Camden opens 2003 football season with
20-13 victory over Waverly
The season opener for the Camden Lions was the traditional “Battle for the Bridge” against the Waverly Tigers. The United Way was on-hand for a pregame ceremony that kicked off the fund-raising drive in both Benton and Humphreys County. Senior captains Josh Beasley, Dennis Will, and Maurice Gastelum were on the field for the coin toss. Waverly guessed right and deferred, so the Lions had the ball first. Matthew Chandler took the kick at the 15, sprinted left, cut back to the middle and was stopped at the 28 where the Lions would start the 2003 season. Camden’s offense is lead by Junior quarterback Brian Markham. The offense hit the field ready to roll. Markham pitched right to Josh Boyd, and the right side of the offensive line had a huge hole waiting. Josh carried for 9 with some great moves. A quick pass to a slanting Chandler in the left flat was good for a first down at their 36. Byron Boyd was in motion, took the handoff from Markham, and made it around right end and all the way to the 21 before the Tigers were able to stop him. First down Lions! The Tigers should have kept an eye on Byron, because Markham spotted him in the left flat and air mailed him the ball for six points! With 10:41 showing, Heath Yoder snapped it, Brian Markham placed it, and Clay Carruth banged it through to give Camden a 7-0 advantage!
Waverly took the kick and made the return ‘way too exciting before John Hodge and Thomas DuPree stopped him at their 43. The Lions defense lined up and Hodge nailed the running back for a loss of four as he started left. It was the start of a long Waverly drive that took the clock down to 3:43 in the first quarter with a 16-play drive. As they moved inside the ten, Dennis Will and Chris Turner had a stop for a loss of three. Two plays later, the Waverly QB scored on a sneak. The Tigers tried a sneaky split-formation “Is it a run or a pass” formation conversion attempt that didn’t work as Dennis Will smothered the receiver ‘way behind the line to keep the score Camden 7, Waverly 6 with 3:43 left in the first quarter.
Waverly kicked it to Chandler at the 15, and after two good moves he was stopped at the Lions 37. The Lions offense couldn’t get it’s claws in the fine Wright Field turf, and the punt was returned to their 33. The Tigers back hit the first down hole hard, and it took Bryce Wilbanks AND Heath Yoder to stop him at the 46. With 45 seconds left, the Tiger back started left, made a cut, but was wrapped up by Justin Smith, Hodge and Yoder for only a short gain. Time expired, and the refs turned it around for the second quarter.
The Waverly offense kept on hammering the stingy Lions defense. With 2nd & 7 from our 44, the Tigers were thinking “Pass”. The Lions defense was only thinking “SACK”! Jesse Leonard, Dennis Will, and Trevor Busby smothered the Cat for a ten-yard loss! Waverly found a way to move the sticks, but the Black and Gold defense wasn’t feeling very generous. With eight minutes showing, the Tiger ball carrier started over right tackle. He was met by Trevor Busby and Maurice Gastelum and dropped for a loss of two to make it 2nd & 12. Two plays later the running back started left, was hit hard and John Hodge dove on the loose ball! Camden had a first down at their own 15!
Josh Boyd carried behind the offensive line for three. After an incomplete pass, Boyd carried for two more yards. It wasn’t enough to keep the drive alive, and Brian Markham punted it away. Ryan Prince made an excellent open field tackle on the Waverly returner, and they started at their 45.
Waverly offense kept grinding it out on the ground, and with 43 seconds left in the half, they had 2nd & 5 on our 12. The Tigers broke out of a quick huddle, and ran the reverse. Smitty, Busby, and Yoder had a better idea and dumped the back for a loss! Great play! Waverly took the time out, but the field goal attempt missed. Brian Markham took a knee, and they went into the field house leading by one, Camden 7, Waverly 6.
The Waverly band performed, and the CHS Marching Band took the field to show off their band new 2003 show. First year director Joseph Nichols and Field Commander Kelly Lambert lead the band. Congratulations on a great show!
To start the 2nd half, team Captain Josh Beasley met the Tiger captain at midfield to receive instructions from the ref. Waverly fumbled when Chris Turner popped the Tiger runner during the return, and kicker Clay Carruth recovered it on their 43! Great play by the kicking team! Camden started with Chandler in motion and Josh Boyd diving in behind Ricky Schopf’s block for a pick up of 13 and a first down! An incomplete pass and penalty made it 2nd & 20 ‘way back at the 40. Need a big play… Markham took the snap from Beasley, dropped back and spotted Maurice Gastelum streaking down the left sideline. The pass was perfect, the catch was hauled in, and it was a CHS first down at the 4! Boyd bangs the Tigers for one. Markham sprints right, decides to keep, and gets + 2. The third down run is fumbled, and the Waverly offense comes back out with 9:14 left in the 3rd.
The Tigers kept the ball the rest of the 3rd period, but the Camden defense was hitting hard every play. With 2nd & 6, Chad Horton smoked out a sweep play and busted the line for a loss of 5. Busby, Dupree, and Yoder combine for no gain. Chandler and Desmond Zollicoffer tag the running back as he starts around left end. With 5:00 showing in the 4th, Chad Horton held the corner down until Gastelum and Chandler get there to finish the Waverly back off for a loss of 5! Great play! Waverly had to punt, but a “roughing” call gives them the ball and new life. Camden is able to hold them out thru the rest of the quarter, but they score on the first play of the 4th with a pass into the right corner of the end zone. The kick was good, and it was a Waverly 13-7 lead.
Matthew Chandler grabbed the kick and ran from the deep left corner of Wright Field. He made two Tigers miss, and was finally hauled down at our 40. The Lions offense got fired up, and started a nine-play scoring drive with a huge run by Josh Boyd behind Ricky Schopf and John Hodge for a first down at their 49! Markham threw a perfect strike to Zach Brazzell for a first down at the 28! Byron Boyd followed his blocks on the right edge to make the 20-yard line before being pushed out of bounds by a Tiger. Markham rolls right on the bootleg, keeps it and makes it first down and goal at the 6! Josh Boyd scored by picking his way along the left side of the line and kicking in the burners to beat everyone to the pylon for six! The kick just missed, and it was a 13-all game with 8:12 left in the 4th! Hmmm….what are the overtime rules anyway…
Waverly started at the 35, and the Lions defense was everywhere, flying to the ball with intensity. Yoder, Chandler, and Prince combine to squash a Tiger for no gain. Thomas Dupree, Chris Turner, Josh Beasley, and Smitty stomp a runner after only two. With 6:55 left and 3rd & 8, the Waverly QB starts right, breaks back left and may have had a big gainer, but Dennis Will runs him down to make it 4th & 6, and Waverly had to punt. Great series, defense!
It stopped dead on the Lions 48-yard line where the offense will take over. Brian Markham was under center to lead the Lions on an 11-play drive to win the game. Matthew Chandler grabs Markham’s pass for a first down at the 40. Jesse Leonard takes the handoff - thanks the offensive line for holding their blocks - and busts the inside trap for a pick up of 12! Great call, great execution! First down at their 28. Maurice Gastelum hauls a pass in for 9, first down on the 22. With 4th & 4, Markham rolls left, gets a block from Chandler and dives for a first down! With 30 ticks left in the tied game and no time outs remaining, Brian Markham took the snap from Josh Beasley, rolled left, and spotted Matthew Chandler blasting past all of the Waverly defenders. Markham drilled the pass into the left corner of the endzone, and Chandler’s catch made it 19-13 CHS. Yoder’s snap, Markham’s hold, and Carruth’s kick sealed the final score at 20-13. Waverly had one last gasp effort after the kick, but Heath Yoder nailed the scrambling QB as time expired on an exciting Camden victory!
Congratulations to all of the CHS football team, coaches, cheerleaders, and fans on a great win! Waverly continues into its 5-game road stretch by playing at Lewis County next week, while Camden hosts District 6-AA foe McKenzie. Make plans to come out to Wright Field next Friday night to cheer the Black & Gold on to a big win!
Head Coach Kevin Ward on a “big” win over Waverly: “We have been working since December for this, and there is no reason to not go out and play hard. Once they got out there and got some confidence, especially after that first drive, I thought they did great. We made some mistakes, the Jamboree would have helped, but hey, we made some mistakes and still beat a good team.”
On missing the chance to play in the Jamboree: “The Jamboree atmosphere is good, under the lights, no coaches in the huddle, you can make your mistakes and watch it on tape and get better. We didn’t get to do that, so we will look at this game tape and see what we did wrong and try to get better while we enforce the things we did right. I am pleased with the effort that our kids gave. We got behind, and they just kept playing hard and came back to win.”
On the long playing time that the defense endured: “Our defensive scheme doesn’t hold up real well to the Waverly offense. They can pick and choose gaps when they want to, so our job was to make them run as many plays as we can. They are going to move the ball unless we are perfect, and we are not there yet. We stopped them a couple times and made them punt a couple times, so I think we played about as well as we could.”
On injuries sustained during this game: “Heath Yoder, I think he had a little hip pointer, other than that we are fine. I think we will get (Josh) Guajardo back and that will help us with some depth.”
On Brian Markham running the offense: “Brian is another coach on the field, he did a great job running the offense and listening and doing the things we wanted him to do. A lot of the things we saw on film hitting a gap, or turning it up and just getting the first down. He never made a bad decision on his passes, and that just goes with a great athlete, a smart kid who understands the game and what we are trying to get done.”
On the crowd: “People told me that it was a huge crowd & I noticed the roars when we scored. It’s great, and I have said before, these kids have worked hard and go beyond what a lot of kids will do these days. They get their class work done, and study hard, and come out here and work in this heat. They people in this community need to come out and support them. If we can keep getting this kind of crowd, maybe some great things will happen for us.”
On the “huge” improvement between week #1 and #2: “We made some mistakes, but hey, this is a new offense. The offensive line doesn’t understand the ins and outs of the blocking schemes. Once we get familiar with what the defensive adjustments do to us, I think they are going to understand where we need to attack them. We will focus on that this week. I think we were balanced, with almost exactly the same number of yards rushing and passing, and that is my philosophy. We have a lot of great athletes out there and we won’t let anyone focus on one guy.”
On McKenzie next week: “You just don’t normally do what McKenzie did last year. They lost a bunch of Seniors the year before and ended up going to the semifinals with a whole new set of offensive players. What (McKenzie Head Coach) Wade (Comer) did with that team was phenomenal. We are going to study our opponent and find out what we can do offensively and on the defense and go out and work as hard as we can and see what happens.”
On his staff: “My assistant coaches are probably the hardest working group that I have been around in a long time. They are doing what they love to do and it shows. Not only in their demeanor, but in our players. They respect these coaches and are going to do anything they can to please them. That is a credit to this staff.”
GO LIONS!
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by Tony Dillon