdown against Tusculum. While the explosive plays fill the highlight reel, Healy added some of the other offensive plays are just as important to the overall game plan. 'I'm confident in our weapons on offense,' Healy said. 'It's never a question of, 'Do I believe in the talent we have?' I want to make sure we help our defense control the clock and win football games.'