Football falls in Triple OT

The Campbell Camels visited Richardson Stadium for a PFL matchup on Saturday. The 'Cats looked to snap a 4-game losing streak. Chris Gorman '14 led the Wildcats with a career performance on the ground, amassing 151 yards and a TD on 27 carries. Gorman's effort, however, was not enough as Davidson fell in a 3OT thriller by the score of 26-20.

Campbell quarterback Braden Smith ran in the game-winning touchdown and  threw for 290 yards and 2 TDs. Jonathan Carkhuff '14 threw for 290 yards and a TD and Lanny Funsten '13 led all receivers with 9 catches for 87 yards.

The 'Cats had a great drive to start the second quarter, where Carkuff completed 4-5 passes for 81 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown pass to Tim Hines '15 to give Davidson a 7-0 lead.

On the following Campbell drive, the Wildcat defense yielded a 37-yard field goal, which trimmed the lead to 7-3. The Davidson defense, which allowed Smith to complete only 16 of 42 passes on the day, forced punts on the next two Campbell possessions, taking the game into half time with the same 7-3 lead.

The second half opened in a promising fashion, with the Wildcats driving 14 plays and 62 yards down to the Campbell 1-yard line, but Carkhuff failed to connect with Funsten on third-and-goal. Chazzo Habliston '13 completed the drive with an 18-yard field goal, giving Davidson a 10-3 lead with 9:12 to play in the third.

On Campbell's very next offensive play, Dan Casey '12 intercepted Smith at the Campbell 48-yard line. The takeaway led to great Wildcat field position two drives later. Gorman was able to punch the ball in from five yards out, giving Davidson a 17-3 lead with about 2:30 to play in the third. Adam Dulberger '13 intercepted Smith on the next possession, making the 17-3 lead seem insurmountable heading to the fourth.

Then in the fourth quarter, Braden Smith took the game over. He completed a 69-yard TD pass to Harrison Jordan with 11:14 to play, and then drove the Camels 80 yards in the final minute to complete the comeback with the score even at 17.

After the teams traded field goals in the first overtime, Davidson failed to score in the second OT after Gorman was stuffed on a 4th-and-1. Luckily, Campbell's Adam Willets missed a 35-yard field goal, resulting in a 3rd overtime. On their second third down of the third overtime, Campbell was able to score a TD by way of a quarterback scramble. Smith's TD put the Camels ahead 26-20, but they were unable to convert the point after.

It all came down to one final Davidson possession, where a touchdown and conversion would give the Wildcats a victory. A holding penalty and two incomplete passes set up a near impossible 3rd-and-17, on which Carkhuff forced a pass that was intercepted by Campbell's Steth Monroe, which sealed the victory for the Camels.

The loss extended the Wildcats' record to 2-6 overall and 0-5 in the PFL. The Wildcats will look to improve upon that record, as well as snap their 5-game losing streak, as they travel to Butler on Saturday for a 12 p.m. contest. They will return home for Homecoming on Saturday, Nov. 12 for a matchup against the Morehead State Eagles.