WASHINGTON – Wes Bowers (Fort Washington, Md. / Bishop McNamara) had a game-high 18 tackles, tied for the third most ever by a Georgetown player, but the Georgetown University football team dropped its home opener, 13-8, to Campbell University. The game was played in rainy conditions at Cooper Field in front of a sold out crowd. With the loss, the Hoyas drop to 1-1, while the Camels improve to 2-0.
 
Bowers led all players with the 18 tackles and also added 3.0 tackles-for-loss (TFL) for 14 yards and one sack. Ramon Lyons (Orlando, Fla. / Ocoee / West Orange) and Blaise Brown (New Orleans, La. / St. Augustine / Loomis Chaffee) each had eight tackles. Owen Kessler (Westfield, N.J. / Westfield) had six tackles and his first career interception, while Duval Paul (Lynn, Mass. / Everett) also added six tackles, and forced a fumble on a sack.
 
Gunther Johnson (Anthem, Ariz. / Boulder Creek / Arizona) finished 17-of-34 passing for 201 yards. Isaac Schley (Littleton, Colo. / Chatfield) had a team-high four catches, while Michael Dereus (Hyde Park, Mass / Williston Northampton) had three catches for 76 yards. Jackson Saffold (Orlando, Fla. / Timber Creek) led the rushing attack with 49 yards on seven carries.
 
The game started as a defensive battle for much of the first quarter as both teams dominated on the defensive side of the ball. Campbell took advantage of the fumble recovery deep in Georgetown territory to take a 3-0 lead, on a 22-yard field goal, with under a minute remaining in the opening frame.
 
The score remained the same until midway through the second quarter. A 29-yard reception by Dereus, on third-and-nine, and two catches by Schley set up a career-long 45-yard field goal by Brad Hurst (Helen, Ga. / White County), knotting the score at three with 5:34 left in the first half. .
 
On Campbell's ensuing possession, Kessler picked off the first play of the drive and returned it down to the 12-yard line. Four plays later Hurst nailed another field goal, this one from 24 yards out, to give the Hoyas a 6-3 lead, which they took into the locker room at halftime.
 
Midway through the third quarter, the Campbell quarterback scrambled out of the pocket and connected with his receiver on a 70-yard touchdown reception. The extra point gave the Camels a 10-6 lead with 6:16 on the clock.
 
A field goal extended Campbell's lead to 13-6 with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Two possessions later, the GU defense then came up with a big stop on the Campbell 20-yard line, forcing a punt. The long snapper sent it over the punter's head and out of the back of the end zone for a safety to cut GU deficit to 13-8 with four minutes left.
 
The Hoyas drove the ball to midfield on their final drive, but a strip sack with 90 seconds remaining ended any chance of a comeback as the Camels closed out the game.
 
Georgetown will head back on the road to open a stretch of three-straight games against Ivy League opponents. The Hoyas will play at Dartmouth on Saturday, Sept. 15, with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in Hanover, New Hampshire. Links to live stats and a video stream on ESPN+ will be available on GUHoyas.com.
 
Notes – Bowers' 18 tackles were the most in a game since Matthew Satchell (C'16) had 18 at Bucknell on Oct. 24, 2015.