JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 19, 2026) – The ETSU football team returned to the win column on Saturday with a 35-27 victory over West Georgia at Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium. With Saturday’s win, the Buccaneers move to 2-2 in the 2026 season.
The Buccaneer offense was balanced against West Georgia, racking up 198 passing yards and 179 rushing yards. Quarterback Mason Mims finished the day 15-for-24 for 198 yards and two passing touchdowns. Mims found eight different ETSU receivers during the win. Suderian Harrison and Tyler Griffin both had three receptions to pace the team, while Brandon Winton (two catches, 98 yards) and Vashawn Nalls (two catches, 13 yards) caught touchdown passes from Mims.
ETSU ran the ball a season-high 41 times against UWG. TJ Peyton narrowly missed the century mark on the ground, finishing with 94 yards on 17 carries (5.5 avg.) and a touchdown. Fellow running back Jaiden Daniels set a new career-high with 69 yards on 10 carries (6.9 avg.), and Jason Albritton found the end zone for the third time in four games in 2026 during the victory.
Defensively, seniors Dre Delinois and Mike Jenkins led the charge with eight tackles apiece. Jenkins also intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. As a defense, the Bucs totaled six tackles for loss on Saturday, with Eugene Ware III registering the first sack of his college career.
Saturday’s game began with stellar stops by both defenses. West Georgia stopped ETSU on a fourth-and-five when the Bucs were in field goal range. ETSU’s defense then forced the Wolves’ offense into a three-and-out on its first possession of the contest.
On the Bucs’ second drive, they put together their longest drive of the season. ETSU ran 18 plays that covered 80 yards and burned over seven minutes off the clock. 15 of the 18 plays were runs on that lengthy drive, which ended with a touchdown run by Albritton.
West Georgia answered that touchdown with one of its own on its next drive. UWG ran nine plays to reach the red zone before finally cashing in on a two-yard touchdown pass to tie it at 7-7. West Georgia, coming into Saturday’s game with a 0-3 record, took a chance with a squib kick on the ensuing kickoff, which the Bucs did not handle, and the Wolves pounced on it. Even with West Georgia’s drive starting deep in Buccaneer territory, ETSU’s defense stepped up and forced UWG into a field goal attempt. The 46-yard attempt by the Wolves split the uprights to give them their first lead, 10-7.
ETSU got the ball with 9:49 to go before halftime. The Bucs had two possessions in the second quarter and were extremely efficient despite having the ball for only 5:54. ETSU had eight rushes for 68 yards (8.5 avg.), and Mims went a perfect 6-for-6 for 61 yards in the second. Peyton gave the Bucs the lead back on a 14-yard touchdown run, then Nalls made a circus catch in the corner of the end zone to grow the Bucs’ advantage to 21-10 at the half.
As the second half got underway, West Georgia’s offense spent nearly the entire third quarter on the field (11:17). A pair of touchdowns by the Wolves moved them back in front, 24-21. On one of ETSU’s possessions late in the third, punter Luke Stewart pinned UWG down at its own one-yard line. With West Georgia backed up, their quarterback threw a pass right to Jenkins, and the senior safety returned it for 25 yards and an ETSU touchdown. At the end of three quarters, the Bucs were up 28-24.
With it a one-score game heading into the fourth, the Bucs’ offense had one more big play. Mims found Brandon Winton on an 88-yard touchdown pass to push the lead out to 11 points, 35-24. The 88-yard touchdown is the longest scoring pass play in ETSU football history, breaking the previous record of 86 yards from Todd Wells to Anthony Stringfield against Appalachian State back in 1997.
West Georgia cut into the Buccaneer lead with a 29-yard field goal to make the score 35-27. Another stop by the Wolves’ defense gave them a chance to tie the game with 57 seconds remaining. UWG completed one pass for 15 yards, but a few key plays by Jivon Oggs and Ayden Guess for the Bucs forced West Georgia to turn the ball over on downs. One kneel-down by the Bucs sealed the 35-27 win for the Blue and Gold.
ETSU will remain home next Saturday when longtime rival Western Carolina visits Johnson City. Kickoff for the annual Blue Ridge Border Battle is set for 3:30 p.m. from Greene Stadium.
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