The Camden Lions suffered their first loss of the season to the McKenzie Rebels. The weather was perfect at kickoff, and both sides of the field were “standing room only” as both towns turned out to support their teams in the first Regional match up in 2003.
The Reb’s won the toss and deferred. Matthew Chandler and Josh Boyd were deep for the kick, and Josh returned it to the 29. Chandler’s “quick-out” pattern left him open, and Lions quarterback Brian Markham hit him for five yards. The McKenzie defense sacked Markham to make it 3rd & 9. Markham tossed the “Utah” inside pass to Boyd, and Josh added some great moves before he was stopped at their 46, first down Lions! A sweep of right end is good for two, but a McK jump before the snap adds a yellow hanky & five yards to make it 2nd & 8. The delayed hand off goes to Boyd, and he rockets to their 46 before he is pulled down, but it’s another first down Lions! Boyd drops in behind the blocks of Josh Beasley and John Hodge for two tough yards. The McKenzie defense opens the gates, and the QB sack makes it 3rd & 18 at the 44. From the ‘gun, Markham gets the handoff to Boyd, and he is able to pick his way thru traffic for a gain of ten…but it’s fourth down and we are going for it. Boyd is behind his defender at the 8-yard line along the left sideline, but can’t haul Markham’s pass in, so the Rebs take over on downs with 6:13 left in the first.
The Rebs throw one incomplete with Chad Horton & Ryan Prince in coverage. Second down is a big pass play that is complete, but the refs contribute one of many chunks-o-yellow laundry, and it is 2nd & 15 at the 30. Another incomplete pass, and with 5:56 showing the Reb QB starts right to get away from Kyle Moore. His “hurry up” messes up, and the ball ends up with Maurice Gastelum and a great interception! Lions ball first and ten at their 47! The McK defense is everywhere, and they intercept right back for a first down at the 40. They start a five-play scoring drive that finishes with an inside handoff and run over the middle from the seven-yard line. The kick is low and left and ugly and with 4:40 in the first, Camden is down by six.
The Rebel kicker boots it to Josh Boyd deep left, and the Lions form a moving wall that springs him loose. Josh makes a great cut at our 40 and slants left all the way to the 25-yard line before he is pushed out of bounds! A 64-yard return, great play, kicking team! With 3:52 left in the first, the Lions offense runs into TOO much defense, and the fourth down screen pass attempt is incomplete. McKenzie starts a four-play drive at the 31 and scores with a 45-yard pass play. They set up to kick it, but Matthew Chandler flies from the left side of the Lions line and blocks the kick! With 1:16 remaining in the first, it’s Rebs 12, Camden 0.
Chandler returns the kick to the 45 with a start toward the middle of Wright Field and a sharp cut to the right. Josh Boyd takes the handoff from Brian Markham and follows Jesse Leonard’s block for two. The McK defense floods the backfield for a loss of five, and the first quarter is over.
A long pass attempt is intercepted by the Rebs at the 16-yard line, and McK starts there with 11:49 left till the break. They start an 11-play scoring drive that only includes one negative yardage play due to a flag for another illegal shift. With 3rd & 3 at the 31, the Rebel QB throws it over the middle, and Heath Yoder makes a great play to bat it straight up! The Lions defense can’t get a handle on it, and the drive continues. The next play included another flag for illegal shift and a great QB rushed throw thanks to Justin Smith’s pressure and it’s incomplete. Two plays later, they run it in from the 3-yard line and the kick is good to make it a 19-0 game. The Rebel kicker bangs the kick out of bounds, his first of many, and they tee it up at the 35. The Lions start at the 21. Markham’s signals makes the Rebs jump offside, and it’s first and five! Boyd busts the middle behind John Hodge, Josh Beasley, and Dennis Will’s most excellent blocking and he is in their backfield! It’s a footrace, and Boyd makes their 38 before they haul him down! Great play, offense!
Byron Boyd runs the short slant to perfection, and Markham hits him for a six-yard gain! Josh Boyd takes the inside handoff and makes two Rebels miss before he is stopped at the 25, first down Lions! Josh drops in behind Ricky Schopf and gains one. Markham rolls right, has time to throw thanks to a great block by Kyle Moore, and spots Heath Yoder dragging across the field. Throw, catch, first down Lions at the McKenzie two-yard line! On third down, Markham fakes the pitch left, rolls left, and it’s rewind time! There is Yoder running wide open on the left side of the endzone. Throw, catch, Touchdown Lions! Yoder snaps, Markham holds, and Clay Carruth bangs in straight through to make it a 19-7 game and 3:57 left till half.
A huge run back by the Rebels turns the field around, and they start at our 28. The Rebel QB drops back, and is swamped by Dennis Will, Maurice Gastelum, and Smitty. He heaves it up for grabs, and the Lions just miss a big interception, 2nd down. Another illegal shift makes it 2nd & 15 at our 33. Chandler stops a completed pass over the middle at the 16. Add in a holding call on the next play, and it’s 2nd & 20 at the 26 with 2:50 left in the 2nd period. Chris Turner covers the delayed handoff play for a big defensive stop. The Rebel QB spots a receiver breaking for the left pylon, but Brian Markham is there step for step, and knocks the ball away in perfect coverage. Another illegal shift flag and the Lions take a timeout. McKenzie scores on a pass play from the 26, and the weird formation pass play works for the two-point conversion, Rebs 27, Lions 7.
Only 1:35 left in the half, and we start at the 22. Brian Boyd runs inside, is hit, spins, and blasts off for a great run to the 31! First down Lions! Josh picks up two, and Camden is in it’s two-minute no huddle offense. The Rebels knock Markham’s pass to Chandler, and the clock is stopped with 51.1 seconds left and 3rd &8. Josh Boyd is wrapped up after only two, and the Lions take a timeout at the 36 with 11.6 seconds showing. Punt formation, Markham bangs it to the 30, where Yoder downs it. The Rebs take a knee and it’s a 25-7 game at the half.
Both bands perform at half, and Carruth puts it on the peg to roll the second half. They field it at the 15, but Bryce Wilbanks, Jesse Leonard, and Heath Yoder combine for the stop at their 38. The McK offense powers a six-play scoring drive that included two runs and one pass for over ten yards. They run it over the center to score, but the screwy split formation pass play is stopped by John Hodge and Josh Boyd to keep the score 33-7.
The Rebel kicker must have been overcome with it all, and proceeds to kick three balls out of bounds to the left, moving back five yards each time. The refs finally sort it out…we get it at the 50, no we get it at the 45, no….Coach Ward says “Kick it again”, and they are trying again from the 25. Chandler grabs the kick, and runs it to the 42 where the Lions offense takes over. Byron Boyd is in motion and runs for a first down at their 47. Josh Boyd carries for seven. The Rebels recover a fumble at the 35, and it’s going the other way.
McKenzie starts a six-play scoring drive with a sweep left. Desmond Zollicofer makes the tackle, and the holding penalty makes it 1st & 15. Trevor Busby has the Rebel QB running for his life, so Chad Horton, Yoder, and Smitty help out to put him down after 3. The Rebel screen pass is complete, but Yoder and Horton are there to stop him for a loss of 4! The 3rd & 11 pass is away, and Ryan Prince in almost able to intercept. The Rebel receiver is still able to pull off the magic trick reception and it’s their first down at our 9-yard line. McK sends the running back to sweep left end, and they score. The kick is good, and with 4:10 in the 3rd, it’s a 40-7 game. The Lions offense starts at the 28 and generates a first down with a pass completion from Markham to Yoder to the 40-yard line. Two incomplete passes and a sack later, and Markham’s punt is fielded at the 28. The returner should have taken a knee, because Heath Yoder met him at the 32 and almost takes his head off with a huge hit that was heard in Holladay! The Rebs churn out a 12-play scoring drive that straddles the start of the fourth quarter. A delay of game penalty, four first downs, and a run up the middle from the one for the score finish it off for six. The kick misses, and with 8:22 left in the game, it was a 46-7 whipping.
The Lions start at the 25 with a Byron Boyd carry for two. McKenzie recovers a Lions fumble on second down at the 36. Smitty and Wilbanks stop the first down run for no gain. Wilbanks and Jeremy Stokes meet the runner on 3rd down for no gain. Zollicofer and Stokes cover the pitch after only a gain of one. They pass into the right flat for their 4th down attempt, and Chandler covers to make it Lions ball at our 35, time out McK. The Lions offense has the ball and 3:59 left. A pitch to Byron Boyd allows him to make the right edge, and he drives to their 40! First down Lions! On 3rd & 11, Byron goes around right end, makes a great cut back and rolls to the 27 for another first down. The offense runs out of gas and time, as the game ends with two consecutive hard runs by Garrett Golden for three yards each.
Talking with Head Coach Kevin Ward about a tough loss to a very talented McKenzie team: “We hurt ourselves – not tonight, but Monday thru Thursday – we only had one decent practice all week. They just didn’t respond in practice, and we try to tell them that we will play like we practice, and we didn’t practice well mentally. You just can’t get the physical part done if you aren’t ready mentally.”
On the Lions effort thruout the whole game: “I never questioned the effort. Our kids are going to play hard every down. We challenged them at half time, not to go out and win the ball game, but to play the second half as well as they can possibly play. Our team isn’t going to quit or give up. They give a great effort every Friday night, but we have to be mature in how we go about practicing. There has to be a sense of urgency Monday thru Thursday. We are going to be mentally prepared, and the physical part will take care of itself on Friday.”
On any injuries from tonight’s game: “Dennis Will may have broken his hand and Chad Horton was hit in the eye socket by a foot and has a very tender cheek bone. We wish the best for them as they get x-rayed tonight & tomorrow we will know the extent of their injuries. We may need some kids to step up and take some spots as starters. That’s why we practice every player every day. There is a chance of being one play away from starting that position for the rest of the season. That goes back to the maturity level of our team. They just don’t understand that and see the big picture yet. Once that gets done, I think they will start practicing better. They will realize that it’s not just about a few plays in mop up, but they can put themselves in a position to start.”
Positive notes?: “The thing I am more proud of than anything is the crowd support. I don’t know how many people were here, but our stands were full and our spirit line stretched from the endzone to the sideline at the 50! I can’t say how much I really appreciate it, and I know the kids do, even though they don’t see it now. We are going to get better. We don’t want our fans to look at this (loss to McK) and say, “They aren’t as good as we thought they were going to be”. We played about as bad as we can play and except for some penalties, McKenzie played about as good as they can play. When those two meet on the same field, it’s a lop-sided win. Our coaches are going to keep working hard, and we hope to get better and make the playoffs and make some noise & have the opportunity to upset some people and end our season on a great note.”
On next weeks road game against Houston County (Erin): “I don’t know a whole lot about them, Humbolt’s played them a couple years & I saw them play Waverly two weeks ago. They’ve got a new coach, and he is trying to get a lot of people enthused about the program and he is doing a lot of things right. His kids go out and give him a great effort and he gives them a chance to make plays. It’s going to be a tough task coming off this kind of a loss to motivate our kids to get ready to play a good football team at their place. They are winless, and I am sure their coaches are going to say there is no better time to win. We have a big challenge ahead of us. They will look that the tape of this huge loss and their kids are going to be excited about a chance to win. Look at both of our scores against Waverly, and you can throw that stuff out. This is a new day and our players are going to have to make plays and better tackles and if we do those things we will be all right. If we don’t it will be a dogfight. We want to avoid that if possible.”
Last thoughts?: “I hope our fans will travel with us to Houston County. Our kids are going to work hard. That’s a promise I will make to this community, we will be prepared on Friday night. I told the kids that I take full responsibility for this loss. I obviously didn’t do a good enough job during the week to make sure we were prepared and I will make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
Camden goes out of the Region for a game against Houston County in Erin next Friday night. Kickoff is at 7:30 PM. Show up early so that we can have a loud spirit line for our team. Let’s all follow the Lions to Erin and yell for the Lions to win one in Middle Tennessee!
GO LIONS!
taken by Tony Dillon.