Emory & Henry sneaks by East Tennessee State, 27-24

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) Kevin Saxton completed 23 of 37 passes for 244 yards and a game winning 7-yard touchdown pass to Tyree Ward with 55 seconds left to

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) Kevin Saxton completed 23 of 37 passes for 244 yards and a game winning 7-yard touchdown pass to Tyree Ward with 55 seconds left to help lead Division III Emory & Henry to a 27-24 win over East Tennessee State on Saturday.

East Tennessee State (0-4) held a 24-20 for much of the fourth quarter after a 45-yard scoring strike from Austin Herink to Dalton Ponchillia with 14:13 left in the game. But after the Emory & Henry defense forced a turnover on downs with 2:08 remaining, Saxton engineered a 4 play, 51-yard TD drive to win it.

Kelman Simpson caught five passes for 82 yards and a touchdown for the Wasps. Ward added five catches and 53 yards.

WIN $2KIN TICKETS

WIN $2KIN TICKETS

GET READY TO COMPETE

Pick your champion (you can change it later). We’ll email you when brackets open.

• Georgia
• Utah
• Alabama
• UCLA
• Notre Dame
• Texas
• Miami (FL)
• Tennessee
• Indiana
• BYU
• Kentucky
• Texas Tech

PREREGISTER TO PLAY

No purchase necessary. 50 U.S./D.C. 18+. Entry opens 3PM ET Dec 6, 2026 and closes 8PM ET Dec 18, 2026. Void where prohibited.See Official Rules for complete details. The College Football Playoff (CFP) is not a sponsor or administrator of this contest.

Herink led the Buccaneers with 261 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception.

This was the first meeting between the schools since 1953.

---

AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org