Game Notes
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell's football program (2-3, 1-2 PFL) is again on the road this weekend and travels to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to take on conference rival Marist College (2-4, 1-2 PFL) at Tenney Stadium/Leonidoff Field at noon on Oct. 15.
Campbell is coming off a thrilling 38-23 home victory over Butler on Oct. 8. The Camels' offensive attack was led by Carl Smith. Smith can for a school-record 148 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. He did much of his damage in the second half in running for 91 yards and a score in the third and fourth quarters when CU outscored Butler 28-14. Quarterback Braden Smith proved to be effective in completing 15-of-19 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns. Braden Smith's completion percentage of 78.9 on the day was also a school-record. Receiver Paul Constantine was on the receiving end of much of those passes with six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. Constantine came within two yards of topping the 100 yard mark for the second time in his career. Jonathon Rogers hauled in his first career touchdown off the 32-yard toss from Braden Smith directly after Constantine was able to thwart a fake punt attempt from Butler with a heady deflection of the pass. Jordan Cramer topped his career-high with 70 yards on the ground against the Bulldogs to aid CU to 247 yards rushing. The 200 plus yards on the ground was the 11th time that CU has topped the mark since 2009. The Campbell defense was able to force a pair of turnovers in the game with Brandon Chandler forcing the first fumble early in the first quarter and Milton Brown coming up with a strip of the quarterback off a sack early in the third quarter. Jeremiah Robinson continued his outstanding play with seven tackles and two stops for loss against the Bulldogs. Robinson's 10 tackles for loss this season leads the team and his average of two negative stops a game is tops in the Pioneer Football League.
The Camels' rushing attack is averaging an impressive 181.80 yards a contest to lead the conference and rank 29th nationally. CU is also averaging 32.60 points a game to rank third in the league. CU's defense is second in the PFL is tackles for loss (8.20) and fifth in sacks (2.60).
Marist is coming off a defensive struggle 13-9 victory over Davidson. The lone touchdown of the game was scored by Calvin McCoy in the third quarter. Jason Myers knocked in a pair of field goals including one from 49-yard out in the win. This season the Red Foxes are using a dual running back system with McCoy running for 178 yards and Ryan Dinnebeil putting up 148 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Marist has also split time with two quarterbacks this season with Chuckie Looney throwing for 674 yards and five touchdowns and Tommy Reilly throwing for 661 yards and three scores. Kevin Fitzpatrick leads the team with 29 catches for 326 yards and three touchdowns. Jaquan Bryant is one of the top defensive backs in the conference with 31 tackles, three stops for loss, two interceptions and five passes defended. Fellow defensive back Nick Mainiero has also been a standout with 35 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and three passes defended. Terrence Fede leads the team and ranks among the conference leaders with four sacks. The Red Foxes are one of the top defensive teams in the league and are allowing only 301 yards a contest. The team is second in pass defense (185.33) and fourth in rush defense (115.67).
Campbell has never defeated Marist in two previous tries. The Camels fell behind 21-7 last season and lost 42-14. Daniel Polk had a strong performance for Campbell with 20 completions for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 49 yards in the contest. Marist was able to use a strong passing attack in the contest with James LaMacchia hauling in 11 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns and Michael Rios catching an 80-yard score. The Camels also lost the 2009 contest by a 34-14 score in New York. The game was close heading to the fourth quarter, but Marist scored the last 14 points to take the contest 34-14. The win was the first-ever in PFL play for the Red Foxes.
All of Campbell's games can be followed and listened to online at GoCamels.com on the Campbell Radio Network with Chris Hemeyer, Jay Sonnhalter and Bill Priestley on the call.
Campbell's football returns home to host co-PFL leader San Diego in the annual Homecoming Game next Saturday, Oct. 22, at 1 p.m. at Barker-Lane Stadium/Ed Gore Field.
