VMI rallied from a 24-14 fourth-quarter deficit to defeat East Tennessee State, 31-24, on Saturday in Johnson City.
The Keydets (4-5, 3-3 SoCon) got back to 24-21 on a 12-yard TD pass from Collin Shannon to Ivan Thorpe with 12:23 to go.
After the defense forced an ETSU fumble, VMI settled for a 46-yard Caden Beck field goal that tied the game at 24-24 with 9:49 left.
The D then forced a punt, and the offense got the ball back with 7:40 on the clock.
The Keydets drove 79 yards in 15 plays, capped by a Hunter Rice 5-yard TD run with 1:45 to go that made it 31-24 VMI.
ETSU (2-7, 1-5 SoCon) would drive to the VMI 7 in the final minute, but the D forced four straight incompletions to seal the win.
“We fought really hard, I’m really proud of our perseverance and our leadership,” first-year VMI head coach Danny Rocco said. “It would have been easy to get down and feel sorry for ourselves, but we opted not to do that. I thought it would be a competitive game, and I’m proud of the way we fought and finished.”
Shannon was 21-of-38 passing for 209 yards, a TD and an INT in the win.
Rice was held to 47 yards on 15 rushing attempts, but scored three TDs, giving him 11 on the season.
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Chris Graham
