BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell amassed 460 rushing yards and shut out Morehead State 38-0 Saturday in Pioneer Football League action at Barker-Lane Stadium.
Montel Goods gained 193 yards on 27 carries and scored three touchdowns, while
Daniel Smith added 152 yards on 12 attempts and Josh Jones chipped in 109 on 13 rushes. Campbell surpassed its previous school record for rushing yards against a PFL opponent (416) set in a 56-14 win over Valparaiso in 2010.
In front of a standing-room only crowd of 6,387 – the fifth-largest in Barker-Lane history – Campbell (3-2, 2-0) held Morehead State (2-3, 1-1) to just 240 total yards – and only 35 on the ground – while posting its second-largest victory margin in a PFL game.
Goods' 193 yards stands as the second-highest total in Campbell's Division I era, and the most ever by a Camel at Barker-Lane Stadium.
De'Shawn Jones gained a school-record 201 yards in 2015 at Davidson.
A red-shirt freshman from Pittsboro, N.C., and Northwoods High School, Goods averaged 7.1 yards per carry, while Smith – a red-shirt frosh from Leesburg, Va. – gained 12.7 yards per attempt. Josh Jones picked up 8.4 yards per touch on the ground.
Morehead entered the game second in the PFL in total offense at 439.5 yards gained per outing, but the Camel defense held the Eagles almost 200 yards below their average and just 3-of-13 in third-down conversions.
Dante Simmons and
Carlos Merritt picked off Lawson Page passes – Campbell's 15th and 16th takeaways of the year, which stand as the most in the NCAA FCS.
Smith added 129 passing yards by completing 11-of-26 attempts, including a pair of scoring throws to
Will Howard. Howard hauled in four receptions for 60 yards, including 19- and 13-yard TD catches for the Camels, who converted 7-of-12 third down chances and were six-of-six in the red zone.
Page completed 17-of-28 passes for 184 yards, but was sacked three times and intercepted twice by the Camel defense. Logan Holbrook led Morehead on the ground with 23 rushing yards on eight carries. Jarin Higginbotham had 95 yards on five catches.
Jack Ryan led the Camels with eight tackles, while Merritt, Miller (two sacks) and
Emmanuel Olenga (one sack) chipped in six apiece. Starr Hutcherson topped Morehead with 11 total tackles.
Smith rushed for 102 yards in the first quarter alone, including a pair of 23-yard gains and a 40-yard romp.
Goods ran in from three yards out on the third play of the second quarter to cap a 13-play, 83-yard drive,
Mitchell Brown added the PAT and the Camels took a 7-0 lead.
Simmons' fourth interception of the year gave the Camels the ball at their own 40. Eight plays later, Brown's 33-yard field goal pushed the lead to 10-0 with 6:26 left in the half.
The Camels took over possession at their own 12-yard line with 2:56 to play in the half and drove the field to push the advantage to 17-0. Smith connected with Howard on a 13-yard scoring pass to cap a 9-play, 88-yard drive with 0:52 left in the second quarter.
Campbell out-gained the Eagles 305-119 in the first half and ran 44 plays to 29 for the visitors. Smith compiled 222 yards (122 rushing, 100 passing) in the opening half.
Goods' two-yard run capped a 12-play, 77-yard drive and increased the lead to 24-0 with 7:49 to play in the third quarter.
Morehead drove 66 yards on the ensuing possession and had a third-and-goal from the Campbell nine before Merritt intercepted Page's pass in the end zone and returned it to the CU three.
CU then marched 97 yards on 10 plays in 4:17 to push the gap to 31-0. Smith found Howard in the end zone on a 15-yard fade route for the tandem's second scoring connection of the day.
Goods' third touchdown of the day – a three-yard run – completed a six-play, 65-yard march in only 1:44 and left CU in front 38-0 with 11:41 left in the game.
Saturday's Family Weekend crowd (6,387) marked the 12th sellout, and fifth-largest, since the expansion of Barker-Lane Stadium to 5,500 seats in 2013.
Campbell hosts Valparaiso next Saturday (Oct. 7) at 2:00 p.m., while Morehead State entertains Butler at 1:00 p.m.
