Campbell Defeats Butler 33-27 in Overtime

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – De’Shawn Jones scored on a 25-yard run on Campbell’s first play in overtime to lift the Camels to a 33-27 win over Butler Saturday night at Barker-Lane Stadium.

In front of the largest crowd (6,610) in Barker-Lane Stadium history, Jones burst off tackle then broke free down the left sideline for the winning points in the first home overtime contest in Fighting Camel history.

In the Pioneer Football League opener for both schools, Campbell (3-1, 1-0) held the Bulldogs on the first possession of overtime to set up the winning play.  A holding penalty pushed Butler back to the 32-yard line; then Syd Holt’s QB hurry left the Bulldogs with 4th-down and 17 yards.  Instead of attempting a 50-yard field goal, Butler went for it on fourth down and Dante Simmons’ broke up Malcolm Weaver’s pass attempt.

Jones finished with 174 rushing yards on 23 carries, an average of 7.6 yards per attempt.  The senior running back owns the top three rushing games in Campbell’s Division I era (since 2008), including a 201-yard performance last year at Davidson and a 189-performance at home vs. Pikeville.

On Saturday, Jones had four runs of 22 or more yards and scored two times.  Jared Joyner added 41 yards on the ground and two scores.  Elijah Burress completed 16-of-28 passes for 146 yards.  Aaron Blockmon led the Camels with five receptions.

Weaver completed 14-of-37 passes for 194 yards and caught a nine-yard scoring pass to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, while Duvante Lane ran for 75 yards on 17 carries for Butler (2-2, 0-1). Pace Temple finished with six catches for 128 yards.

Daniel Bostick led Campbell with eight tackles, while Ethan Brunhofer made 10 stops for Butler.

Campbell jumped to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.  Greg Cunningham’s interception gave the Camels a first down at the Butler 47.  De’Shawn Jones’ 8-yard run capped a 6-play drive over 2:21 to put the Camels on the board.  Jones’ 25-yard gain on 3rd and 10 gave the Camels a first down on the Bulldog 22.  Jones’ TD on the opening play of the second quarter was his sixth of the year.

Mitchell Brown extended the lead to 10-0 on a 30-yard field goal with 10:50 left in the second.

The Bulldogs drove 70 yards on five plays – 29 yards coming on a Malcolm Weaver to Pace Temple completion – and cut the gap to 10-7 on Duvante Lane’s four-yard run with 8:05 left in the half.

Butler attempted an onside kick on the ensuing kick-off, but Bryan Bailey recovered at midfield for the Camels.  Eight plays later, Joyner’s 1-yard run and Brown’s PAT pushed the margin back to 10.  Jones’ 22-yard burst keyed the drive and set up the Camels with first and goal on the Butler 8.

The Bulldogs drove to the Campbell 19, before Drew Bevelhimer’s 36-yard field goal trimmed the gap to 17-10 with 1:16 left in the second quarter.

CU took over and drove into Butler territory to set up a field goal attempt on the final play of the half.  Brown’s 49-yarder – the longest in Campbell’s Division I era – gave the Camels a 20-10 lead at the break.

Helped along by a personal foul penalty that negated a third down stop at midfield, Butler marched 80 yards in nine plays and pulled within 20-17 on Weaver’s 11-yard QB keeper with 50 seconds to play in the third quarter.

Burress fumbled on the first play of the next possession and Sean Horan recovered to give the Bulldogs a 1st down at the Campbell 29.  Butler drove to the Camel five yard line before CU held and Bevelhimer’s 22-yard field goal tied the game at 20 with 13:39 to play.

The Camels drove 65 yards on seven plays to take a 27-20 lead on Joyner’s 3-yard run with 11:12 left in the game.  Jones reeled off a 30-yard burst down the left side and Joyner had a 17-yard run up the middle to set up the scoring run.

Set up by a short punt, Butler drove 44 yards to tie the game at 27-all with 4:10 to go.  On fourth-and-goal from the three yard line, Lane found Weaver in the right side of the end zone on a halfback-to-quarterback pass.  Bevelhimer’s PAT tied the game at 27-27.

Bevelheimer slipped on a 50-yard field goal attempt on the game’s last play and the kick fell well short of the end zone.

Campbell plays next Saturday at Marist (1:00 p.m.), while Butler hosts San Diego (1:00).

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Catawba Defense Forces Seven Turnovers, Ends Five Year Skid to Wingate

WINGATE – The temperature was not the only thing that was hot on the field at Wingate’s Irwin Belk Stadium. The Catawba defense was red-hot as well, forcing seven turnovers on the way to a 48-26 victory over the host Bulldogs in South Atlantic Conference action. It was Catawba’s first win over Wingate in five years and the first win in the series for Indians coach Curtis Walker.

Catawba’s first turnover was a Cris Page interception that was returned to the Wingate 30 yard line, setting up a Joseph Dress two-yard touchdown run a few plays later giving the visitors an early 7-0 lead. Wingate made it 7-3 at the end of the first quarter with a 36-yard Caleb Baird field goal.

The second quarter began a bit slowly, but a hard hit by Catawba’s Case Woodard led to a Wingate fumble that was recovered by Indian defensive back Trey Evans. Quarterback Mike Sheehan (Laney) and the Catawba offense took full advantage of the turnover, marching the forty-three yards down the field and scoring to extend the lead to 14-3. It was the first of Sheehan’s two rushing touchdowns on the day.

Case Woodard was not done making defensive plays for Catawba, though. On Wingate’s ensuing possession, defensive back Chris Carpenter forced another Wingate fumble and Woodard picked up the ball and raced fifty-four yards to the end zone.

As if one scoop-and-score in a game wasn’t enough, Wingate’s Cornel Cheron returned the favor early in the third quarter, sprinting ninety-eight yards to bring the Bulldogs within two scores. But, it wasn’t enough for the Bulldogs as Catawba answered back with two scores, a thirty-four yard strike from Sheehan to Jourdan Osinski (Southern Alamance) and a four yard run by Sheehan.

One of the outstanding offensive plays of the day was the sixty-seven yard catch and run by Catawba’s Sam Mobley (Parkwood). This early fourth quarter score is what really put the game out of reach and gave the Catawba faithful something to celebrate in the stands for the rest of the afternoon.

Not to be lost on anyone is the great day had by Wingate’s Lawrence Pittman (Mallard Creek). The Bulldog running back amassed 155 rushing yards on twenty-one carries, giving him over five-hundred yards four games into the season.

Both teams travel to South Carolina next week Catawba (2-2) takes on SAC rival Newberry while Wingate (3-1) battles Limestone in a non-conference matchup. 

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Week 6 Top 15

Carolina Gridiron ranks the top fifteen teams in each classification weekly during the football regular season. Teams are ranked based on a number of factors including strength of schedule, wins, and quality losses. Interact with us on Twitter (@NCGridiron and @NCGridironNews) and let us know your thoughts using the hashtag #CGTop15.

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Blue Hose Too Much for the Camels as Campbell Falls 31-14

BUIES CREEK – Presbyterian hands Campbell their first loss of the season 31-14 in front of the sixth largest home crowd in Barker-Lane Stadium history.

Campbell’s do-it-all QB Elijah Burress led the Camels with 161 yards of offense, 117 yards through the air on 10 of 23 passing with one touchdown and 44 yards on the ground on 15 attempts.

Presbyterian was led by RB Darrell Bridges, who carved up the Campbell defense for a season high 159 yards on 32 carries for 1 TD.

QB Will Brock, making his first start for the Blue Hose, completed 11 of 21 passes for 129 yards with two touchdowns. He’s first finding Cedric Frazier in the back of the end zone from 21 yards out, giving Presbyterian the early 7-0 lead.

Presbyterian would add a Brett Norton 26-yd field goal before the end of the 1st quarter and a Bridges six-yard touchdown on the QB keeper early in the 2nd quarter to take a 17-0 led before the Campbell offense would awaken.

After a quarter and a half of three-and-outs, Campbell’s offense comes to life in a five play, 73-yard drive that ended in a 28-yard touchdown pass from Burress to Jared Joyner. Mitchell Brown’s PAT kick was no good, leaving the score at 17-6.

Presbyterian would answer back with a touchdown drive of their own before the end of the first half to take a 24-6 lead into the locker room.

Photo Credit: Bennett Scarborough

After a defensive showdown in the third quarter, Campbell tried to make it interesting to start the fourth quarter when DeShawn Jones found the end zone and the ensuing two-point conversion pass from Burress to Austin Fleming cut the Blue Hose lead to ten, 24-14.

Presbyterian would put the game out of reach a couple drives later when Brock would find Darquez Watson for the 17-yard Blue Hose touchdown with 2:27 left to play.

Presbyterian’s offense outgained Campbell’s 348-258.

Up next for Presbyterian is their home opener against a streaking 3-0 Florida Tech team.

Campbell opens up Pioneer league play at home with Family Weekend against Butler (2-1) with a 6 pm kickoff. For tickets visit the Campbell ticket office: http://www.gocamels.com/tickets/Football

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