Buies Creek, NC – It took almost 60 full minutes of playing time before the Stetson defense was able to produce a turnover against the Campbell offense.
But that one turnover came at exactly the right time to secure the Hatters 28-24 victory over the Camels at damp and dreary Berker-Lane Stadium. Stetson improved to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in Pioneer Football League play with the victory while dropping Campbell to 4-5 overall, 4-2 in the PFL.
After trailing from almost the very first minute of the game, the Hatters took the lead with 4:03 left on the clock when Ryan Tentler connected with Rob Coggin for a 37-yard touchdown pass on a fourth down play with the game hanging in the balance.
After the score, the Camels started at their own 15 and, as they had done for much of the game, started a methodical drive down the field. After 13 plays, and with no timeouts left and time running out, Campbell quarterback Dakota Wolf tried to play the hero, but Ryan Powers denied him that chance.
The play was so emotional for the Hatters that Powers wasn't sure what happened after the game.
“I really don't know what happened,” Powers said. “I think Donald knocked the ball out and it just popped up. I just had to snag it out of the air. There was so much going through my head, but it feels good to get the win.”
It was no surprise that Donald Payne was around the ball on the clinching play – he was certainly around it enough all afternoon. Just two weeks after setting a new school record with 21 tackles against Jacksonville, Payne bested that mark with 27 against the Camels.
“We were in a robber coverage and I was just playing over the top to rob anything the quarterback threw over the middle,” Payne said. “I bit on the tight end and he threw the ball a little bit out of my reach. I bumped the guy and Ryan was there to make the play. I told Ryan that I got a hand on the ball, and I think I did, but he was in position to make the play.”
That play put an end to the Camels' offense for the day. Campbell controlled the ball for more than 39 minutes on the clock, producing drives of 11 (twice), 13 and 14 plays. For Stetson, after the Camels jumped out to a 21-7 lead early, the only points the Hatters allowed after the opening quarter came on a third quarter field goal.
Every other time the Camels had the ball, the Hatters turned them away.
“That is what our defense has become – a bend but don't break kind of deal,” Stetson head coach Roger Hughes said, “We didn't run the ball as effectively as we wanted to. There were some things with the quarterback run that worked early. The bottom line is scoring points, and I will take first in scoring defense every time, regardless of where we get the ball once they are done.”
The offense for Stetson fell on the shoulders of the quarterback. Despite playing with a sore shoulder, Tentler made just the one major mistake and finished the game passing for 245 yards and three touchdowns and also running for 91 yards.
“Ryan played a good second half and found a way to get it done,” Hughes said.
The game got off to as bad a start as possible for Stetson when, on the third snap of the game, Tentler was intercepted by Brandon Mobley. The Camels' junior cornerback returned the pick 40 yards for a Campbell touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.
Tentler said that he didn't let that early mistake bother him.
“Adversity is the best thing we have,” Tentler said. “Every time we get down, or something goes wrong, we play better. With everything that has gone on this year, we are used to it. We have to find a way to not have it happen.”
Stetson answered after getting the ball back, with Tentler sandwiching passes to Kegan Moore – one for 22 yards and the second for 10 and a touchdown – around a 55 yard run. Grant Amick's PAT knotted the score at 7-7.
Tentler said he kept looking for Moore, who finished with three receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns, even though he had a couple of early drops.
“Kegan has a hurt hand,” Tentler said. “The one ball he dropped early was a little high and I talked to him about it on the sideline. He told me that it would be easier for him if the ball was in his chest. We knew that his hard was hurt and that it would be hard for him to catch the ball when it was high.
The Camels finally got their offense on the field after the Stetson score and, guided by the return of senior quarterback Dakota Wolf, drove 77 yards in 11 plays, with Wolf covering the final two on a QB keeper.
Campbell pushed its lead to 21-7 on its next possession, riding the legs of running back Akile Jones, who had three carries for 35 yards before Wolf hit Jabri Ridenhour with a 10-yard TD pass. The PAT gave the Camels a 21-7 lead late in the first quarter.
From there, the Stetson defense took over. The Hatters held Campbell to just 28 yards of total offense in the second quarter to keep the Camels at bay.
“As a defense, we know that sometimes we are going to be on the field a lot,” defensive end Davion Belk said. “Today, the offense didn't get off to a fast start, but that is OK. As a team, we know that we have to have each others backs, and that is something that we have really focused on.”
Stetson drew to within seven points early in the second quarter when Cole Mazza capped a quick 80-yard scoring drive with a three-yard TD run. Tentler opened the drive with a 28-yard run, and then threw to Austin Marks for a 21-yard gain before Dre Long ran 27 yards to the Campbell 3 to set up the score.
That was where the game stayed for the rest of the first half. The Hatters defense held Campbell to just 28 yards of offense in the second quarter.
After halftime, the Hatters took a calculated gamble by giving up the wind in the third quarter. The move paid off later in the game.
“We made sure that we had the wind for the fourth quarter, so we kicked into the wind for the third quarter, knowing that they would have good field position,” Hughes said. “They utilized that, but we got out of by only allowing a little bit of scoring. We felt that, going to the fourth quarter with the wind at our backs we would have a chance.”
Campbell ran 23 plays in the third quarter, piling up 111 yards, but managed just a 23-yard Mitchell Brown field goal for their efforts. The Hatters, meanwhile, had just four offensive plays on two possessions. The first possession was a three-and-out, but the second was a one-play bolt of lightning as Tentler hit Moore on a post pattern for an 80-yard touchdown.
With only the four receivers – Moore, Chris Crawford, Ryan Selimos and Darius McGriff – on the trip, Tentler said they had a little edge going into the game.
“All of the receivers came into this week with a chip on their shoulders,” Tentler said. “They were challenged by the coaches, who told them they would not be able to help the team at all this week. They took that and used it as motivation today.”
Still down by three in the final quarter, the Hatters drove into scoring position once, but a long field goal attempt by Amick went wide right with 7:25 to play, leaving the Stetson offense on the sideline.
The defense, however, didn't give Campbell's offense a chance to run out the clock. The Hatters forced the Camels to punt into that wind after just three plays, giving Stetson the ball at the Hatters' 38 with 5:20 left.
Tentler said he didn't feel any extra pressure going out for that last drive.
“Personally, I wasn't thinking about the scoreboard,” Tentler said. “I was treating it as if it was the first drive of the game. I didn't listen to the crowd or anyone. Our offensive line was so excited when we got the ball back – they were ready to go.”
Tentler hooked up with McGriff for a 20-yard gain on first down but, after back-to-back incompletions and a five-yard pass to Crawford, Stetson faced fourth and five at the Campbell 37.
“On the fourth down, the o-line held up for me for about five seconds,” Tentler said. “I didn't have anywhere to go with the ball, but then I looked downfield and I saw Cole was open, Austin was open and Rob was open. My only thought was on which one would score a touchdown. I threw the ball to Rob and he was able to get his first touchdown of the year.”
Hughes said the play was one he had been saving.
“We had two tight ends in the game, and that was a play that we had been saving for the second half,” Hughes said. “I felt that it was the right time to call it. It didn't happen like it was drawn up, but Ryan was able to make a play.”
Making plays was something Payne, Powers and Belk did on the defensive side of the ball all day. In addition to his 27 tackles, Payne had two tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Powers also had a career-high with 11 tackles, including one for loss and the game clinching interception while Belk finished one tackle shy of his career-best with 10, but added 1.5 sacks and another hurry.
“We were able to get some pressure on him, but I was mostly interested in making sure that I did my job and do what is best for the team,” Belk said. “Any time we can get a sack, or get some pressure on them, that is good because it makes them move around a little and worry about where the next sack is coming from.”
Even with the victory celebration ongoing, the Hatters had already started to think about next week. While Stetson has won two straight for the first time, the Hatters are winless at home this year and with Marist coming in as the homecoming foe, the players and coaches know they will have their hands full.
“It is definitely emotional for everyone,” Coggin said of the win. “We hadn't won two games in a row before, so everyone is excited. But, come Monday, we have to go back to work to get ready for Homecoming.”
Hughes said the win is gratifying, but he is not satisfied.
“I am happy for the players because they have worked very hard and continue to do what we have asked them to do with very little reward,” Hughes said. “Now that we are experiencing some reward, I hope they enjoy it. I won't let myself enjoy it until the end of the season because we still have three games left. Marist is a big game because they are on a roll themselves. We just have to find a way to play well at home, and we haven't done that yet.”
