JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Aug. 29, 2026) – The ETSU football team dropped its season opener to Campbell by a score of 49-37 on Saturday night from Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium.
Offensively, the Bucs played well, racking up 528 yards of total offense. Quarterback Mason Mims, who was making his college football debut, finished the night 33-for-41 for 373 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The 33 completions broke ETSU's single-game school record of 30 set by Greg Ryan (1993) and Cade McNamara (2025). Additionally, his 373 yards through the air were the fifth-most, trailing only performances by Austin Herink (434 vs. Furman – 2017), Cade McNamara (398 vs. Mercer – 2025), Tyler Riddell (389 vs. Samford – 2022), and Todd Wells (377 vs. Appalachian State – 1997).
Mims found eight different receivers on Saturday for his 33 completions. USF transfer
Brandon Winton was the most targeted receiver with nine, and he finished with six receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown.
Charlie Browder paced the Bucs with seven catches and 56 yards. In terms of receiving yards,
Suderian Harrison led the charge with 99 yards on five receptions. ETSU also found success on the ground, rushing for 155 yards and three touchdowns.
TJ Peyton paced all backs with 15 carries for 80 yards and a score.
Jason Albritton and
D'Marius Rucker also found the end zone in their 2026 debuts.
Defensively, the Bucs were led by their veterans. Linebacker
Dre Delinois set a new career-high with 11 tackles against the Camels.
Jimmy Bowdry,
Mike Jenkins, and
Jarvis Johnson all reached five tackles on the night. Bowdry also broke up two passes to pace the ETSU secondary.
Both offenses came out clicking on Saturday, with 21 points scored in the first quarter. The Camels dominated the time of possession in the first stanza, holding the ball for 12:17 of the 15 minutes. ETSU punted on its first drive but found the end zone on its second thanks to an 18-yard strike from Mims to
Trey Weary to pull the Bucs even at 7-7. However, Campbell grabbed the lead back thanks to a 12-play, 75-yard drive at the tail end of the first quarter punctuated by a three-yard touchdown run by Ethan Lawrence.
Following the score by Lawrence, the Bucs scored the next two touchdowns of the game to gain their first lead of the 2026 season. Rushing touchdowns by Peyton and Albritton capped off a pair of drives for ETSU that covered 120 yards on just nine plays (13.3 yards per play).
The Camels would find pay dirt two more times before the first half wrapped up. Those touchdowns were sandwiched around a missed field goal by ETSU from 53 yards.
Ewan Johnson did make it a four-point game as the first half came to a close on a 44-yarder that split the uprights, 28-24.
ETSU got the ball to begin the second half and moved the ball into Campbell territory before the Camel defense stepped up to stop ETSU on a 4th-and-2 near midfield. The next two drives ended with a missed field goal for Campbell and a punt for ETSU. Campbell added to its lead on the next drive thanks in large part to a pair of passes over 20 yards before De'Von Thomas ran it in from two yards out to make the score 35-24 Campbell.
In the early minutes of the fourth quarter, a costly fumble for the Bucs was picked up by Campbell and returned to ETSU's one-yard line. The Camels immediately pushed it across for another score, making it 42-24. With a little over 14 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Bucs totaled nearly 200 yards of total offense to try and make a comeback.
Rucker brought the score to 42-30 Campbell with his first rushing score of the season. ETSU went for two after that touchdown but were unsuccessful, keeping it a 12-point game. ETSU's defense stepped up to force a three-and-out that took only 57 seconds off the clock to give its offense the ball back.
A methodical 10-play drive executed by the Bucs ended with another touchdown, this one on a stellar catch by Winton on a pass by Mims.
Campbell quarterback Kamden Sixkiller finished the night with 343 passing yards, but it was his legs on Campbell's next drive that proved to be the difference. Sixkiller had a pair of runs totaling 56 yards, with the last of those finding the end zone with under two minutes to go. ETSU moved the ball into the red zone on its final drive of the night, but a fumble wrapped up the game and gave the victory to the Camels.
The Buccaneers will return to action next Saturday when they host Tusculum in another non-conference tilt. Kickoff between the Bucs and Pioneers is set for 5:30 p.m. from Greene Stadium.
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