Brad Dennis carries the flag as the Camels take the field.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

BUIES CREEK — Colin Gary’s 50-yard field goal just cleared the cross bar as time expired to lift Campbell to a 31-29 win over Davidson Saturday night at Barker-Lane Stadium.

Gary’s school-record boot came after the Wildcats converted a two-point conversion to grab a 29-28 advantage with only 23 seconds to play.

Starting from their only 38, the Camels moved to the Davidson 33 on Hajj-Malik Williams’ 5-yard completion to Caleb Snead, then scrambled for five yards, but a defensive holding call tacked on 10 more. Williams then ran for six more yards before stepping out of bounds at the 33 to set up Gary’s winning kick.

Gary’s field goal broke the previous school record 49-yarder hit by Mitchell Brown against Butler in the 2016 season.

Campbell led 28-14 as Williams hit Jalen Kelsey on a 42-yard touchdown pass with 5:17 remaining.

However, the Wildcats drove 82 yards in just 2:34 to cut the lead to seven on Eli Turner’s 2-yard run. The Camels recovered Caden Bonoffski’s onside kick, but were unable to gain a first down.

Davidson drove 84 yards to take the lead – helped along by roughing the passer, pass interference and defensive holding calls. Levi Wiggins appeared to ice the game with an 81-yard pick six, but he was flagged for the defensive hold.

Phelps then connected with Tyler Phelps on a 19-yard scoring pass before Tabor scored the two-point conversion on an end around.

Davidson rushed for 254 yards in the opening half, but the Camels forced four turnovers and led 21-7 at the break.

James Story ran 71 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the game to put the Wildcats in front 7-0.

The Wildcats drove into Campbell territory before Dorian Jones intercepted Phelps’ pass and returned it 37 yards to give the Camels a first down on the Wildcat 34. Three plays later, Williams ran in from six yards and Gary’s PAT tied the score at 7.

Justice Galloway-Velazquez forced the first of two fumbles and recovered the ball at midfield. Williams then connected with Caleb Snead on fourth down for a 33-yard scoring pass to put the Camels in front 14-7 with 4:10 left in the half.

After Galloway-Velazquez forced another fumble, the Camels drove 60 yards in eight plays, capped by Williams’ 29-yard pass to Kelsey with 25 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

All 21 of Campbell’s first-half points came off Davidson turnovers and the Camels held the Wildcats to 0-of-5 on third-down conversions before halftime.

Tabor’s eight-yard run brought Davidson within 21-14 with 1:56 to play in the third.

Davidson finished with a 513-333 edge in total offense and picked up 413 yards on the ground.

Williams completed 17-of-25 passes for 236 yards and three TDs, while Caleb Snead had three receptions for 62 yards and became the sixth Camel to pass 1,000 receiving yards in a career along the way.

James Story (127) and Wesley Dugger (108) both ran for more than 100 yards on the ground for Davidson. Phelps finished 5-of-15 for 88 yards in the air, while rushing for 64.

Damien Dozier led the Camels with 15 total tackles, Galloway-Velazquez added 14 stops, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Monchovia Gaffney had 11 stops. Chibuike Odo led Davidson with seven tackles.

The Camels return to action Sept. 28 at Mercer.

(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)

Johnathan Hawkins (21) runs in CU’s nonconference win on Saturday.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

Dorian Jones (5) returns an interception 37 yards for CU.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

Hajj-Malik Williams breaks a tackle on a 6-yard TD run.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

Justice Galloway-Velazquez strips the ball from the Davidson quarterback.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

Caleb Snead makes a touchdown catch on fourth down.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

Mason Adams (59) of Campbell makes a tackle on a kickoff return.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

Brevin Allen is on the turf with a fumble recovery for the Camels.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

Jalen Kelsey makes a scoring catch for the Camnels for a 21-7 lead.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

Jalen Kelsey makes a celebratory salute after his TD reception.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

Hajj-Malik Williams gets out of bounds with six second left to stop the clock.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)

Colin Gary (41) gets ready to kick the game-winning field goal.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)