DURHAM – Campbell spent much of Saturday night building a lead at O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium. North Carolina Central spent the third quarter erasing it.
Then, with the game tied and the rain continuing to fall, the Fighting Camels found one final answer.
Kamden Sixkiller connected with Jyron Waiters for a nine-yard touchdown with 7:28 remaining, breaking a 31-31 tie and lifting No. 18/24 Campbell to a 38-31 victory over NC Central.
The win improved Campbell to 5-1, while Central fell to 2-4.
The night began about as well as the Eagles could have hoped.
On Campbell's opening possession, Sixkiller was intercepted by Cameron Williams, who returned the ball 19 yards. One play later, Nelson Layne raced 16 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Central lead.
Campbell answered with Sixkiller's one-yard touchdown run, but Layne struck again, scoring from three yards out to put NCCU back ahead 14-7.
From there, the first quarter belonged to Campbell.
DeJuan Thomas broke loose for a 32-yard touchdown to tie the game, Alex Crabb connected on a 41-yard field goal and JJ Cowan scored from three yards out with 38 seconds remaining. The Camels emerged from a frantic opening quarter with a 24-14 advantage.
Thomas added his second touchdown, a four-yard run, early in the second quarter to stretch Campbell's run to 24 unanswered points and the lead to 31-14.
Central found a spark before halftime after turning to Cobey Thompkins at quarterback. Thompkins completed all four of his passes for 70 yards on the drive, including a 23-yard touchdown to Tristan Stitt with 2:28 remaining, sending the Eagles to the locker room trailing 31-21.
Then the game changed again.
Central controlled the third quarter while Campbell's offense went scoreless. Riley Daniels' 47-yard field goal cut the deficit to seven before Zion Dobson ripped off a 62-yard touchdown run with 6:31 remaining in the quarter.
In less than nine minutes, the Eagles had erased Campbell's 10-point halftime advantage and tied the game at 31.
Campbell finally regained control in the fourth.
Sixkiller directed an 11-play, 56-yard drive before finding Waiters for the nine-yard go-ahead touchdown with 7:28 remaining. The Camels' defense made the lead stand, including a fourth-down stop of Layne on a quarterback keeper during Central's fourth-quarter attempt to regain the advantage.
For a Campbell offense that entered the game with Sixkiller among the nation's most productive passers, it was the ground game that did much of the damage.
The Camels rushed for 262 yards and four touchdowns. Cowan carried 14 times for 139 yards, including a 66-yard run, while Thomas added 89 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Sixkiller finished 18-of-35 for 226 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Central countered with 160 rushing yards, led by Dobson's 80 yards on 13 carries and Layne's 59 yards and two touchdowns. Chance Peterson caught 10 passes for 84 yards, while Stitt finished with three receptions for 58 yards and a score.
Campbell finished with 488 yards of offense to Central's 359 and held a 262-160 advantage on the ground. The Camels also possessed the ball for 32:02. Both teams converted 7-of-14 third downs.
The Eagles had done the difficult part, wiping away a 17-point deficit and turning what had threatened to become a Campbell runaway into a fourth-quarter tie.
But after Central scored 17 unanswered points, Campbell produced the game's final answer.
Sixkiller found Waiters, the defense held, and the nationally ranked Camels left Durham with their fifth victory of the season.
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