Barton College restarted its football program in 2020 after a 70-year hiatus.
The Bulldogs engineered one of their most monumental wins since the restart on Friday night, defeating Davidson 33-31 on the road. The Wildcats, who play at the Division I FCS level, had won 13 straight home games dating back to spring 2021 — and seven consecutive home openers.
Barton junior Jordan Terrell scored what would be the game-winning touchdown on a 13-yard run with 5:57 left. The clinching scoring drive covered 10 plays and 83 yards.
Barton, which competes in the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Conference, improved to 2-0 and served notice that it aims to be reckoned with in the SAC Piedmont Division this season.
Terrell and junior quarterback Jaquan Lynch both rushed for two touchdowns. Lynch threw for another score, piling up 285 passing yards and 330 total yards on the evening. Terrell crossed the 4,000-yard rushing mark for his career with a 140-yard effort.
Davidson, coming off an FCS playoff season, dropped to 0-2. The Wildcats, who struggled to move the ball in their opener at VMI last week, posted more Davidson-like rushing stats Friday. The top running team in the FCS a year ago, the Wildcats finished with 331 yards on the ground. The ‘Cats averaged 6.5 yards per carry.
Davidson led 14-0 early and held a 21-7 advantage after one quarter. Sam Hedrick hauled in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Coulter Cleland to start the scoring. Sam Valor and Mason Sheron then added TD runs of 4 and 6 yards, respectively.
But Barton tacked on three TDs in the second period — two from Lynch and one from Terrell — to take a 27-21 halftime advantage. A Sheron 1-yard scoring run put Davidson back in front. Adam Zouagui added a Wildcat field goal from 35 yards for a 31-27 lead.
The Bulldogs first play on the game-winning drive actually went backwards. A holding penalty pushed the ball back to the 9-yard line. But Terrell ripped off a 13-yard run to get his team back on schedule. A 47-yard strike from Lynch to Jacquez Durham put the Bulldogs well into Davidson territory. Durham hauled in four passes for 141 yards on the night.
A Kermit Solomon interception thwarted what would be Davidson’s final series with 2:54 left. Barton killed the clock and then fans and players who made the trip from Wilson rushed the field to celebrate.
Mari Adams led Davidson’s rushing attack with 115 yards on 19 carries. Keno Jones and Dereck Barringer earned 12 tackles each for the Barton defense.
Davidson beat Barton 37-17 in last season’s home opener. This week’s rematch had been scheduled for Saturday but was moved up due to the threat of severe weather.
NEXT: Both teams jump into conference play. Barton hosts UVA Wise on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 4 p.m. Davidson travels to Marist for a 1 p.m. kick.
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