BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell scored on all five trips into the red zone and defeated Valparaiso 34-24 in the Pioneer Football League opener for both schools Saturday at Barker-Lane Stadium.

DeShawn Jones ran for 83 yards, while Luke Hill and Eric Westbrook intercepted fourth-quarter passes inside the five yard line to lift the Camels (1-3, 1-0) over the Crusaders (1-3, 0-1).

Valpo totaled 533 yards of total offense, but the Crusaders converted just twice in four trips into the red zone on the night and did not score on their final four possessions.

Campbell ran 46 times for 295 yards, averaging 6.4 yards per attempt as four Camels toted the ball for at least 49 yards.  Dakota Wolf ran for 58 yards, while Akile Jones picked up 53 on just five carries and Jared Joyner had 49 on five attempts.

Wolf also completed 10-of-16 passes for 110 yards and a score.  Jabri Ridenhour had five receptions for 75 yards to lead the Camels, who finished with 405 yards and turned the ball over only once, but did not surrender points as a result.

Ben Lehman completed 25-of-48 passes for 381 yards and two touchdowns for Valpo, but was intercepted three times.

Andrew Cassara had eight receptions for 136 yards and Tanner Kuramata made six grabs for 151 yards for Valpo.  Brandon Hall ran 14 times for 92 yards and a score to lead Valpo on the ground.

Andrew Yost made 10 tackles and Jake Barr 7 for the Camels, while Ryan Mundy had nine stops and Alex Green eight for Valpo.

Campbell won its PFL opener for the first time since joining the league in 2008.

Valpo took a 24-20 lead with 2:42 remaining in the third quarter when Lehman hit Cassara on a 37-yard scoring toss.

However, the Camels answered when Isaiah Howard returned the ensuing kickoff 36 yards and the Camels marched 56 yards in just five plays to take the lead for good.  Akile Jones' 24-yard run was the big play in the drive, capped by Dakota Wolf's 7-yard quarterback keeper, and the Camels led 27-24 with 0:53 left in the third.

Howard finished the night with 148 yards on five kick returns, including a 59-yarder.

Valpo then drove 55 yards on 12 plays, helped along by a pass interference call before the Camels held the Crusaders on the 25.  Jacob Newman's 42-yard field goal attempt, however, fell short.

After a Camel punt, Valpo drove to the Campbell seven yard line, thanks in part to Lehman completions to Kuramata for 23 yards and to Cassara for 18 more.  However, Hill stepped in front of Lehman's attempt and returned it 77 yards.

On the next play, DeShawn Jones burst through the line for a 23-yard scoring run to give CU a 10-point edge with 7:22 remaining.

Valpo covered 62 yards in 8 plays to set up Newman's 37-yard field goal attempt, but the kick sailed wide left, leaving a two-possession margin in favor of the Camels.

Westbrook stopped Valpo's final drive when he intercepted Lehman's pass at the two and returned it 70 yards.  Campbell took a knee to set off a celebration by the crowd of 6370, the second-largest in Barker-Lane Stadium history.

After the score was tied 10-10 at halftime, each team scored on its first two possessions of the third quarter.  Mitchell Brown's 30-yard field goal pushed the Camels ahead 13-10 with 12:09 to go in the period, but Valpo countered with a 76-yard drive ended by Hall's 3-yard dive to go back in front 17-13.

Wolf found Jordan Hildreth open from 15 yards out in the right corner of the end zone to swing the advantage back in Campbell's favor (20-17) with 4:52 to play.  Valpo then took its final lead on Lehman's toss to Cassara with 2:42 left in the third.

The Camels drove 84 yards on their first possession of the game to set up Brown's 30-yard field goal.  Valpo answered with an 80-yard drive and knotted the score on Newman's 23-yarder.

Valparaiso took the lead on Kuratmata's 69-yard touchdown catch from Lehman with 10:19 left in the second quarter.

However, the Camels drove 78 yards on 9 plays capped by Jared Joyner's 20-yard run around left end.  Brown's PAT tied the score at 10-10.

Campbell returns to action next Saturday (Oct. 4) with a 1:00 p.m. kick-off at Morehead State.  Valparaiso hosts Marist next Saturday at 1:00.

Senior linebacker Luke Hill
On his interception
"I dropped one earlier in the game, we were in coverage and I read the QB and jumped the route. I give credit to the defensive line because without those guess getting pressure, that pick would have never happened." 

On the win
"It means a lot because coming into the year, we had set out a goal to win a championship and this was our first conference game of the season, so no matter who it was, we wanted to come out and get a win. It feels great, we really appreciate all the support. In tough times, (the crowd) help us out a lot." 

Senior center Dalton Brown
"Our game plan was to come in and run the ball and set our identity. It all starts with my brothers on the offensive line. The coaching staff put together a great game plan, we executed well, and the results show." 

CU head coach Mike Minter
On the win
"It was huge to see that!  It was great to be able to finish a game on the defensive side of the football. We made two big plays, the Luke Hill play is the biggest defensive play since I have been here, and probably one of the biggest in school history. It was great for him to make that interception, and then give us an opportunity to close the door on the game with the offense running the football."

"They had twenty more plays than us, and when you think about that, you aren't supposed to win those games. The guys kept fighting and stayed in the moment, that what we tell them to do, 'stay in the moment and keep playing each play', and it paid off.  It was great to see the fruit of our labor up on the scoreboard." 

"We have a lot of good running backs. We have a great offensive line, and that's what we have to do. We have to run the football and take the will out of people. When we had to run the football we did, and it was a power game. We have a big fullback in Justus Hoffmann at 270 pounds.  Linebackers don't want to hit him for four quarters. He really opened up some holes for our running backs to get into and I'm proud that the running game finally got started. We still have a long ways to go in order to learn to finish drives off, I felt like we left some points on the table because we couldn't close out drives in the redzone. We have to get better at that, but I'm glad we put it in the hands of the running backs, the strength of our offense, and they came out today and made plays for us."

Looking forward to Morehead State
"It's going to be a tough one. Anytime you travel in this league it can be very tough on the road. That's a valiant effort by Valpo to come in here and play the way they did. We have to give them a lot of credit for really playing hard like they did. Nobody in our locker room had ever beaten them, and they knew that. They came in and gave us everything that we could handle. We are going to take this, learn from it, and it's really about us more than Morehead State. It's about us getting better and going in there and playing good football."