Football | 9/5/2009 7:28:22 PM

BUIES CREEK, N.C. - The Methodist football team jumped out to an early 21-7 lead over Campbell in the season opener Saturday, but the Camels came back to defeat the Monarchs 48-28.

The Monarchs (0-1) drove down the field on their first possession and senior quarterback Erik Teague finished up with a four-yard touchdown run to give Methodist the lead. Sophomore Tyler Mosko kicked the extra point for the 7-0 advantage. Campbell (1-0) responded with a 65-yard touchdown pass on the first play of their ensuing drive and tied the game at seven with the extra point.

Methodist came back and scored again thanks in part to a 16-yard run from sophomore Reggie Scales to get into Campbell territory. Teague finished up the drive with a 2-yard pass to sophomore tight end Nathan Kindley with 5:39 to go in the first quarter. The Monarchs held on to the 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Monarchs' defense forced a punt to start the second quarter and the Methodist offense picked up where they left off in the first. The Monarchs fumbled, but Scales recovered with a 45-yard run to the Campbell 40-yard line. Junior Corey McGuire picked up two first downs for Methodist and Teague finished up the drive with a 6-yard run into the endzone. Mosko's third extra point gave the Monarchs the 21-7 lead. The Camels scored at the other end but the Monarchs' special team corp blocked the extra point to hold the 21-13 advantage.

Methodist could not get the first down on their next possession and Campbell took over on their own 21-yard line. Camels' quarterback Matt Vollono connected with Carl Blain for an 85-yard touchdown pass . The extra point cut the Methodist lead to one, but Teague pushed another one into the endzone to extend the Monarchs' lead to 28-20 with 52 seconds left in the half. Another Vollono touchdown pass with 27 seconds on the clock moved the Camels back within one before a bad bounce on the kickoff gave Campbell their second touchdown in nine seconds and the 34-28 lead at halftime.

Campbell added a touchdown in each the third and fourth quarters as the Methodist offense stalled with just one first down in the half. The Camels dominated the half with more than 23 minutes of possession. Campbell scored their final touchdown with 6:34 to go in the game to go ahead 48-28 over the Monarchs.

Teague finished 15-for-27 passing for 173 yards with three interceptions. He added 36 yards rushing while Scales led the running game with 83 yards. Junior Brian Hopkins caught six passes for 100 yards receiving in the game. The Monarchs combined for 351 total yards of offense compared to the Camels' 544 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, senior Eric Blalock led the team with 8.5 tackles while senior Brian Leary followed up with 5.0 tackles. Freshman Quinton Tate picked up a 23-yard interception for the Monarchs.

Methodist will use this week to prepare for their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 12 against Guilford College at 1 pm.

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