Lions beat Mustangs 38-7 at Wright Field

The Camden Lions have defeated Huntingdon the last two years (7-6 in 2006, 16-14 in 2007) in key Region wins. CHS has never defeated HHS three years in a row. Not even once. Zero. Never happened. The 2008 Lions took that history lesson seriously & were ready to continue their NEW habit: Beating the Mustangs!

A good crowd was on hand to support both teams as the captains met a midfield. Camden will receive & the 'Stangs opened with an onside kick, which Ross Dudley scooped up & ran to the Huntingdon 43! Great start! Will Latendresse snapped it, Michael Gaskin hands it to Devon White & the Lions offensive line parted the ponies as Devon hammered it down to the 'Stang 31! Big blocks by Davie Miller & Elias Nazi paved the way, first down Camden. Andy Travis takes the ball around right end for a gain of 3. Gaskin fakes the handoff to Dudley inside but throws to Hassell, just barely incomplete. Dudley carries outside, hit at the 14 & carries two Mustangs all the way to the 7, 1st & goal! Dudley starts down the line, spots a crease & dives thru to the 2. Dudley again, stopped short of paydirt, but the legs keep churning & his 2nd effort pays off, Lions touchdown! Thomas Pierpoint snaps it, Gaskin holds it & Danny Kim drills it thru the sticks to put Camden up 7-0 with 9:04 showing.

The Mustangs put together a scoring drive aided by a huge facemask penalty, 7-7 game. The Lions have 2nd & 5 after a run and a Mustang offsides penalty. A short pass to Hassell is followed by a Travis run for loss. Gaskin is stopped on the keeper, but his punt is downed at the HHS 15.

The Black & Gold defense watches the 'Stangs perform the illegal shift & it moves them back to the 3 yard line. Brandon Shannon, Nick Ibarra & Dakota Summers combine to stop the runner, 2nd down. The HHS QB keeps & manages the 9 yard line before Dudley drops him, 3rd & 9. Travis stops the next play at the 17 yard line & Huntingdon is punting. Patrick Hassell is deep, gets a good bounce & speeds to the HHS 47, Camden ball.

Andy Travis takes the ball from Gaskin, has blockers at the corner & walks the tightrope down the right sideline for a huge gain, pushed out at the HHS 28! Dudley around the other way with a gain of 6 to end the quarter in a tie ball game. White thru the gap in the middle, first down at the 19! Gaskin likes the looks of that & keeps for a gain of 7. Dudley is on fire around left end, straight arms one pony, pushes another backward & scores! Kim's extra point kick is perfect & with 10:38 left in the half, Camden is up 14-7!

HHS takes the 2nd kick from about the 24 to midfield, but an illegal chop block moves it back to the 20. A short pass is caught before Ibarra & Tyler Plant converge, gain of 9. Summers & Trevor Latendresse catch the ball carrier around the end, but it's enough for a 1st at the 34. They try a give around right end, but Nick knives thru the line & stops him at the 36. Nine minutes left before the break & a pass is complete down the middle. Plant on the stop, but it's a 1st down at our 47. Need a stop...

The Mustang QB keeps around left end & Chris Pagal hammers him, ball is loose...Camden recovers at their own 36! Devon has it, the Miller & Nazi give him some room & he is GONE! Touchdown Lions! Danny sails it into the sweet spot in the net & with 8:09 left before the break Camden has sailed to a 21-7 lead!

Kim's boot is deep left, the returner makes a move inside then out...but Dudley sticks him at their 35. The Lions defense drops a 4th & 26 on the Mustangs after a huge Ibarra QB sack & the punter is on the field. He gets it out to their own 49 where Patrick Hassell signals for the fair catch. Hmmm...short field, offense hittin' on all eight...what'cha' think we could do now...?

Gaskin rolls left & spots Hassell behind the defense. Pass is there, & Patrick adds s'more distance down the left sideline, 1st down CHS at the 7 yard line! Dudley dives into the line behind Miller, gain of one. Ross again, this time looking for a crease along the right side, spots a gap inside, cuts, scores! Kim has the extra point & with 5:26 left in the 2nd, the Lions are up 28-7!

Danny sends the high spinner down the left sideline that gives Ibarra & White enough time to get the returner on the ground at the blue 34. Dudley & Ibarra combine to stop the dive after a gain of one. Another run left is looking 'way too good, and it's a first down at the HHS 46 after Dudley's tackle. The 'Stangs string together 3 more runs before a dive play is met by LJ & Shannon, 1st down HHS at the CHS 43. Need a stop...

Their QB tries a pass in the left flat, but Ross Dudley as the jump timed perfectly & intercepts! They can't catch him till he's at the 49! Camden ball, 1:42 left in the half. Pagal thru the middle, gain of 4. Gaskin rolls left looking for the pass or the run, but a whole herd of horses cover him up, 3rd & 8 at our 43. Official time out with 32 seconds left.

It's Travis time in Tennessee!

Gaskin hands it to Andy, it's CHS student body right, the offensive line mows 'em down & Andy has the corner! A cutback thru traffic & a move down the right side line & we've got a 1st 'way down at the 20! 10 seconds left, Gaskin works the long hard count to perfection, ponies jump, 1st & five at the 14. An incomplete pass in the endzone stops the clock with 4.1 seconds left & that allows Danny Kim to drill the ball HIGH into the net and make it a 31-7 game! All zeros on the Wright Field clock and the Lions take a huge halftime lead over Huntingdon into the field house!

Both bands perform at the half, the hot chocolate is selling fast, & Davie Miller is on the field to crank up the 2nd half. Kim's kick is deep left to the 20 & Blake Riley teams with Sean Flores to drop the returner at the 28.

Lions defense gathers up. It's time for a check of some Football truths: The first 5 minutes of the 2nd half are important. The Lions defense knows that to be the truth!

LJ has the dive play up the middle all covered up, no way, gain of only one. The 'Stangs use the double handoff, but Nick Ibarra has seen that stuff, gain of only 2. Better try the air, but Ross Dudley is out there somewhere JUST in time to pull another interception in & run back to the HHS 28! Camden ball!

CHS Lions offense has Gaskin faking the big pitch outside right, and the give to White thru the middle for a big run down to the HHS 18! The defensive right end has the jumps, 1st & five at the 13. Travis doesn't get around right end, no gain. Dudley is the 2nd man thru the gap to the 12...official time out. 8:29 on the clock, Dudley with the ball behind Jordan Murphy, slant outside for the 1st down...time out to measure...First down Lions at the blue 8! Devon straight ahead, finds the seam, adds a move & has the ball down to the 4! Almost all members 2008 CHS football team head towards the right sideline at the snap...but Devon has the ball & is gone around left end for the score! Danny's kick is solid & 38-7 matches up with 7:15 left in the 3rd!

HHS starts at their 35 after Blake Riley hammers a blocker & takes the returner to the turf. The 'Stangs piece together two 1st downs before three big stops by Jordan Murphy grind the drive to a halt. The ball goes over on downs at our 35, but a fumble on our first play sends the defense back on the field. HHS is able to come up with one more 1st down in the 3rd quarter before Brandon Shannon tackles a receiver on the middle screen at the 20 & Camden has the ball back! Chris Pagal tries left end, no gain. Chris again around right end, has the corner & a gain of 3. Pagal slants to the left, but he is stopped short of the marker & Gaskin is out for only his 2nd punt of the night with 10:59 left in the game. The CHS defense delivers a Black & Gold “3 & out” with big hits by Elias Nazi, LJ, Jordan Murphy, and Davie Miller & the HHS punter is back at work. He kicks it high & short, but a huge visitor roll allows them to down it at our 13.

Some young Lions get some playing time on offense & on defense they are able to keep the 'Stangs in check for the remainder of the game. When the Wright Field scoreboard horn sounds, Camden has a historic third win in a row over Huntingdon, 38-7.

Some stats of interest:
First downs: CHS 13; HHS 11
Rushes (Att/Yds/TD): CHS 42/246/5; HHS 38/95/1
Passes (Att/Yds/TD): CHS 2/47/0 ; HHS 5/88/0
Fumbles (#/Lost): CHS 4/1; HHS 1/1
Penalties (#/Yds): CHS 3/25; HHS 7/44

Leading CHS Rushers:
Devon White - 11 carries for 118 yards, 2TD's
Ross Dudley - 11 carries for 74 yards, 3 TD's

Special Teams:
Danny Kim – 24 yard field goal

Defense: Ross Dudley – 13 total, 2 Ints
Nick Ibarra – 10 total, 1 QB Sack

Talking with Head Coach Kevin Ward about the Huntingdon win in the Field house after the game:
“I thought our kids really played well. They were focused this week in practice, it was a Region game, plus the rivalry kind of adds to that. It was a great crowd, loud, I am so happy that we have so many fans that are involved in our program & supporting our kids! These guys work hard everyday in practice to put on a show for them on Friday nights, so it's good to see that it is appreciated.”

On the “historic” three-peat:
“We talk to our Seniors every year about leaving a legacy, about trying to do something that previous classes have not done. I am very proud of this class for what they have accomplished. I am proud of the coaches for their effort & the players for responding. Coach McDowell put a good defensive scheme together; offensively Coach Blow also did a great job. We were able to stick to the game plan throughout, and we were able to get our substitutions in when we planned. I haven't looked at the film yet & I am sure there will still be some things that we can work on, but just an overall good night.”

On the last score & field goal before the half:
“To go up three touchdowns at the half is big; I think it might have let the air out of their sails a little bit. The last stop with Ross Dudley's interception right before the half & Danny Kim's field goal kick was a big boost going into the half. Thomas Pierpoint has a good snap, Michael Gaskin got the ball down just right, and Danny Kim had 'way more than enough leg, probably another 10 yards easily. We may need those points going into the latter part of the season & I was proud of their performance.”

On the “mix” of weapons that the offense has seemed to develop:
“Some teams know that to stop us, they have to stop Andy Travis. Good teams realize that we have other weapons. They forget that we have other weapons, Ross Dudley is a player, Devon White was solid tonight. They also might need to realize that we can throw it around some, so it really gives us a different look when everyone delivers. Each night it seems to be someone different. We didn't bust big plays every time, but we got positive yards. Hopefully we can continue to do that.”

How do you keep their focus on winning a Region 7AA Championship:
“We didn't win a Championship tonight. We have five wins, so we are eligible for the playoffs, that's all that happened tonight. Last year a 5-win team got in as a wild card team, that's not what we want to do. We would like to play at home during the playoffs, the fans like that. We would like to get an advantage & finish strong. We still have some things to work on, but it's week #7 coming up, you either know how to block & tackle by now or you don't. We will be able to cut back on those drills & work on some other things. They have responded well to our direction & critiques. I am very proud of their maturity & response.”

On the “popping pads” that were heard when the Camden defense was on the field:
“That was a goal of ours before the game, one of three actually. We did not want to be out-hit, we wanted to be more disciplined, and not beat ourselves. We felt like if we did those three things, we would win. We won the physical battle, I felt like we were more disciplined, only 3 penalties. We didn't beat ourselves. We did give up a TD on a bad judgment read on the ball, but we will get better. This is a fun bunch to coach because they answer the challenges that are presented to them.”

On the “different” week that Camden will have coming into the Thursday night Homecoming game against Houston County:
“Our referee association was in a bind for officials this next Friday night, seemed as though everyone was playing at home in this area. They weren't going to have enough crews to cover the game. I hate change, but we were on fall break & I thought it might be an opportunity for our players to leave after the game & have a 3-day weekend. It might refresh them a bit for the end of the season push. We are going to shut the football office down Friday morning & go scout some teams we might be playing later in the year. We will figure out if they can handle this change. I hate change; I haven't ever played on a Thursday! It will be a short week, we will miss our Thursday walk-thru day.”

On the schedule for the activities:
“The homecoming parade will be Wednesday; the game will be at 7 PM on Thursday rather than 7:30. This will help Houston County get back home a little earlier. We may have some visitors that will come to scout us.”

Let's all plan to be at the 2008 CHS Homecoming have THURSDAY night at 7 PM to support the Lions in a Region 7AA matchup against the Houston County Fighting Irish.

GO LIONS!