Braxton Harris carried a heavy heart as he addressed the media Saturday afternoon in Buies Creek. His Campbell football team had once again gone toe-to-toe with a respected FCS opponent, only to come up a play or two shy of turning progress into payoff.
The Camels fought Furman wire to wire, trading blows with a Paladin program that is a regular contender in the Southern Conference. Seven lead changes kept the Barker-Lane Stadium crowd engaged deep into the final minutes, and Campbell had the ball at the 10-yard line with a chance to win.
But a fourth-down sack ended the Camels’ last-gasp drive, sealing a 28-24 defeat and dropping Campbell to 0-3.
“My heart hurt for (our players) because as a young generation we know that if you do things right you can have a chance to be successful in life,” Harris said. “The younger generation I think they’re waiting to see if that stuff that we talked about – being tough, being on time, being where you’re supposed to be, doing things the right way – I think they’re waiting to see, is it true?”
Little mistakes, big impact
While Campbell played a turnover-free and relatively penalty-free game Saturday, a few miscues, seemingly small in the moment, came back to haunt them in the end.
The first came after Furman’s first touchdown in the second quarter. Campbell was whistled for offsides on the PAT attempt. Furman opted to go for two at the 1-yard line instead of kicking and the try was successful – putting the Paladins ahead 11-7.
Campbell seemed to be chasing that one extra point the rest of the day, needing a touchdown on that final drive instead of a game-tying field goal.
The second miscue came on Furman’s final go-ahead drive in the fourth-quarter. The Camels held a 24-21 lead and had stopped the Paladins short of a first down on 3rd-and-long. But a penalty for an illegal substitution on a punt attempt gave Furman new life at its own 26. Six plays later quarterback Trey Hedden hit a wide open Evan James for a 30-yard touchdown.
Harris took the full blame for the crucial penalty.
“We had 12 guys on the field on punt return,” he said. “That’s my fault a hundred percent – that’s a hundred percent me as the head football coach and my heart breaks that I feel like I hurt our kids from winning a ballgame tonight because I wasn’t very good at my job.”
Bright Spots In Buies Creek
Despite the loss, Saturday provided plenty of encouragement for a program still searching for its breakthrough.
Kamden Sixkiller provided steady play at quarterback, completing 34-of-43 passes for 294 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. He also extended drives with his legs, grinding out a key first down while dragging defenders in the first half and making two clutch conversions on the final march.
“He’s just going to continue to get better,” Harris said. “He made the plays with his feet. He kept some plays alive. He’s a redshirt sophomore.
He’s still really young in this process and we got to do a good job coaching him.”
JJ Cowan, the former Triton High standout, gave the home crowd plenty to cheer with 53 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Finally back to full health, he looked every bit the workhorse back Harris envisioned when the season began.
“He’s our bell cow in the backfield, and the thing about JJ that you love is that the first guy is not usually gonna tackle JJ,” Harris said. “Usually it’s gonna be a second and third, and he does it consistently play-in and play-out. We are really excited about him continuing to get healthy and to continue to see how he can continue to grow in our offense.”
Randall King caught 13 passes for 105 yards and a score. In all, the Camels outgained the Paladins 389-384, had more first downs (24-23), didn’t turn the ball over, converted four of five red-zone chances and dominated possession by about five minutes.
A Program on the Verge
For Campbell, Saturday was another reminder of how thin the margins are in college football. The Camels didn’t make many mistakes, but the ones they did make came at pivotal moments. Still, they showed once more that they can line up with established powers like Rhode Island and Furman and play them straight up.
“Nothing feels real positive right now,” Harris admitted. “But credit to our kids. I think they’re doing things the right way.”
What’s Next
Campbell will look to turn progress into payoff this weekend when Bryant, a new member of the CAA, visits Barker-Lane Stadium for a night game. The Bulldogs (2-1) are coming off a 42-6 win over Division II Bentley and own an FBS victory over UMass this fall.
The Camels haven’t won since last October’s 21-7 victory over North Carolina A&T. With two straight home games ahead, Harris’ group has a chance to finally see their hard work rewarded on the scoreboard.
But the scoreboard is the final arbiter of a game, and alas the Camels have to wait at least another week to win that battle.
“Right now nothing feels real positive. Nothing feels real good,” Harris said. “But I say credit to our kids. I think they’re doing things the right way.”
