Davidson ended a 12-game losing streak that dated back more than 50 years. Chowan and North Carolina Wesleyan produced 400-yard passers. An Elon linebacker made national headlines with a career-high tackling performance, while Campbell cracked the Top 25 for the first time ever.
Week 3 of the North Carolina small-college football season is in the books, and from a statistical and headline-generating standpoint, this might be the most dynamic Saturday of games yet.
Let’s get right to the awards and recognitions. To review all of the final scores and major storylines from the weekend, visit our Week 3 North Carolina College Scoreboard.
Duke is on a Roll… NC State's EZ Fumble… UNC Fizzles in Death Valley… and dealing with rain delays + we remember Shawn Clark a year after his passing with his college OL coach, Stacy Searels #61Initiative
WATCH https://t.co/WDhUzKiuHz
LISTEN https://t.co/lSl8qCrXg9
READ… pic.twitter.com/iZx5P6ydtn — NORTH CAROLINA SPORTS NETWORK (@TheNCSportsNet) September 21, 2026
Small-College Team of the Week: Davidson Wildcats
Christos Tzoumakas hit a 25-yard field goal in overtime, and Davidson clipped VMI 27-24 on Saturday afternoon. The victory proved the Wildcats’ first over a scholarship Division I program since 1981 and ended a streak of 12 consecutive losses to VMI dating back to 1972.
Davidson improved to 2-2 overall, equaling the number of wins the program earned all of last season.
Quarterback Casey Bullock picked up Pioneer Football League offensive player of the week honors, throwing for 288 yards, rushing for another 104 and accounting for three touchdowns.
Safety Hayden Bender earned PFL defensive player of the week recognition. He picked off a pass in the third quarter and forced a VMI fumble in overtime – recovered by teammate Hayden Meese – to seal the victory.
VMI had tied the game 24-24 with a 75-yard touchdown play from Ian Reynolds to Halim Hardnett with 38 seconds left. Not to be deterred, the Wildcats stepped up in overtime, building momentum for conference play, which starts this weekend with a home game against Drake.
Hudson Altenburg paced Davidson’s defense with nine tackles. Jacary Lightsey caught five passes for 102 yards and a score.
Honorable Mention
UNC Pembroke had one of the biggest D2 wins of the season on Saturday, defeating No. 9 Valdosta State 44-41. Quarterback Josh Ehrlich had another monster performance for the Braves, throwing for 285 yards and two scores, while rushing for 100 yards and one touchdown.
UNCP has now won its last three meetings with Valdosta State – all while the Blazers owned a national ranking. The Braves blitzed the Blazers 31-0 last season.
Also,
- Campbell (3-1) jumped into the national Top 25 for the first time after beating North Carolina A&T 42-14. The Camels’ only loss was to FBS Florida.
- Chowan earned its first shutout in a decade, 34-0 over Barton
- Western Carolina earned the high score of the week en route to a 58-14 win over Presbyterian.
- Brevard, a non-scholarship Division III program, topped D2 Erskine 24-13. The victory marked the 50th for head coach Bill Khayat, who is in his 10th season with the Tornados. Brevard held Erskine to six rushing yards, seven total first downs and 160 total yards.
- Johnson C. Smith beat rival Fayetteville State, scoring the winning touchdown in the final minute for the second year in a row.
Player of the Week: Tyler Adkins, Chowan QB
Chowan’s Tyler Adkins had the most prolific passing performance of the season among North Carolina small-college quarterbacks on Saturday, throwing for 465 yards and two touchdowns in the Hawks’ 34-0 win over Barton. It was the second highest passing total in Chowan program history.
Adkins, a senior from Martinsville, IN, finished 27-of-47 without an interception. His touchdown throws went to Dezmond Randolph (20 yards) and Terrell Jackson (41 yards).
Adkins spread the ball around to seven different receivers. Randolph proved his favorite target, hauling in 10 catches for 181 yards. Jackson added six catches for 94 yards, while Amir Alexander made five grabs for 93 yards.
Adkins transferred to Chowan this season from Aurora University. Already this season he has 1,224 passing yards and seven TD throws against two interceptions.
Chowan, which has a bye this weekend, improved to 2-2 with the win, 1-0 in Conference Carolinas play.
Week 3 Honor Roll
Offense
- Kamden Sixkiller (Campbell) – 23-of-25 passing for 341 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception in a 42-14 win over North Carolina A&T. Sixkiller has the top single-game completion percentage in FCS (92 percent) so far this season. CAA Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
- JJ Cowan (Campbell) – 134 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns – including a school-record 90-yard scoring jaunt in the first quarter.
- Jyron Waiters (Campbell) – 7 catches for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 70-yard reception.
- Josh Perry (Western Carolina) – 16 carries for 142 yards and touchdowns on runs of 3, 62 and 14 yards against Presbyterian. Perry averaged 8.9 yards per attempt. SoCon Offensive Player of the Week.
- Casey Bullock (Davidson) – 288 yards passing, 2 TD passes, 104 yards rushing, 1 rushing TD in a 27-24 overtime win over VMI. PFL Offensive Player of the Week
- Elijah Guttman (Elon) – The redshirt freshman accounted for 152 yards of offense and all three touchdowns (1 passing, 2 rushing) in his first collegiate start. CAA Rookie of the Week.
- Braden Selvage (North Carolina Wesleyan) – Completed 36-of-50 passes for 416 yards and one touchdown in the Battling Bishops’ 24-17 loss at Sewanee.
- Tyson Resper (North Carolina Wesleyan) – Caught 16 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown, one of the top receiving performances of the season in North Carolina at any level.
- Josh Ehrlich (UNC Pembroke) – Accounted for 385 yards and three touchdowns in the Braves’ upset of nationally ranked Valdosta State. Conference Carolinas Offensive Player of the Week
- Fabian Duncan (Johnson C. Smith) – Enjoyed his fourth 100-yard game of the season, carrying 31 times for 157 yards in the Golden Bulls’ win over Fayetteville State. Duncan now has 610 yards through four contests.
- Xavier Jackson (Wingate) – Caught eight passes for 162 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ 25-22 loss to Newberry. He had a 50-yard TD catch late in the fourth quarter to keep the game close.
Another record setting day = another @CAAFootball player of the week honor for 6️⃣#FightAsONE | #RollHumps 🐪🏈 pic.twitter.com/fkiUI1YxkW — Campbell Football (@GoCamelsFB) September 21, 2026
Defense
- Brodie Carroll (Elon) – Career-high 16 tackles, including 11 solos, one sack and two pass breakups in a 24-21 win over Sacred Heart. His 16 tackles are the most by a CAA player this season. Stats Perform FCS National Player of the Week, CAA Defensive Player of the Week
- Tre Yanez (Gardner-Webb) – 12 tackles, 2.0 tackles-for-loss, 1 sack and 1 quarterback hurry in the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ 44-20 win over North Carolina Central. Yanez leads the Ohio Valley Conference in tackles-per-game (10.8). OVC Defensive Player of the Week.
- Joshua Truesdale (North Carolina Central) – Earned 17 tackles, including 12 solos, in the loss at Gardner-Webb.
Special Teams
- Bryan McCollum (Western Carolina) – Kicked field goals of 39, 45 and 27 yards and went 7-for-7 on PATs for 16 kicker points in a win over Presbyterian. SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week.
- Tyler Simpson (Gardner-Webb) – Made three field goals (27, 21, 42 yards) and was a perfect 4-for-4 on PATs to finish with 13 kicker points in Gardner-Webb’s 44-20 triumph over NCCU. OVC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week.
- Luke Barnes (Elon) – Hit a 52-yard game-winning field goal with 1:19 left to give Elon a 24-21 conference win over newcomer Sacred Heart. Barnes had missed a 34-yarder earlier in the fourth quarter.
- Jared Navidad (UNC Pembroke) – Kicked field goals of 25, 36 and 32 yards along with hitting all five PATs for 14 points in the Braves’ win over Valdosta State.
Also Notable
- Gardner-Webb defensive lineman Zalen Watkins made an impact on both sides of the ball in the NCCU win, recording two tackles and quarterback hurry, while also rushing twice and scoring on a 1-yard run.
- Western Carolina piled up 659 yards of total offense in its 58-14 rout of Presbyterian. The Catamounts threw for 334 yards, rushed for 325 and picked up 32 first downs.
- Campbell held North Carolina A&T return specialist Elijah Kennedy to just two yards on two punt returns and 13 yards on one kick return. Kennedy had burned the Camels for two long-yardage return TDs in 2025.
- Elon’s Brodie Carroll has now earned at least 10 tackles in five straight CAA games. The linebacker proved crucial on Sacred Heart’s final drive, breaking up a pass and recording three stops as Elon kept the Pioneers from getting into field goal range late.
- Mars Hill’s defense held Lenoir-Rhyne to 16 rushing yards in 24 attempts in a 15-7 win on Saturday night. The Lions (3-0) also recorded seven sacks and picked off two passes.
- Chowan’s 34-0 win over visiting Barton was the program’s first shutout since November 2016.
- Fayetteville State punter Abdoulazim Bayor hit a 71-yarder against Johnson C. Smith. He averaged 47.0 yards on four punts in the game.
- Shaw piled up 335 rushing yards en route to its 49-27 win over Lincoln. The Bears (3-1) averaged 6.2 yards per carry and found the end zone five times on rushing attempts. Trey Thorpe (108 yards, 2 TDs) and Fabian Diggs (106 yards, 1 TD) led the way. The Bears face a tough Livingstone defense this week.
- Lenoir-Rhyne’s Shermon Davis caught an 86-yard TD pass from Wells Bettenhausen midway through the fourth quarter against Mars Hill.
- Valdosta State punter Lucas Edenfield recorded a 93-yard punt against UNC Pembroke. The box score then lists a 59-yard return by Anthony Greene, leaving a net of 34 yards.
More North Carolina College Football Coverage
- Game Day Central: Your dashboard for following college football action from around the state.
- College Football Scores: Follow final scores and results from every North Carolina team throughout the weekend.
- Teams by Division: Find schedules and coverage for all North Carolina FBS, FCS, Division II and Division III programs.
- 2026 Statewide Standings: Follow every North Carolina team’s record throughout the season.
