Erskine College Athletics

BLUEFIELD, Ga. – The Erskine College football team (1-0) defeated Bluefield University (0-1) by a score of 37-20 at Mitchell Stadium on Saturday in the Fleet's 2026 season opener.

Ryan Killmer threw for over 300 yards and a trio of touchdowns to lead the Erskine offense, and the Fleet defense forced three turnovers and stifled the Rams' passing attack en route to a commanding road win.

THE BASICS
Final | Erskine 37, Shorter 20
Records | Erskine 1-0 (0-0 CC), Bluefield 0-1 (0-0 AAC)
Location | Bluefield, Va. (Mitchell Stadium)
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Sophomore quarterback Ryan Killmer completed 17 of his 32 passes for a game-high 327 yards and three touchdowns, while the Erskine defense held Bluefield's quarterbacks to just a 42% completion percentage.
• Killmer also ran the ball eight times for a team-leading 53 yards, including a touchdown early in the third quarter, as the Fleet totaled 144 yards on the ground.
• Siah Mack posted a career-best 147 receiving yards on six catches, while Jo Burson caught a pair of touchdowns and freshman Jayce Jones found the endzone as well in his collegiate debut.
• Damontia Duff led the Erskine defense with eight tackles, while Jon Scott, Gary Maddox III, and E'vonta Bannister all forced fumbles that were recovered by the Fleet. Erskine totaled seven tackles for loss and Scott and Skyler Vega each recorded sacks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Erskine had a pair of successful drives in the opening 16 minutes of the game but were unable to find the endzone, so a pair of chip-shot field goals from Alessandro Santana, Jr. gave Erskine a 6-3 lead less than a minute into the second quarter.
• Halfway through the second quarter, after a Bluefield punt pinned the Fleet on their own one-yard line, Erskine embarked on a monstrous 99-yard march down the field, highlighted by a 38-yard reception from Siah Mack. On the tenth play of the drive, Ryan Killmer found freshman Jayce Jones for a 24-yard touchdown to extend Erskine's lead to 13-3.
• Bluefield scored a touchdown of its own right before the half, but the Erskine defense regained control with three consecutive stops to open the second half, capped by a Jon Scott forced fumble that Judd Terry recovered. Then, on the Fleet's first offensive play of the ensuing drive, Jo Burson caught a 30-yard touchdown to make it 20-10 with five minutes left in the third quarter.
• After a Rams field goal to end the third quarter made it a one-score game again, Killmer led the Fleet down the field and punched it in from a yard out, pushing the Fleet's advantage back to 27-13.
• E'vonta Bannister forced a fumble on Bluefield's ensuing drive and a 24-yard field goal from Santana, Jr. made it a 30-13 with less than 10 minutes remaining.
• Bluefield answered with a touchdown to get it back to a 10-point game but the Killmer-to-Burson connection struck again, capping an eight-play drive with a game-sealing 9-yard touchdown that put the finishing touches on a 37-20 Erskine win.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Fleet have next Saturday off before returning to action with a road trip to Thomas University (0-0) on September 12 at 6 p.m. for the first-ever meeting between the teams.

Follow the Flying Fleet all season long to get schedule updates, scores, highlights, photo galleries, game notes and more at www.erskinesports.com.
 
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