A pair of third quarter possessions for visiting Campbell made all the difference on Saturday as the visiting Camels rallied for a 16-6 victory over Stetson at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium.
Campbell (4-3 overall, 2-2 in the Pioneer Football League) used an 11-play drive on their Camels' first possession of the second half to wrestle the lead away from Stetson (1-5, 0-4) and then connected on a big play on their next possession to put the game away.
“Overall, we didn't make enough plays to win the game,” Hatters coach Roger Hughes said. “Credit Campbell because, when the game was on the line, they made the plays to win the game.”
The Hatters took a 6-3 lead in the first half on the strength of a pair of Grant Amick field goals. The first came from 40-yards on Stetson's first possession of the game. The second came with 50 seconds left in the half from 37 yards.
“We were in a good mood at halftime,” junior safety Donald Payne said. “We had the lead and we knew it was going to be a low-scoring game. We knew they had a good defense and we have a good defense. It was literally going to be about who didn't give up the big play.
“After halftime, we came out and they drove it right down to take the lead, then they beat us with the deep ball, even though we thought there should have been pass interference on the offense.”
Stetson held Campbell to just 44 rushing yards in the first half, but the Camels found some success in the second half by using the wildcat formation with tight end Austin Fleming and running back DeShawn Jones taking direct snaps.
The result was the Camels finished with 351 yards of total offense, including 158 on the ground, while the Hatters managed just 183.
“Offensively, our execution is very inconsistent and it seems like every time we do get something going we shoot ourselves in the foot with a penalty or a missed block,” Hughes said. “We didn't get our run game going effectively, which we have to do to control the clock.
“Defensively, we played really well for most of the game. We gave up two or three deep balls that were the difference in the game. We are not getting the offensive execution in the manner we need to have a chance to win games.”
Campbell had converted just twice on third down in the first half, but the Camels converted two times on their first scoring drive of the third quarter, the second time on third and 14 when the Hatters had a chance to get off the field.
Two plays later, Campbell quarterback Kameron Bryant connected with Ricky Brown for a 27-yard gain to inside the Stetson five. Jones then punched it in two plays later for the score to give Campbell a 9-6 lead, which stayed at three points after Stetson's Davion Belk blocked the PAT.
The Hatters appeared poised to get back into scoring position on their next possession when Ryan Tentler connected with Mike Yonker for a 12-yard gain to midfield. The drive stopped right there, however, as the Campbell defensive line got to Tentler behind the line on consecutive plays, forcing a punt.
“We'll have a good drive going and we'll get a penalty, or someone will run the wrong route or I make the wrong read or make a bad throw,” Tentler said. “I have to take the blame for that because I am the leader of the offense. These guys have been around me for three years and we should be progressing, but we are not.”
Following the punt, Bryant looked to go deep on the first play, and he connected with Damon Simmons, who won a wrestling match with Eric Martin, for a 72-yard score. There was a flag on the field during the play, but the call went against the Hatters.
“In my opinion, there was no interference by Eric, in fact I thought it was the other way and the receiver pushed off,” Hughes said. “When they threw the flag, I thought it was offensive interference.”
On the next Stetson possession, Tentler was knocked from the game on a late hit by Jack Ryan that was flagged for a personal foul. Ryan was ejected for targeting, and Tentler went to the locker room to get a gash in his chin stitched up. While he was out, freshman Colin McGovern came in and threw and interception to end another chance for the Hatters to score.
With just six minutes left in the game, the Hatters still felt as if they had a chance after Campbell made a mistake on special teams, giving Stetson the ball at the Camels 31 yard line. Tentler ran for 10 yards for a first down at the Camels 20, but that run was followed by a pair of incompletions on throws to Darian Wright and Chris Crawford, a false start penalty and then back-to-back sacks by the Camels.
“We had some short fields and some opportunities and, with six minutes left we got the ball down to the 30 going in and I thought we had a shot,” Hughes said. “Then we get a motion penalty to put us behind the chains and then take a couple of sacks. At that time, we couldn't get in the protection, so we tried to move the pocket and get Ryan outside because it was fourth and forever.”
Campbell took over from that point and ran out the rest of the clock to secure the victory.
Bryant, who played most of the game with a sore hamstring from an early run, complete 14-of-24 passes for 193 yards and the one touchdown. He also ran for 26 yards despite being sacked three times.
Tentler completed just 8-of-23 passes for 95 yards, including 2-of-9 for 22 yards in the second half. He rushed for a team-high 37 yards on 17 carries.
“Clearly, we need more production,” Hughes said. “We need more consistency in the offensive line and we have to be able to run the ball better. It is a combination of things. We have to get better production out of the quarterback position. He is the one who distributes the ball and takes the blame or glory, depending on the situation.
“We haven't done a good job of placing the ball where the receivers can catch it. When we do put the ball in the right place, sometimes the receivers make the plays, and sometimes they didn't. The last three drives we needed to make some crucial catches, and we didn't do that.”
On the defensive side, Payne led the way with 17 tackles, giving him 62 tackles in three career games against the Camels.
“In the locker room right now, we are the point where we don't know what to change,” Payne said. “We are on a five-game losing streak and we are looking for that game that will turn this around.
“On Monday, we are going to have to have a heart-to-heart with ourselves and determine how we are going to get there. We have to start over on Monday and put this five-game losing streak behind us. We have to take it one game at a time and finish strong.”
On Campbell's defensive side, Ugonna Awuruonye recorded six tackles as part of a Camels defense that recorded five sacks and 11 total tackles for loss. The 6-5, 260-pound senior's presence was a big part of the Hatters' offensive struggles.
“It was hard to get around him, but it was not impossible,” Tentler said. “He is a great athlete and reminds me a little of Terrance Day from Marist. They had athletic guys and their coaches had them coached up well. They knew some of our plays while we were calling them. It is hard to move the ball when they knew what we were going to do.”
The Hatters will try to snap their losing skid next Saturday when they travel to face Valparaiso for the first time. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
