BUIES CREEK – Lamagea McDowell delivered a standout performance, rushing for a career-high 114 yards and two touchdowns, propelling Campbell to a thrilling 34-28 Homecoming victory over Maine at Barker-Lane Stadium.

The win pushed the Camels to a 4-3 season record and an impressive 3-2 in CAA play. It was a historic day for Campbell, as they secured their first home CAA victory. On the other side, Maine found themselves at 2-6 overall and 1-4 in conference games.

Campbell took control of the game early, building a commanding 28-7 halftime lead. McDowell played a pivotal role in this surge, finding the end zone twice during the first half. The Camels managed to score on four consecutive possessions after their opening drive had stalled.

Jalen Kelsey added to Campbell's lead with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Hajj-Malik Williams, extending the gap to three scores with 3:09 remaining in the third quarter.

However, Maine displayed resilience, mounting a comeback with touchdown receptions of 33 and 18 yards by Rohan Jones. These scores brought the Black Bears within striking distance, at 34-28, with just 6:12 left on the clock.

With Maine gaining momentum and Campbell's lead shrinking, the Camels needed a crucial play to secure the win. That play came in the form of an interception by Trevon Booker, who picked off Derek Robertson's second pass attempt with 2:51 left in the game. This key turnover allowed Campbell to hold on to their lead and emerge victorious.

The Camels' defense delivered a remarkable performance, limiting the Black Bears to -7 rushing yards, setting a school record for the fewest rushing yards allowed in a single game.

Campbell RB Lamagea McDowell Photo Credit: Bennett Scarborough)

VJ Wilkins was a reliable target, making eight catches for 79 yards, while Chaney Fitzgerald added five receptions for 46 yards. Jalen Kelsey also contributed with two catches for 36 yards, including a touchdown.

The Campbell defense was led by CJ Tillman, who tallied 10 tackles and forced a fumble in the first half. Trevon Booker added five tackles to his name, along with the game-clinching interception.

Maine's Derek Robertson had an impressive passing day, throwing for 503 yards and four touchdowns. He completed 36-of-52 passes but also threw two interceptions. Joe Gillette was a standout receiver, recording six catches for 135 yards, while Rohan Jones and Jamie Lamson both hauled in two touchdown passes.

Kahzir Brown led Maine's defense with 10 tackles, including a sack, while Damon Matthews and Abdul Stewart added eight tackles each.

Campbell is set to embark on a challenging road trip for three of their final four regular-season games in 2023. They will travel to Richmond for the first time next week (October 28), followed by a visit to North Carolina on November 4 for their final nonconference matchup. The Camels will return home on November 11 for a showdown with top-10 ranked Delaware.

Both teams’ offenses came out with to good plays to get to midfield but had miscues that ended their opening drives. Campbell got a brief jolt of energy when VJ Wilkins’s great catch and run to get the Camels into Elon territory, but the drive fizzled out and the Camels were forced to settle for a 32-yard Caleb Dowden field goal to get on the scoreboard for the first time for the evening and the lone score of the first quarter. The bright spot was quickly overshadowed when Campbell linebacker Antoine Sampah was carted off the field with an apparent leg injury. The Camels' defense certainly missed his presence as the Phoenix were able to drive deep into Campbell territory and take the lead on a ten-yard rushing touchdown by Jalen Hampton.

Campbell had stopped Elon and was about to force a long FG try, but a personal foul penalty extended the drive and gave the Phoenix a fresh set of downs. Two plays later, Jalen Hampton dragged several Campbell defenders into the end zone for his second touchdown of the night. The next Elon drive was a repeat as another unnecessary roughness penalty gave Elon a first down in Campbell territory and Elon was able to score two plays after the penalty. Christian Da Silva took a ball around the left side of the line and was brought down at the one-yard-line and Jalen Hampton punched it in on the next play for his third score of the quarter.

Elon came out of the half determined to extend their lead and even gambled on a fourth down at the Campbell thirty-yard line to keep the momentum going, but a pass missed its mark and was picked off by Campbell’s Monchovia Gaffney. The Camels took over and went to work and a catch and run by Chaney Fitzgerald got the Camels into the red zone. After an intentional grounding call and sack pushed the Camels back, Hajj-Malik Williams looked to make up for his miscues on the previous two plays and scooted twenty-two yards for Campbell’s first touchdown of the evening. The celebration was short-lived, however, as the Camels found themselves in the same position as earlier drives with a personal foul penalty extending an Elon drive that was capped off with a Jalen Hampton rushing touchdown two plays later. Hampton’s fourth touchdown of the game gave the Phoenix a 28-10 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Camels refused to give up in the final quarter and CJ Tillman’s forced fumble was recovered by Cam Booker, giving the home team a sign of life. When Hajj-Malik Williams hit VJ Wilkins in the endzone, the Camels faithful erupted. The ensuing two-point conversion was good and the Camels, desperate for the comeback, found themselves down ten with eight minutes left. The Campbell defense stepped up on the next drive, forcing an Elon punt. The Camels offense was quick on the draw on the ensuing possession, moving eighty-seven yards in six plays. Brandon Fitez’s spectacular grab gave the ball to the Camels deep in Elon territory and a pass interference call in the end zone set the Camels up at the two-yard line with six-and-a-half minutes left in the game. NaQuari Rogers’s two-yard touchdown on the next play made it a one-score game, but a missed PAT attempt kept it a four-point affair. Although the Campbell defense was able to give the ball back to the offense for one last chance at victory, the clock was not on the Camels’ side as time ran out before the Camels could find the end zone one last time.

Standout Players

Jalen Hampton led all rushers with 169 yards while rushing for four touchdowns. Hajj-Malik Williams was 33 of 44 for 367 yards and a touchdown. VJ Wilkins led all receivers with ten receptions and 114 receiving yards. Defensively, Bo Sanders and Monchovia Gaffney each had an interception for their respective squads while leading their squads with ten tackles apiece.

What They Said

Elon Coach Tony Trisciani on how his team played offensively: “I was real happy with how came we out of the gate and played. We knew we had to assert ourselves upfront. We knew that that's where we needed to win, especially with weather like this, it would be important wanted to run the football.” On defense, “I thought we did a good job getting to the quarterback position to force him to make some decisions and the get ball the perimeter.”

Campbell Coach Mike Minter on his team’s penalties: “You basically have all your penalties are personal fouls. And all of their points come off of those penalties. And so that's the one thing that sticks out to me in that ball game, you know, third and long and we’ll get a personal foul, third and long, we get a personal foul, third down, we get a personal foul. That's just sickening when you look at it. So we gotta learn from that and understand you know who refereeing the game and understand what type of game is gonna be.” On his team’s finish to the game: “We look at, you know you got a chance for the five-minute drill and we had the five-minute drill going on again. They were able to convert a couple of first downs and kind of ran the clock down a little bit and we just didn't have enough time on the clock. But you just can't start the way we started. We spot them twenty-one points and it's 21-3 and then now you decide to play football, you can't do that.”

Up Next

Both teams face tough matchups next week with ranked teams as Elon (2-2, 2-0) hosts #5 William and Mary while Campbell (2-2, 1-1) heads to Durham to face 18th-ranked North Carolina Central for another in-state contest. 

BUIES CREEK – Campbell rolled up a season-high 563 yards of total offense and defeated North Carolina Central 48-18 Saturday at Barker-Lane Stadium.

Campbell (2-2) scored on six of its seven first-half drives and hit season highs for points (48), total offense, first downs (33) and rushing yards (315) against a previously unbeaten Eagle team that entered the contest ranked eighth in the nation in scoring defense (13.5).

Bryant Barr ran for a career-high 135 yards on 23 carries and one touchdown for the Camels, who ran 83 plays to 64 for the visitors.  NaQuari Rogers added 78 rushing yards and one score, while Lamagea McDowell scored twice on the ground.

Campbell RB Bryant Barr races past the defense. Photo Credit: Bennett Scarborough

Hajj-Malik Williams completed 22-of-33 passes for 248 yards and added 46 on the ground with one rushing TD.  Jalen Kelsey led CU with five receptions for 47 yards and recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown.

Davius Richard completed 21-of-35 passes with two interceptions and a pair of TDs for NC Central (4-1), which ranked fifth in the FCS in scoring offense (43.2) but was held to just three scores despite finishing with 390 total yards.  Richard led the Eagles with 37 rushing yards, while Devin Smith had five catches for 67 yards and two scores.

Aaron Maddox, CJ Tillman and Myles Rowser led Campbell with seven tackles each.  Isaiah Lawson had 12 tackles for the Eagles, while Jason Chambers added 11 and Khalil Baker 10.

Campbell compiled 397 yards of total offense before the break, including 205 on the ground.

The Camels took the opening kickoff and drove 84 yards on 14 plays, capped by McDowell’s four-yard rush.  After forcing a punt, Campbell again drove into the red zone to set up Caleb Dowden’s 30-yard field goal.

Myles Rowser intercepted a Richard pass and the Camels drove 60 yards in six plays.  McDowell finished the march with a 10-yard scoring run for a 17-0 lead with 11:44 left in the second quarter.

Williams pushed the margin to 24-0 on a 17-yard QB keeper with 7:25 to play in the half.

The Eagles got on the scoreboard when Richard connected with Smith on a 28-yard TD pass.  However, Campbell stopped NCCU on the two-point conversion attempt.

CU answered Central’s only first-half score with a 75-yard drive that Barr finished with a 24-yard rush.

Ed Dennis picked off Richard’s pass and returned it 26 yards to give the Camels a first down on the NCCU 34 with 55 seconds to play.  Dowden’s 21-yard field goal pushed the halftime lead to 34-6.

Barr ran for 113 yards on 16 carries in the first half alone.  Williams completed 13-of-18 passes for 192 yards before the break as the Camels converted 5-of-5 red zone opportunities.

NCCU scored on the first play of the fourth quarter on Smith’s 22-yard TD catch, but the Camels responded with a 9-play, 65-yard march that Rogers completed with a 35-yard run.

Alex Santiago blocked a Juan Velarde punt and Kelsey picked it up at the goal line to push the margin to 48-12 with 9:06 to play.  

Richard’s 1-yard QB keeper rounded out the scoring.

Notable North Carolinians

Bryant Barr (Eastern Guilford) – the graduate running back ran for a career-high 135 yards on 23 carries and one touchdown.

Lamagea McDowell (Charlotte Catholic, Hunter Huss) – the junior running back scored twice on the ground to give Campbell an early lead.

Devin Smith (Durham Riverside) – the sophomore receiver finished with five catches for 67 yards, including two touchdowns.

Isaiah Lawson (Butler) – the sophomore linebacker led the NCCU defense with 12 tackles, including a stop for a loss, with a pass break-up.

Up Next

Campbell (2-2) returns to action next Saturday with a 4:00 p.m. kickoff against Charleston Southern in its Big South Conference opener while NCCU has an open week before beginning MEAC play versus Morgan State on Thursday, October 13 on ESPNU.