16 Oct 09
Imagine the sloppiest mud you have ever walked thru. Imagine the first real cold and drizzly weather of the 2009 season on a breezy night in Cheatham County, Tennessee. What about both of these coming together on top of a Friday night District 11AA football game in Ashland City that Camden needed to win in order to stay undefeated...and continue their march for a Championship. Slicker buttoned? Rubber boots on? Umbrella ready? Play football!
The officials and both teams captains met in the mud pie that was midfield as the local AM radio announcers mentioned that "this field plays into our hands". It had to have been a mud pit for the soccer game that was played on the field on Thursday night due to the week-long showers in the area. Dee Dunlap, Dakota Summers, Michael Gaskin and Patrick Hassell won the toss and took the ball to start the wetlands contest. Patrick fields the kick from the Cheatham Cubs (CC) at the 15 and skates out to the 30. Gaskin hands it to Devon White behind Jordan Murphy and Ethan Melton, two Cubs bounce off him for a gain of 8. Maurice Whitfield is in motion, has the pitch and the 1st down at our 44. Lions line it up, whistle no flag, go again with Trae White in motion from right wing. He takes the ball inside behind Trevor Latendresse and Jacob Sharum to fall forward after 7. A crowd of Cubs has Trae surrounded for a loss of 2. Maurice behind Trevor, adds a cut and has the 1st down at the CC30! Trae is hit in the backfield for a loss of 1. Devon gains 2. Trae can't get anywhere and CC takes a time out, 4th and 8 at the 28. Maurice has the ball and the sweep of left end is looking good, but the refs say he touched his knee on the muddy cut and the Cubbies will take over on downs at their own 28 with 6:54 left in the 1st.
Dakota Summers squashes their running back after a gain of one. The Cubbies bobble the snap, QB has it and Larry Jamison has him, no gain. Their QB falls down and the CC punter is on the field. The slick ball sails over his head, but he runs it down and gives it a kick out of bounds at the 20, CHS ball!
The Lions offense can't punch it in, but plays some field position ball and goes for it on 4th down. Devon is wrestled down at the 14 and the Cubbies have it there. Cheatham is able to string together a 10-play scoring drive that bridges into the 2nd quarter with a huge pass interference call that keeps the drive alive; 1st down at our 29. Four plays later, their QB keeps around right end for the score, the kick misses and with 7:24 left in the half Camden trails CC, 6-0.
The misty rain starts to drift down just a little harder as Kyle Blackburn fields the short pooch kick, heads for the left sideline and absorbs a hit out of bounds. The refs throw a flag – ‘cause you can't do that - and the Lions will start at the CC44. Devon behind Maurice for 4. Trae in motion, has the pitch around right end and slides in for a 1st down at the 34. Maurice behind Dakota and Blake Riley for 2. Trae on the speed sweep the other way, but he is bowled down after only one, 3rd and 6. Michael takes the snap, rolls right, looks, GO! He runs down the right side line and dives for the pylon and for the score! The extra point snap is fumbled, Gaskin tries to run it in, but with 6:30 left in the half it's all tied up at 6.
Dakota delivers a short spinning kick that they return to the 39 and the Lions defense has a Rockettes routine in mind: 1-2-3-Kick. The CC back tries a dive thru the right guard slot...right where Kyle center punches him after a gain of 4. They option the dive and Cody Robin leads the stop after only 2. A miss on the snap, 4th and 5, the punt is low left and downed at our 33. Lions ball!
Trae White starts right, but a crowd of Cubbies are waiting, loss of one. Trae again, same spot but he is loose around Blake's block, has the right side line and is gone for the score! The extra point kick never gets gone but with 2:23 left in the 1st half, Lions lead 12-6.
Dakota sends a low spinner to the left hash as the rains came and a host of Lions down him at the CC39. They complete a pass and end with a Patrick Hassell interception and run back to their 24 to end the half with the Lions ahead, 12-6.
The Cheatham County marching band performed at the half and Dakota has the ball set up to kick. It's deep down the middle and Jackson Brown leads the stop at the CC30. After a gain of 5 on 1st down, Jordan Murphy chases the snap back to their QB and drops him before he can get set to pass, great sack, loss of 6! Kyle covers the QB keeper, 4th and 13 and the punter sends a low punt to our 39.
Trae runs around left end, is hit but keeps running, another collision but still going and has the CC47 and a 1st down! We move, 1st and 15. Gaskin keeps around right end for a gain of 7. Devon behind Jacob for 3. We jump, 3rd and 10. Michael sells the give on the dive, but drops back and sends it to Blake Riley who is running behind all defenders...Riley pulls it in and has the 1st down at the CC6! Maurice is covered in cubbies, no gain. Gaskin takes the ball around right end, plants a cub with a stiff arm and zips inside of the pylon to score! The 2-point conversion run fails, but with 6:37 in the 3rd, it's Lions 18, Cubs 6.
Cody Beal drops the returner at the 40 and the Lions defense delivers a three and out with big stops by Tyler Plant and Larry Jamison to make it 4th and 9. The snap is back to the punter, but Kyle is quicker and has the punt blocked! Larry Jamison grabs it up and runs to the CC30, Lions ball!
Gaskin fakes it to Devon and gives to Trae behind Ethan and Murf for a short gain. Maurice behind Trevor and Jacob, adds a move and has the 1st at the 7! The Lions fumble is recovered at the 2, then Michael fakes the handoff into the line, sprints around left end and rolls over a cub into the endzone for 6! Trae sweeps left end, thanks Patrick, Blake, and Jordan for their blocks and has the 2-point conversion and the final score is posted with 2:32 left in the 3rd.
The Cubs start at the 39 and a flag grinds their drive out at 4th and 4...but they are going for it to start the 4th quarter and their pass is complete for a 1st down at our 40. Their QB is the whole offense, either rushing or passing, but their 4th and 5 QB option keep attempt is nailed and the Lions take over on downs at their own 29 with 7:30 left in the game.
The Lions offense can't get it moving in the mud and with 4:50 showing Michael performs the miracle of the night and finds one hard spot on the field (really!) to bounce the ball on and the Cubs will start at their own 37. Cody Beal and Derek Easley combine on first down after a gain of 3. Brian Haggard strings out the sweep so Kyle can make the tackle, but it's enough for a 1st at their 48. Two consecutive fumbles under center moves them back five before the line judge entertains us all with a skating display to try to stay out of the mud! He manages to stay vertical...some how...and the Cub QB roll right to the 49, time out CC. They are going for it on 4th; the ball is loose but they recover it at the CC 47, and it's still the Lions ball. Michael takes the victory knee with 37 seconds left and the Lions escape the Mud Bowl trap game with a 26-6 District 11AA win.
Some stats of interest:
First downs (#): CHS-8, CC-9
Rushing (att/yards): CHS-36/204, CC-38/110
Passing (comp/att/yards/int): CHS-1/1/42/0, CC-3/6/49/1
Fumbles (#/lost): CHS-2/0, CC-5/0
Penalties (#/yards): CHS-4/30, CC 4/35
Rushing leader: Trae White -11 carries for 109 yards
Receiving leader: Blake Riley – 1 reception for 42 yards
Leading tacklers:
Kyle Blackburn: 15 total, 1 solo and 1 blocked punt
Larry Jamison: 13 total, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss
Tyler Plant: 11 total
Talking with Lions Head Football Coach Kevin Ward after the game:
"Never seen a field that bad. They played a soccer game on it Thursday night and just really tore it up. He (CC Head Coach Finley) said this is as bad as the field has ever been in the 12 years or so that he has been there. The footing was awful, you couldn't see lines, standing water on a lot of it, and they were embarrassed by it, not really their fault. As I told Flash earlier, this is THE reason we played early last week! They still have two more games to play on that field and it is going to be awful!"
On the defensive backfield:
"We didn't play very well there tonight; we let them catch too many passes. Didn't break on the ball, I know we had one interception, but it was just too easy; catching uncontested passes in our zones. They have played much better in other games, so I know we can get them ready for next week."
On the games high points:
"Real proud of our offense, we didn't turn the ball over, we didn't fumble it away, huge concerns in those conditions. We did a good job of taking care of the football. Fumbled on 2-point conversion tries, once under center, but no real damage from those mistakes. Even good teams will do that and we minimized the effect. No one panicked when they saw the sloppy conditions. Those conditions always hurt teams that aren't mature and we played thru that tonight. You can't use that as an excuse. From a defensive standpoint, we did a good job of pressuring their center and causing some bad snaps. If you are able to hold them to 150 yards of total offense and only 6 points, you've had a pretty good night considering the conditions. They were trying to slow the game down and keep our offense off of the field, but once we got the two score lead, it caused them to have to get away from what they needed to do. Really proud of all of our fans that followed us to Ashland City. That win sets us up for a championship game here next Friday."
On next week's game against Creek Wood at Wright Field:
"I don't really know anything about them. I have coached with a couple of their coaches in All-Star games. Their defensive coordinator was with DCA those two years they came over here. I think they only won one game last year, and they have a lot of excitement going on this year! They have won seven straight games and are playing very well. It will be a playoff type atmosphere, and SHOULD be! The good news is that we know we are in the playoffs seeded high and will get to play at home, but it sure would be good to win a district championship!"
The Lions have a chance to cement an undefeated season next week and win a District Championship by beating Creek Wood from Charlotte, TN. Let's all be at Wright Field early on Friday to cheer our Lions on to their best game yet!
GO LIONS!
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