ETSU makes marathon trip worth it with 34-17 win over The Citadel

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Khamran Laborn ran for two touchdowns and East Tennessee State beat The Citadel 34-17 Saturday night in a game that was pushed back three hours after the Buccaneers spent several hours of a marathon bus trip to The Citadel stranded by flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.

What was to be a six-hour bus trip for ETSU that began in Johnson City, Tenn., Friday morning didn’t end until 16 hours later Saturday.

After departing their campus, the team learned that I-40 was closed in both directions and I-26 South was also closed, leaving the buses stranded and without cell service or internet. The buses eventually moved to higher ground and parked for six hours.

ETSU finally arrived in Charleston around 4:30 a.m.

Then the Buccaneers waited until the fourth quarter to score 21 points to pull away.

Laborn broke free for a 40-yard score with 5:42 remaining for a 10-point lead and kicking off a run of 28 points by both teams.

“I can’t be more proud of them after what we’ve gone through in the last 24 hours,” said Tre Lamb, in his first year as ETSU’s head coach. “It’s pretty remarkable. But, you know, I told the team we’re not going to make excuses in this program ever. I don’t care what the situation, we’re not making excuses. We’re playing to win. We’re going to expect to win.”

Laborn gave the Buccaneers (3-2, 1-0 Southern) their first points with a 20-yard score in the second quarter. Jaylen King added a 14-yard score on a fourth-and-2 for a 13-3 halftime lead.

Moments after Laborn's second TD, Jimmy Bowdry turned in a 15-yard pick-6. The teams then exchanged touchdowns, The Citadel scoring on Bennett's TD pass to Tyler Cherry and ETSU replying with Bryson Irby's long scoring run with three minutes to go.

ETSU survived three King interceptions with Laborn and Irby both went over 100 yards rushing.

Garrison Johnson scored for the Bulldogs (2-3, 0-2) in the third quarter with a 1-yard run that came three plays after Laborn lost a fumble at the ETSU 8-yard line.

HARROWING TREK

During their journey, the team found a grocery store that gave them food employees were about to throw out due to power being out. The team was finally able to drive to a shelter. While the players slept on the bus, coaches got a lift to a hotel from a traveler, identified by Lamb as Ryan Ratliff, where they were able to communicate with families that everyone was safe. A few hours while everyone on the bus was getting some sleep, Ratliff rapped on the bus to let them know the route south was open.

In a post on X while still on the road to the game, Lamb wrote, in part: “It got very scary on some low ground for a few hours, we had to find high ground. Shoutout to our bus drivers, athletic trainers, staff, officers for keeping everyone calm. There was a random guy Ryan Ratliff that gave our coaches a ride to find shelter and came back to the refuge to let us know the highway was open. We had no access to any information. Hero. Shoutout to Ingles (grocery store) for providing us with 100 sandwiches and fruit at 6pm. No service, no internet, no hotel. Have yet to speak with families or loved ones but we are on the way and ready to play.”

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The Associated Press