BUIES CREEK, NC – Stetson junior Jeb Boudreaux scooped up a blocked field goal in overtime Saturday evening and raced toward the Campbell goal line.
 
After running as hard as his exhausted body would run for 85 yards, a pair of Camels jumped on Boudreaux's back inside the five-yard line. Running just as hard on the play was senior Donald Payne, who blocked the field goal attempt and ran with Boudreaux toward the end zone.
 
With the end zone within reach, Boudreaux lateralled the ball to Payne, who covered the final two yards to paydirt, giving the Hatters a 30-24 victory in the program's first ever overtime game.
 
The Hatters improved to 4-3 overall on the year with the win while also evening their record at 2-2 in Pioneer Football League play. Stetson is a perfect 3-0 on the road this season, all in homecoming games. The Camels fell to 3-3 overall, 1-2 in league play despite playing in front of a Barker-Lane Stadium record crowd of 6,673 fans.
 
"You couldn't draw up any better kind of win," senior defensive tackle Davion Belk, who finished with six tackles, four for loss including a sack that forced a fumble in the end zone that Shayne White recovered for Stetson's first touchdown. "This is just crazy. If you told me the game was going to end like that before we started, I would have said there is no way in a million years."
 
Boudreaux said he knew he had to get to the end zone because, late in the fourth quarter, it was a roughing the passer penalty against him that negated a Stetson interception and allowed the Camels to score twice in the final 2:13 of regulation to force the game into overtime.
 
"In my mind, I kept thinking throughout the last few minutes of the game that, if we lost, it was going to be my fault for the roughing the passer penalty that I had," Boudreaux said. "That kept the drive alive for them and they ended up scoring. I realized that I had an opportunity to make it better and I wasn't going to let anything stop me."
 
Boudreaux, who finished with eight tackles, including one for loss, said he was running on fumes at the end of the game.
 
"I was cramping in both legs and dog-tired," Boudreaux said. "I could see Donald running with me and blocking for me and when I felt them touch me, I knew where he was and I knew I couldn't quit on the play because I didn't want it to be my fault if we lost."
 
The night belonged to Payne despite the fact that he was almost knocked out of action on the very first play of the game. On the opening kickoff, Payne was blind-sided by a Campbell player and lost feeling in his left arm. Despite a stinger that caused him to miss most of the Camels' opening possession, he had a huge impact on the game.
 
Payne finished the game with a game-high 13 tackles, including two and half for loss with a sack. The 13 stops give him 502 tackles in his career, making him just the 14^th player in NCAA history to reach the 500 tackle plateau.
 
But it was his effort on the final play of the game that will go down in Stetson football history.
 
"Once we got into overtime, we knew we were going to see what we are made of," Payne said. "Once we got them into the field goal, I told Jackie (Johnson) that I was getting this one. I came off the edge as hard as I could, got through the blocks and put my arms up. The ball just happened to hit me straight in the arm.
 
"When I saw Jeb pick up the ball, I knew he is one of the fastest guys on our defense and he had a chance to take it to the house. I tried to lead him to the promised land by blocking all I could. He got it all the way to the three-yard line when people jumped on his back. When that happened, he tossed the ball with all his might and I just happened to be right there to catch it and run it into the end zone. It is probably the greatest play I have ever been a part of. To win the game, that is the craziest thing that has ever happened to me."
 
Hatters coach Roger Hughes said it was the most amazing finish he has ever witnessed.
 
"I thought I had seen a lot in football, but I have never seen anything like that in my life," Hughes said. "We made plenty of mistakes that made that game a lot closer than it should have been. Still, we were able to find a way to win. Last week, in the same situation, we found a way to lose. I am really proud of them for finding a way to make it happen tonight."
 
With Payne on the sideline, Campbell marched 71 yards in 16 plays to open the game, but the Hatters stiffened when they had their backs to the wall and forced the Camels to settle for a 21-yard Mitchell Brown field goal.
 
Stetson had no luck on its first possession and, after punting the ball back to Campbell, the Hatters were gashed by Camels senior running back De'Shawn Jones for runs of 40 and 48 yards, pushing the early deficit to 10-0.
 
That was where the Stetson defense said enough. The next 13 Campbell possessions ended with punts or turnovers and produced a total of 58 yards of offense.
 
"We just took a little while to get started," Belk said. "We came out a little slow. We wanted to come out and punch them in the mouth, because that is what we do. We are a physical defense and it never gets in our head when the other team scores. We just get after them even harder."
 
It was Belk who sacked Campbell quarterback Anthony Robbins, in for injured starter Elijah Burress, in the end zone, stripping the ball free in the process, that got the Hatters on the board. White recovered for the touchdown, cutting the Campbell lead to 10-7.
 
That was where things stayed until the third quarter when another big play on defense set the Hatters up in Campbell territory. Senior David Lazear stripped backup running back Jared Joyner, recovering at the Campbell 22. With freshman Cole Martin in at quarterback for injured starter Gaven DeFilippo, the Hatters needed just three plays to cover the 22 yards. Martin hooked up with tight end Donald Parham for a 14-yard TD pass and a 14-10 Stetson lead.
 
The lead grew to 21-10 later in the third quarter when Cole Mazza scored on a four-yard run to cap a seven-play, 72-yard drive. The Hatters added to that advantage early in the fourth quarter when Grant Amick connected on a 19-yard field goal after Stetson was stopped on third down at the Campbell two.
 
That lead appeared to be safe when Campbell got the ball with 5:18 left to play. After failing to move the ball since early in the game, the Camels turned their fortunes over to Robbins, who completed seven of eight passes to move the ball to the Stetson 20.
 
Consecutive incomplete passes brought up a third down and what appeared to be a game-clinching interception in the end zone by Glenn Adesoji. However, the pick was overturned because of a late hit on Robbins by Boudreaux. On second down after the penalty, Robbins connected with Trey Sanders for a touchdown with 2:13 left on the game clock.
 
The Hatters were able to maintain an eight-point lead, 24-16, because the Camels missed the extra point kick.
 
"Throughout the game I was getting through, but I was just missing it," Payne said of the Campbell kicks. "When it gets down to the end of the game, you have to find a way to get through. You have to give an extra 25 percent, and that is what I did on that final kick."
 
Campbell still had to get the ball back and score again, and the Hatters helped out. After failing to pick up a first down, the punt team ran on the field with only one directive – don't get the punt blocked.
 
The Camels apparently didn't get the message, blocking Eric Fogle's kick and recovering at the Stetson 27 with 1:11 left to play. Robbins again went to work, completing four of five passes, including a six-yard completion to Aaron Blockmon for a touchdown with 11 seconds left. That same duo hooked up again on the two-point conversion pass to tie the game and force overtime.
 
"When we got the punt blocked, they called time out, but then we tried to go race horse on them and run out there and snap it quickly before they could get set," Hughes said. "Our long snapper snapped the ball before anyone called for it, so we weren't ready and it got blocked, and that give them a chance to get back in the game."
 
Despite the drama at the end of the game, the Hatters never gave up.
 
"This program is changing," Payne said. "We started at the beginning of the year about changing the culture, and this was one of those culture-changing moments. With the game on the line, making that play to ruin someone's homecoming, and being able to do it as a total team effort. The offense held us up and we held them up, just feeding off each other. The support we have for each other on the sideline is just tremendous. We could see the culture changing during this game."
 
The Hatters will try to continue their remarkable run of road game success next weekend when they go back on the road to close out October. Stetson will make its first trip to Ohio to face the Dayton Flyers, who improved to 5-2 on the year, 4-1 in league play, with a 31-16 victory over Butler.
 
That game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.