Campbell and North Carolina Central both celebrated homecoming with conference victories, while the rest of our state’s FCS contingent suffered losses on Saturday.
The Camels knocked off visiting North Carolina A&T 21-7 in CAA action, while NCCU fended off Morgan State 16-7 in MEAC loop play.
In other FCS games, Western Carolina suffered its first Southern Conference loss at Mercer. Gardner-Webb pushed No. 6 Southeast Missouri to the limit before falling short. Elon struggled at Hampton, while Davidson gave up a bundle of points to Butler.
Here are recaps:
Campbell 21, North Carolina A&T 7
Sincere Brown stole the show for Campbell, hauling in 150 yards and two touchdowns on just five receptions. The Camels struck quickly, with Chad Mascoe, Jr. connecting with Brown for a 64-yard touchdown just 1:15 into the game. Mike Chandler II added a 7-yard rushing score to give Campbell a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
North Carolina A&T (1-7, 0-4 CAA) made it a one-score game in the fourth quarter with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Justin Fomby to Ger-Cari Caldwell. But Campbell responded less than a minute later when Chandler hit Brown again for a 53-yard score, putting the game out of reach.
The Campbell defense stifled A&T’s rushing attack, holding the Aggies to just 92 yards on the ground. George Wilson led the defensive effort with 2.0 sacks, while Da’Quan Johnson and Lakeem Rudolph sealed the win with interceptions on A&T’s final two drives.
For A&T, Fomby completed 20-of-40 passes for 185 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Cameren Dalrymple rushed for 75 yards on 16 carries, while Henry Daniel led the Aggies’ defense with nine tackles, including 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.
North Carolina Central 16, Morgan State 7
The No. 20/21 Eagles (6-2, 2-0 MEAC) extended their win streak to five games, fueled by a dominant defensive effort that held the Bears to just over 200 total yards.
Quarterback Walker Harris connected with Markell Quick for a 49-yard touchdown to open the scoring in the second quarter. Kaleb Robison added a third-quarter field goal, while J’Mari Taylor sealed the win with a 50-yard touchdown run in the fourth. Taylor finished the day with 196 rushing yards.
Morgan State (3-4, 0-1) briefly pulled within three after a short touchdown run by Jason Collins, but the Eagles’ defense, led by Thomas Jackson’s 3.5 tackles-for-loss and three sacks, snuffed out any chance of a comeback.
Mercer 44, Western Carolina 34
Despite another impressive performance from quarterback Cole Gonzales, the Catamounts let a key conference game get away.
Gonzales threw for 395 yards and two touchdowns, but WCU (4-4, 3-1 SoCon) couldn’t hold off a Mercer comeback after leading 24-7 late in the second quarter. The Bears (7-1, 4-1 SoCon) scored 27 unanswered points, sparked by two long touchdown runs from former Lenoir-Rhyne standout Dwayne McGee, who rushed for 223 yards.
WCU cut its deficit to 37-34 with a 44-yard field goal from Paxton Robertson, but Mercer responded with a 77-yard drive, capped by CJ Miller’s 31-yard touchdown run, to seal the win.
Southeast Missouri 30, Gardner-Webb 24
The Bulldogs (4-4) jumped to a 14-0 lead, but a series of mistakes allowed the Redhawks (7-1) to rally for 21 unanswered points and secure the win.
Graduate running back Edward Saydee led the way for the Runnin’ Bulldogs, scoring both on the ground and through the air, finishing with 52 rushing yards and a team-high 84 receiving yards. Senior Anthony Lowe added five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Wendell McClain had nine tackles and an interception, while Robert Holtz recorded two sacks.
Gardner-Webb capitalized on two early interceptions from SEMO quarterback Paxton DeLaurent, with Saydee and Lowe scoring to build a 14-0 advantage. However, SEMO responded with 21 straight points and took a 21-14 lead into halftime after Gardner-Webb’s promising drive ended with a costly interception at the 2-yard line.
After a late field goal put SEMO up 30-24, Gardner-Webb had one last chance to complete the upset, but another interception ended the game.
Hampton 41, Elon 21
A week after defeating an FCS playoff team, Elon struggled on the road. Despite a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Matthew Downing, the Phoenix (4-4, 3-2 CAA) were undone by turnovers and a stifling Pirates defense that held them to -28 rushing yards (including sacks).
Elon cut Hampton’s lead to 17-14 in the second quarter with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Chandler Brayboy and a 1-yard rushing score by Rushawn Baker. Downing briefly gave Elon a 21-20 lead early in the third quarter with a 70-yard strike to Onuma Dieke, but Hampton (5-3, 4-1 CAA) responded with three unanswered touchdowns to pull away.
The Phoenix lost two fumbles and couldn’t establish a ground game, while Hampton’s Tymere Robinson powered the Pirates with three rushing touchdowns.
Butler 48, Davidson 38
Davidson’s pursuit of a Pioneer Football League championship took a major hit Saturday as the Wildcats fell at home. For the second straight week, the Wildcats gave up 48 points, but unlike the Stetson game on Oct. 19 (a 70-48 win), they couldn’t generate enough points to overcome the high score.
Butler (6-2, 2-2 PFL) jumped out to a 14-0 lead, and although Davidson (5-3, 3-2 PFL) cut the margin to four points in the second quarter, the Bulldogs pulled away before halftime, leading 28-17 at the break. Butler extended the lead to 38-17 in the third quarter. Despite a late rally led by quarterback Luke Durkin’s two second-half touchdown passes, Davidson couldn’t close the gap.
Mari Adams led the Wildcats with 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Brody Reina caught five passes for 118 yards. Durkin finished 9-of-14 for 155 yards and two scores.
