The Camden Lions lost to Adamsville in a Region 6AA battle. The Lions came from behind to tie the Adamsville 14 all with no time on the halftime clock, but watched the lead disappear as the Cardinals stormed to a two-touchdown advantage.
Kyle Moore and Ricky Schopf meet the refs and the Cardinal captains at midfield for the toss. We guessed right and asked to receive. Matthew Chandler took it and blasted to the 29 where the Lions offense took over. The offense couldn’t get rollin’, and 3 plays later Josh Guajardo punted it out of bounds at their 48. Kyle Moore and Maurice Gastelum met a run over right tackle after a pick up of one. With 9:41 showing, the Cards split three receivers left and threw the screen pass that way. They had the field over balanced, and the receiver was able to run down the left sideline and score. The kick was good, and Camden was in an early seven-point hole.
Chandler fields the kick and makes the 29 before he is stopped. Brian Markham hands it to Josh Boyd and he works thru a crease provided by Dennis Will, Josh Beasley, and John Hodge. A big slant left breaks him free for a first down at the fifty. Boyd up the middle for 3. Two long incomplete passes stall the drive and Guajardo’s punt is downed at the 27. Adamsville shows the same “trip” set with three receivers left, but they run it to the right and score. The kick is good, and with 7:41 left in the FIRST period, Camden is down 14 points.
The Cards kick is short and Ryan Prince runs it out to the 34. The refs add the first of many holding flags on the Lions for the night and the Lions offense starts at the 23. Markham pitches it to Boyd, and he cuts around left end for a first down at our 45! Markham rolls right looking downfield for an open receiver and spots Heath Yoder slanting over the middle. The Cards are closing on Markham, but he is able to hit Yoder two feet short of the first down…as determined by the official’s measurement. The offense is pumped and jump a bit too quick, the refs move it back five. No problem, Markham runs the option right and hangs onto the ball until the last second. Boyd fields the pitch and runs over two Birds for a first down at the 18! Great play! Boyd for a short gain, then on second down Markham drills a pass to Jesse Leonard. Jesse grabs the ball, slants left, and hammers his way down to the Cardinal one-yard line! Adamsville takes a timeout, but it’s not gonna’ help... The Lions finish the 8-play scoring drive with a give to Boyd who vaults over the top and the Lions are on the scoreboard! Heath Yoder snaps it, Brian Markham holds it, and Clay Carruth sends a mortar shot to the moon to cut the Cards lead to 7.
Clay kicks it away, and Chris Turner joins with Byron Boyd to lead the stop at the 30. The Cards start a ten-play drive that stalls with a holding flag that backs them up to our 34. The first play of the second period is their punt and they down it at the six. The Lions can’t dig out of the hole, and three plays later Guajardo’s punt is downed at their 47. The first down pass is incomplete then Boyd carries for a gain of two. Markham rolls right and completes a pass to Jesse Leonard. Slanting to the right sideline, Jesse has a first down at their 48! With 7:11 left before the break, Markham passes to Heath Yoder in the left flat. Heath is able to hit the left sideline for a big gain, but the refs throw a holding flag and it all comes back. 1st & 20 at our 42. A fumble under center moves us back three. The delayed handoff to Boyd catches them nappin’, and Josh is in their backfield. He reads a downfield block from Matthew Chandler to perfection and gets all the way to their 39. Boyd dives over left tackle for a first down at the 37. Leonard dives for one. A sudden outbreak of fumblitis strikes, and the Cards have it at their 25.
The Lions defensive unit is up to a “three-and-out” with big hits by Kyle Moore, Trevor Busby, Josh Guajardo, and Maurice Gastelum. It’s 4th & one and the Cards try the long hard count…and it works on their tackle! Now it’s 4th & 6 and their punt is downed at the 23. 2:13 showing before the break as Jesse Leonard runs behind Josh Beasley’s block for a gain of 3. Boyd trys that same spot and breaks loose for a first down at their 38! Sixty-five seconds left, and we jump, 1st & 15. Two long passes are incomplete, and with 39 seconds up, Boyd takes the handoff from Markham and falls in behind the center of the Lions offensive line. They break him loose, Josh adds a cut to the left, and runs all the way to the Cards one-yard line! Time out Camden with 00:24 showing! Boyd tries the left side and is pushed back. Markham hurries them up and spikes it to stop the clock at 00:18. Markham rolls right looking for a pass, spots the pylon and beats a whole flock of birds there, Touchdown Lions! No time on the clock, Yoder snaps, Markham holds, and Carruth sends up another rocket and the Lions take the tie at 14 into the lockers to talk it over!
The Cardinal return is ‘way too exciting, and they start at their 47. Hodge and Turner combine after a gain of 3. Guajardo covers a pass in the right flat, incomplete. Wilbanks is all over a screen pass to the right for a loss of 2. They get the punt away and it is downed at our 22. Great stop defense! Boyd takes the pitch from Markham and gets to the edge and is gone. First down CHS at the 40! Markham rolls left and spots Yoder behind all of the Cards. The pass is caught and Heath blasts down to their 14-yard line, first down Lions! Boyd on the toss sweep right for a gain of five. Boyd around left end for 3. Markham is able to get the pass off under pressure, but it’s incomplete. It’s 4th &2 and the Lions pitch it to Boyd, but he can’t get traction on the cut and the Cards take over at the 6.
An Adamsville run for a gain of one and an incomplete pass start their series. Matthew Chandler is in coverage and comes down with an interception at the 27! Lions ball with great field position!
The handoff is to Josh Guajardo, and he bulls ahead for six yards. The refs add a holding flag, and it’s first down and twenty at the 36. Boyd up the middle for a gain of 10. Markham’s pass to Chandler just misses, and it’s 3rd & 10. Markham runs the option right and pitches to Boyd. Josh kicks in the burners and it’s a Lions first down at the 13 with 6:13 left in the third. Josh Guajardo is in motion, takes the handoff and runs over two red birds to score! Carruth sends another one straight up and ‘way up, and the Lions have the lead, 21-14.
They run the kick back to the 38 where Brian Markham is the hammer. The Cards start a six play scoring drive that is aided by a roughing the passer flag and no holding penalties. A six-yard run caps it off, and it’s a 21-20 game. The snap is back, the ball is down but Josh Guajardo is up and able to block the extra point kick! 3:35 left in the third and the Lions still lead 21-20!
They kick it out of bounds and Coach Ward says “Kick it again!”. Matthew Chandler handles the deep bouncer and zooms to the 35 where the Lions will start it up. Boyd right for a gain of 4. Markham’s soon-to-be-patented “hard count” works to perfection and it’s 2nd & 1 at the 44. 2:50 showing, and Josh makes a statement. Slant right, big cut back left and runs over two on his way to drivin’ the last one down with him, first down at their 39! Great run! They decide to keep an eye or 22 on Josh, so Jesse Leonard dives thru the line and blasts to the 29 for a first down! The next play results in a fumble and the Cards come up with it.
The handoff up the middle gets hammered by Heath Yoder, and their back staggers yonder-way about 4 yards before he falls! Big hit! Chris Turner chases down the run around right end and Chad Horton finishes after a gain of 3. The last play of the third quarter is a sweep to the left, and the Lions string it out, further, and Brian Markham finishes like he is shot out of a canon to make it 4th & 7 at the 27! Great stop defense!
The Cards start the 4th with a punt that they down at our 38. Boyd slants left and ends with a first down at THEIR 38! Markham fakes to Guajardo and gives to Boyd for a gain of 5. Markham rolls right, tucks it away and dives to the 37. The refs measure it 4-1/2” short of the first. Markham slides off of Josh Beasley’s block and the Lions have a first down at the 35. Fake to Guajardo, give to Boyd and a gain of 6. This time the give IS to Guajardo, and he is around left end and gone to the 10 yard line…no, yellow laundry says “holding” & bring it back for 2nd & 12 at the 36. Markham keeps around left end and is down at the 20…no, holding flag makes it 2nd & 22 at our 46. Option right, Markham pitches the ball to Boyd over the top of a Card & Josh gains 9. 8:10 left in the game and Guajardo’s run around left end makes it 4th & 6 at the 28.
We are going for it.
Markham’s pass into the right flat to Jesse Leonard just misses, and the Cards have the ball on the 28. The Cards get a big run out to the 45 where Horton makes the stop. Their drive has one long scoring run called back due to a holding flag, and two plays later they score from the 14. The two-point conversion pass is complete, so with 4:51 left to play, it’s Adamsville 28, CHS 21. The kick is fumbled, and a Card is handy enough to snatch it up and run it in for six. This kick is low and left, and with 4:37 left, it’s 34-21.
Boyd returns the kick to our 32, and the Lions are pressing for a score. Markham’s pass to Zach Brazzell just misses, and the 2nd down pass ends up in a Cardinals hands at the 37. Six plays later, the handoff goes to the right side and they score. The kick is good, and it’s a 41-21 game. Adamsville kicks it high and short, so Ryan Prince carries it to our 46. Markham to Brazzell, gain of 3. Markham to Chandler for a first down at their 35, 1:08 left. One falls incomplete, but the 2nd down pass is caught by Brazzell and he drives for a first down at the 27. Brazzell is open again, and Markham’s pass get’s the Lions five yards. Markham spots Maurice Gastelum along the left sideline, and the complete pass get’s him in for 6! Carruth’s kick is ‘way good, and with 31 seconds left it’s a 41-28 game. They cover the onside kick, and a victory knee by Adamsville writes it in the book, Adamsville 41, Camden 28.
Talking with Head Coach Kevin Ward about the loss: “I have told are team previously that we are not a good football team yet, as far as seeing what happening during a game and making adjustments and being mature about it, but I told them at half that they had made a big stride forward by finding a way to tie the game! They gave themselves a chance to win the game. We are good enough that we can overcome some things and that is a credit to our kids.”
On the Adamsville back that had a good night and their early lead: “He is a good player and they did some things early that we hadn’t see before. We settled in and started taking good angles, and when we did that we stopped him. We have gotten better in tackling, but until we start tackling good ALL the time, we will not be strong defensively. You just can’t leave your feet and start lunging against that kind of running back. If we go chest to chest we have a lot better chance of taking him.”
On team injuries: “Bryce Wilbanks got some ribs bruised, I haven’t talked to him this weekend to see if they got X-rays. Other than Bryce, everybody is fine.”
On how this loss hurts: “This one really hurts. Obviously the whole coaching staff underestimated their team. It’s hard to get a grasp sometimes just looking at tape, unless you have personal experience or have been around their coaches and team. I told the kids Monday, we are the better football team and I still believe that. I just have to be honest with our kids. I can’t tell them, “This is a great football team”, and they watch the tape and think, “This guys nuts!” If we go out and play our game and do what we do we win. Maybe we let them get some early success and they played off that emotion a little bit. It is a credit to their coaching staff, they had their team focused and ready to play this game and we didn’t. It’s hard to see something that we worked so long and hard for taken away from us, but we did that. Friday night should have been their payoff. I hurt for the kids for that. We have to win these next games. Put our work clothes back on Monday and get after it.”
On some questionable calls: “Well, there might have been some, but the refs didn’t tell us to fumble the football or miss tackles. As a fan, maybe you think we got some flags that we didn’t deserve. Looking at the tape, the calls were legit, but they weren’t getting it called. It’s frustrating as a fan, but our team has to take care of what they can control and not turn the ball over. They outplayed us and that’s why they won the football game.”
On next week’s game against Dresden: “They are huge! They have a line that averages 290 and they have two speedy little backs that hide behind those guys and run hard. We are going to have to do some things defensively to slow them down. We have to eliminate big plays and make tackles, and keep running to the ball. Offensively they line up in a 3-4 defense, and sometimes it looks like a 4-man front. They take some things away from you by alignment. We feel good about moving the football on them. We just have to take care of the things we can control, holding onto the ball, not missing blocks. Our kids are comfortable with what we are doing right now and they understand it better. We have to come in Monday and study our opponent hard. We want our kids to enjoy the Homecoming festivities, but we also want them to know what OUR part of Homecoming is to win the football game. We have played 8 games this year and we have yet to play our best game. This is a great time to put it together.”
Last JV game this week: “Monday night against Adamsville here. This is important to our guys because this is the team they will face for the next two years. They need to make a statement, we want to prove to them that we will be someone to reckon with in the future. We have only give up two scores defensively, offensively they have been running it well.”
Let’s all show up early at Wright Field to enjoy the Homecoming festivities. The royalty will be on the field at 7 PM.
Come on out to enjoy the Homecoming Parade on Thursday in Camden. The Parade will start at 5 PM at the Bank of Camden Branch Bank and travel east to the Court Square where a Community Pep Rally will be held on the Courthouse steps!
GO LIONS!
by Tony Dillon