​JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — East Tennessee State University’s five-game winning streak came to an end Saturday as the Buccaneers fell 24-17 to Tennessee Tech on Homecoming at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium.ETSU carried a 17-14 lead into halftime, but the Golden Eagles rallied in the fourth quarter to hand the Bucs their first Southern Conference loss of the season.The Buccaneers finished with 321 yards of total offense, including 207 on the ground. Sophomore running back TJ Peyton led the rushing attack with 123 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, while Jason Albritton added 76 yards and a score on 12 attempts.Quarterback Mason Mims completed 15 passes for 114 yards, while Suderian Harrison led the receiving corps with five catches for 39 yards.Defensively, ETSU held Tennessee Tech to 110 rushing yards. Brenden LeBlanc led the Bucs with six tackles, while freshman Samuel Iroh recorded a sack and forced fumble.Despite the loss, head coach Will Healy remains confident in his team’s postseason potential “We can be a playoff football team,” Healy said. “We can win a conference championship. We can compete with a top ten team in the country. And competing is not good enough. It’s not a moral victory. I expected to have an opportunity to win the game. I still think we’ve got to get past the point of waiting on people to beat us or are expecting something bad to happen.”Senior defensive lineman Brenden LeBlanc acknowledged the team’s lack of experience in high-stakes matchups.”A lot of us haven’t been in games like this, haven’t been in playoff contention games,” LeBlanc said. “We got a little wide eyed and we played okay. We didn’t play up to our standard.”With three regular-season games remaining, Peyton emphasized the importance of moving forward and keeping the team’s postseason goals alive.”Not let this one game affect the rest of the three games we got this season because, you know, we still got a shot,” Peyton said. “We still got a shot and we’re still going to make the playoffs, obviously can’t let Tennessee Tech beat us two more times.”ETSU will look to bounce back Saturday, Nov. 7, when the Bucs host Samford for Senior Day at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Johnson City.Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.