28 August 09
The Camden Lions loaded up the truck and made the short drive across the Big Sandy River bottom to do battle with a young no-quit Bruceton Tiger squad in a non-district game. The sparks weren't real frequent on the field, but the sparks in the southern sky caused a shortened game to wind up with just over three minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
The Bruceton faithful took time to offer a pre-game 20th anniversary salute to the Central Tigers (CT) that defeated DCA in the State Championship game and brought the gold ball back to Joe T. Herndon Stadium. Rod Sturdivant was also honored with a "piece of the rock" – (literally, a chunk of the "Hollow Rock"!) ... that will be used as part of a monument that will be built on the south slope leading out onto the field. Congratulations to all of the members of that team & Rod for their accomplishments!
The Lions were represented on the pre-game coin flip by Senior Captains Patrick Hassell, Michael Gaskin, Dee Dunlap, and Dakota Summers. They got it right & took the football to start the game headed south. Patrick is back deep with Derek Easley, but the Tigers kick it short, where Blake Riley fields the one-hopper at the 30 and speeds to the 35, first down Lions.
The Lions are in "pass" mode, but Tigers are everywhere in our backfield & Gaskin is sacked for a 4-yard loss. Derek on the sweep around left end makes it 3rd & 10. Michael rolling right, spots Derek open & he has the ball, a loop inside allows him to make it out to the CT 49...add in a Blue unsportsmanlike conduct flag & the Lions have a 1st & 10 at the CT 34. Gaskin's long throw is caught...but just out of the endzone, incomplete. An added holding call moves us back to the 46, 1st & 22. The double handoff inside has Derek zipping inside for a gain of 8. Gaskin roll left, spots Devon White in the CT backfield, but the pass is tipped at the line & incomplete. Gaskin pulls the ball down & runs down the left sideline to make it 4th & 4...and we are going for it. Kendrick Hudson is in motion, gets the handoff around right end, adds a cut inside & has the 1st down at the 6-yard line! Devon with the ball inside is stopped at the 2. A run around left end is stopped with a fumble in the endzone & the Tiggers have it, 1st down at the 20.
Bruceton can't snap it & three plays later Jordan Murphy grabs the fumbled snap under center to put the Lions offense back in business at the 15 yard line with 6:30 left in the 1st quarter. The pesky Tiger defense won't quit, but on the 8th play - - and two 4th down conversions later - - Easley sweeps left end & pushes one Blue Man into the endzone for the score. Dee has the snap, Michael has the hold & Dakota sends the ball screaming inside of the posts to give Camden a 7-0 lead!
Dakota bangs the kick low & left and it looks like "Pinball Tigers": bouncing off of everyone! Blake Riley hustles down & drops the returner at the 14 & the Lions defense has them hemmed up right off. The CT series stretches over into the 2nd period with penalties on both teams, but the 1st play of the 2nd has Dakota Summers jumping on a loose ball to give the Lions a first down at their own 44!
The Lions give the Tigers a steady dose of Devon, with a little added Derek as well & with 8:40 left in the half, Devon blasts across left tackle, untouched, and scores. Dakota has the extra point & Lions lead 14-0.
Dakota's kick ALMOST checks up at the 1-yard line with no one in Blue covering it, but it just rolls into the endzone; they will start at the 20. Three plays later Cody Robin grabs up the loose ball under center & CHS offense is in business again!
Gaskin hands it to Easley, full burners on and he is gone around right end to the pylon untouched, a one play 16-yard scoring drive! 21-0 Lions.
Summers drills the kick down the middle & the line drive is mishandled. Riley is all over him & they will start at their own 31. The Central center & QB can't seem to get it going on & the Lions recover another fumble under center! Three plays later, Trae White starts left into the line, looks inside but slants to the goalpost from the 9-yard line & scores. Motion called on the extra point kick moves it back five, but Dakota sends a fastball just inside the right stick & the Lions lead 28-0.
Summers kick just rolls into the endzone & CT will start at their 20. Kyle Blackburn's big hit makes it a loss of four. Dee & Kyle team up & drop the runner for a loss of two. Flag on the Blue Man Group for delay, an incomplete pass & CT is punting it away. It's a cannon shot that is fielded cleanly by Easley, adds a smooth move that makes two miss & the Lions will start at the CT 34.
Cody Beal is the 2nd man thru & carries for eight. We catch the Fumble Fever & the Tiggers have it at their own 28 with 2:47 left in the half, time out Tigers. Big stops by Trevor Latendresse, Larry Jamison & Michael Heck stop Bruceton at 4th & 6, so they line up to punt. The snap is back...but so is Blackburn...but the punt just gets away. Lions will start at the CT 47.
Gaskin rolls left, passes to Summers, and the striped one says he was out of bounds before he got control, 2nd & 10. After some flags, a Devon run for a 1st down, and a Gaskin spike, the Tigers take a time out with 4.3 seconds left. Gaskin spots Easley at the right pylon, the long throw is up there, but it's incomplete & both teams hit the lockers for the half time break.
Both bands perform their half time shows & Dakota is out on the field reminding the refs that he will kick it off to start the 2nd half. He does, Kyle Blackburn has the runner low, Cody Hassell has him high & CT will start at their own 24.
The Lions defense has found some energy & Devon combines with LJ for a big stop, no gain. Kyle & Trevor stand up the runner so Sean Flores can pin him down...for no gain. The Tigger back starts left, but Blake Riley & LJ have that ALL figured out, loss of one & the Blue Team is punting it away. It's high, it's short & it's down at their 36.
A focused Lions offense starts with motion to the left, a give to Devon & a nice gain of 5. Gaskin fakes to White, keeps it & follows his blockers around left end to the 10! Great play & some excellent down field blocks! Gaskin fakes to White inside, but he pulls the ball out & speeds around left end thru a gap for the score! The motion call on the extra point backs us up five (again), but Dakota drills the kick & the Lions are up 35-0 with 8:37 on the 3rd quarter clock.
The significance of that score is a 35 point lead initiates the "mercy rule" and the clock runs continuously. CT starts at their own 35 & is able to run four plays before Jordan Murphy tackles the quarterback AND the fullback for the sack to make it 4th & 14...so the punt is away. A flag for a block in the back and a recovered fumble all add up to a CHS 1st at the 21. As Derek Easley breaks the huddle as the new quarterback, a lightning flash in the southern sky clears the teams and the stands with 3:32 left on the 3rd quarter clock. TSSAA rules dictate that 30 minutes must pass without any more lightning before play can resume. At 9:56 the remainder of the game is cancelled to make the final score CHS 35, HRBC 0.
Some stats of interest:
First downs: CHS 11, CT 3
Rushing: CHS 33 for 229 y, CT 22 for 17 y
Passing: CHS 1 of 5 for 16 y, CT 1 of 4 for 15y
Fumbles/Fumbles lost: CHS 3/2, CT 4/4
Penalties: CHS 7 for 60 y, CT 8 for 70 y
Rushing leader: Devon White, 7 carries for 60 y
Reception leader: Derek Easley, 1 catch for 16 y
Leading tacklers:
Larry Jamison – 10 total, 2 solo
Kyle Blackburn – 9 total, 2 solo
Blake Riley – 7 total, 2 solo, 1 fumble recovery
Talking with Head Coach Kevin Ward about the win at Bruceton:
"It was a good win for us, obviously the weather situation wasn't the way we would have liked to end it. Anytime there is a safety issue, we are going to be very concerned & take every precaution. I appreciate (Bruceton Head Coach) Jamie (Williams) agreeing to end it when he did. We would have had to start back playing at 10:30 PM. Both teams were able to get out of the game injury free tonight & it might not have been good trying to get everyone warmed up again. I never have "NOT" finished a game! When I was at Westview we started a game at 9:30. The bus driver got lost coming to Martin, but we played that game with shortened quarters & it got over very quickly."
On the team's effort early:
"I told the team afterwards that we just got beat early. We talked all week about getting out to a fast start, & we just didn't do it. I give all of the credit to Bruceton. I have never been disappointed in our kids up to this point, but tonight I am disappointed with their effort. We will definitely have to play better next week to get a win. Our goal was to work on our passing game some tonight; we have to be able to throw it some...you just can't run all of the time. We have a long way to go on our passing game, but we have the kids that can do it; it's just a matter of getting it done on Fridays."
On the penalty stricken game that was obvious for a while:
"We helped them, they helped us, and it got kind of ugly there for a while. They got us out of some situations with some mistakes that they made, but we have to get better & not hurt ourselves when we have an opportunity to make a play & you get a holding call or jump...just not happy with the way the offensive line is playing on our passing game. We have got to get more work on that. We can show them some of the small things that they are doing wrong this week on tape & go work on it. We will put more pressure on them in practice than they will ever have in a game & see how they respond."
On the lack of punts by Camden tonight:
"Gave him the night off. The situation was such that we really wouldn't have gained much with any kind of a punt. We felt like we could run the ball on them successfully, PLUS when we have the ball I feel good! We decided to go for it on 4th down a few times. We wanted to put the ball into our play makers' hands & let them go make plays - and they did."
On the big crowd of Black & Gold fans that traveled with the team:
"Big crowd, really appreciate all of our fans that showed up to watch us play! Hope they will come out to watch our 1st district game next week against Harpeth. It will be an important game for this team. I have never played Harpeth; Coach Blow did once when he was at Huntingdon. The last time Camden played them, Harpeth blew us out, so we want to be ready & able to play our best. They had a big win tonight, 56-13, something like that, so they will have a lot of confidence & be ready to give us their best shot."
A pumped up squad of Harpeth Indians will invade Wright Field for the 1st District game of the 2009 season. Our Lions will need all Black & Gold fans to show up & be loud as we cheer them to a victory!
GO LIONS!
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lion.news@whitestoneservices.com.