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BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Five Campbell turnovers and Shorter big plays spoiled Campbell's first night home football game Thursday.  The Division II Hawks defeated Campbell 31-20 in front of the third-largest crowd in Ed Gore Field/Barker-Lane Stadium history.

Shorter (1-0) jumped to a 10-0 lead thanks to four Campbell fumbles in the first quarter.  The Hawks then overcame a 20-17 deficit midway through the fourth quarter thanks to a pair of 61-yard scoring plays.

Sophomore quarterback Eric Dodson connected with Brandon Morton on a 61-yard touchdown to put the Hawks in front 24-20 with 7:32 left.

On the ensuing possession, Campbell (0-1) drove to the Shorter 26 before Dalton Dillon fumbled (CU's fifth of the game) and Zach Mann recovered.  Three plays later Bradley Moon ran 61 yards to five the Hawks a 31-20 lead.

Braden Smith set Campbell school records for completions (29) and passing yards (336) in 45 attempts.  Matt Tanner (90 yards) and Ben Bolling (68) each had six catches for the Camels, while Kurt Odom ran for 65 yards on 17 attempts.

Only the crowd for Campbell's first Division I game vs. Birmingham-Southern five years ago to the day (5845) and a Sept. 11, 2010 date against Old Dominion (5462) saw CU's home facility packed fuller than the 5130, who witnessed Thursday night's affair.

However Moon ran for 102 yards for Shorter, while Dodson completed 9-of-17 passes for 191 yards.  Morton finished with 107 receiving yards on four catches.

Campbell out-gained Shorter 475-454, but the visitors did not commit a turnover.  Isaac Scott and Matt Farris led the Camels with 10 tackles.  Dominique Henfield made 10 stops for Shorter.

In the opening period, Jonathan Rogers fumbled after a completed pass at the Shorter 38 and Demery Hawkins picked up the ball and returned it 19 yards to the Campbell 43. 

Dodson connected with Morton for 32 yards to give the Hawks a first-and-10 at the 11 yard line.  Three players later Dodson ran in from two yards and Troy Postell's point after gave the Hawks a 7-0 lead.

Later in the period, Smith fumbled at the Shorter 16 and Henfield recovered.  Dodson's 45-yard completion to Allen Huntley gave the Hawks a 1st down at the Camel 15.  However, the Camels held and Postell's 28-yard field goal pushed the Hawk lead to 10-0 with 4:45 left in the opening half.

Sam Eberwein's 32-yard field goal capped a 74-yard Camel drive and cut the gap to 10-3 with 9:58 to go in the second period.

Campbell's two-minute offense evened the score as Rogers' 10-yard touchdown reception capped a 6-play, 70-yard drive.  Smith's 28-yard pass to Ben Bolling, plus a facemask penalty moved the Camels into Shorter territory.

Smith completed 17-of-20 passes in the first half for 188 yards.  Dodson threw for 95 yards in the air on five completions.

The Camels took the second-half kick-off and marched 78 yards to take the lead.  Smith's 38-yard completion to Tanner gave Campbell a first-and-goal at the two.  Odom ran in two plays later for a 17-10 Campbell edge.

Shorter converted a pair of fourth downs on a 17-play, 76-yard drive and Moon's two-yard dive provided the tying score at 17 with 3:27 left in the third.

Eberwein's career-long 41-yard field goal pushed the Camels in front 20-17 with 12:11 left in the game.

Campbell returns to action on Sat., Sept. 8 in a 6:00 p.m. kick-off vs. UVA-Wise at Barker-Lane Stadium.