2 Oct 09
The Camden Lions were making their first road trip into the "new" side of the District 11AA opponents with a long ride up the Cunningham to face the Montgomery Central High School Indians. The Indians had heard the Lions might be infected with a rare disease, not the N1H1, the "Huntingdon Hangover" & were ready to knock the Lions out of the top seed in the District Championship. The Big Yellow Lions Bus drew close to Highway 46 as a cold fall breeze blew across the hilltop stadium. Only time would tell...
The last time the Lions played on this field, their opening kickoff was run back for a score. That same monster was still lurking, as the Lions first play from scrimmage resulted in a fumble recovery by the Indians at the CHS 43. The Lions defense would be starting off in a hole. The Indians round up a 6-play scoring drive that ends with a dive behind their left tackle for the score, kick is good & with 8:35 left in the first, the Lions trail 7-0. Not exactly what we had planned...
MC sends a one-hop kick down the right side; Kyle Blackburn fields it & runs the sideline to the CHS 47. Michael Gaskin takes the snap from Trevor Latendresse, slips it to Devon White who bulls over one Indian & dives to their 48. Gaskin fakes the handoff to White & gives to Derek Easley slanting in behind Ethan Melton & Jordan Murphy, puts his pads into an Injun & has the 1st down at their 42! Devon inside for 7 yards followed by a run behind Jacob Sharum & Dakota Summers to the 29, 1st down. A fumble gives the ball to MC at the 33 & the defense is back at work.
The defense mounts three great stops; 4th & 12 & their punter is on the field. The ball is downed at the 25, but a flag says that they moved & MC will punt again. Second punt is away, but it's lost in the lights & the Indians recover it at our 43.
The MC offense & CHS offense trade three-and-out punts & the Lions defense is back at work with 15 seconds left in the 1st quarter at our 43 yard line. Dakota & LJ get the runner on the ground at the 40 to end the first quarter. Reset the clock, turn it around & they run a power sweep around right end, where Dakota is able to get him down at the 28. They try a student body left, but Tyler Plant knifes thru & drops him for a loss of 3. Power dive up the middle is covered by Kyle Blackburn, gain of only one. The Indian QB throws a quick pass...into the CHS cheerleaders incomplete & the MC field goal kicker is on the field...time out Indians. Snap is back, he has enough leg, but misses it right, Lions ball at the 20 with 9:48 left in the half. Dodged that...uhhmmm...arrow?
The Lions offense is focused & Derek Easley follows a Jacob Sharum block at the left edge & gains 9. Trae White sweeps left end behind Blake Riley & Jordan Murphy's blocks & has the first down at the 33. Devon slanting right for 2. Gaskin fakes the handoff inside, rolls right & throws complete to Blake Riley down the right side line. Big tightrope run down to the 13 & the Lions have a 1st down! Devon behind Trevor & Ethan for 4. Maurice from the right wing in motion & he has the ball behind Patrick's block to the 8 yard line. Devon behind Jacob, close, 4th & inches. The Lions are going for it, Michael sneaks it behind Ethan, Trevor & Jacob...they measure, first & goal at the 3! Devon is pushed back by a covey of Injuns after only one. Michael keeps along the left side of the line looking for a seam, sprints to the pylon & rolls in for the score! Dee Dunlap sends the snap back to Michael & Tanner Hudson has the kick thru the stix, Lions tie it up 7-all with 4:32 left in the half.
Dakota Summers sends the kick down deep, but the returner starts down the left sideline, cuts inside & Dakota finally gets him on the ground at our 47. MC strings together 8-plays finishing with their QB falling down at the 17 to make it 4th & 12. They trot the 2nd kicker out for the field goal try, Camden gets it blocked & the Lions will start at the 17! With 57.4 seconds left, Camden runs 5-plays & uses their last time out & a spike to move the ball to the MC 48, but the clock sends both teams into the locker room with the score tied at 7.
Both teams back on the field & Dakota sends a low driving keep deep. The returner starts left, but Maurice has him down at the 25. The Lions defense is stoked & a dive at right tackle is met by LJ, Trevor & Kyle, gain of only 1. Their QB starts left, but is surrounded by LJ & Trevor, reverses & runs into Jordan, no gain, 3rd & 10. Roll out left, pass is away, but Patrick has the ball & runs to their 24! Great interception, first down Lions!
Trae White runs around left end for 8. Devon slants right, but nothing there. Trae meets the same crowd around left end & the Lions have a 4th & 3 at the 17. Camden is going for it, Devon takes the ball up the middle behind Ethan, Trevor & Jacob, has two Injuns hanging on him, but a huge 2nd effort drives him for the first down at the 10! The 5th play of the drive has Devon slanting right...thru a huge hole & into the endzone for the score! Great blocking!
Dee + Michael + Tanner = PAT & with 7:35 left in the 3rd, Lions are up 14-7!
Summers kick is fielded by one of the MC up backs & Sean Flores is able to get one foot, down at the 50. Larry Jamison & Jordan Murphy are all over the dive up the middle, no gain...plus an illegal shift penalty moves them back to their 45. Delay of game makes it 1st & 20 and they finally get a play away...a long pass down the left sideline, jump ball & Patrick comes down with it at our 40! Everyone saw it - - except the refs! Whooot? Big discussion, nope, they never saw it & it's ruled incomplete. 2nd & 20, go again and the screen pass right gains one before Kendrick Hudson nails him at midfield, 3rd & 9. Tyler breaks thru as their running back starts left & has him down in the backfield for a loss of 3, 4th down. They line up to go for it, time out CHS. Go again, they move early & the refs move it back to the 44, 4th & 16. They line up from scrimmage & the Indian QB sneaks a quick punt! They are able to down it at the 22, Camden ball with 5:37 left in the 3rd.
Devon carries left for a gain of 2. Maurice around left end, Jacob posts up at the corner with a pancake block & Whitfield carries to the MC 40 where he is "horse collared"...but the ref says incidental facemask & adds only 5 yards. Gaskin rolls left looking downfield, has an Indian closing, sweet move leaves him holding air & Michael runs to the right sideline for a 1st down at the 6! Whitfield slants in behind blocks to the 2. Devon tries the opposite side, has a seam & scores! Tanner bangs it thru & with 3:14 left in the 3rd, the score is Camden 21, Montgomery Central 7.
Summers kicks a low spinner deep, the returner starts left, but Kendrick is all up in his wheels at the MC 36. The Camden fans are screaming for the defense to stop the Indians, and their QB keeps on the option roll left, should have pitched it because Kyle center punches him, no gain. LJ & Tyler answer the dive; throw him back after one, 3rd & 9. They throw a screen right, incomplete, but Lions cover the ball & the Striped Ones say the lateral pass we own is considered a fumble recovery, Camden ball at the 33!
1:32 left in the 3rd & there is one extra Indian on the field & the ref's DO see that, 1st & 5. Michael just misses Patrick in the endzone, incomplete. Maurice around right end, cuts slanting right, a great stiff arm drops two Injuns & he scores! Tanner has the PAT & with 1:08 left in the 3rd, a 2-play scoring drive & Lions lead it 28-7.
Summers kicks it deep, Cody Beal makes the returner head East & West so that Tyler Plant can nail him at the 18! Great coverage, Lions! CHS doesn't let up & 3-plays later their 4th quarter low squib punt rolls dead at our 29.
A holding flag on 1st down moves it 10 the wrong way, but Kendrick gets it back plus some with a run down the left sideline to the MC 44! Hudson again along the left side; picks his way looking for a seam, gone for 8! Devon "Hammer" White follows Maurice behind Jordan Murphy's block for a 1st down at the 30. Gaskin hits Hassell down the left side line all the way to the 3-yard line, 1st down Lions! Whitfield slants left & drives in for the score! Tanner's left toe sends it thru posts & over the concession stand & the final score is posted with 7:40 left in the game.
Dakota kicks it to an up back and Beal combines with Blackburn & Trae White to drop him at the 44. The Indians are 5-plays into the drive when their QB stretches to try for the first & he is hurt by the tackle. The ambulance is on the field to make sure there are no serious back or neck injuries & both stands give a huge round of applause as they leave the field after a long wait. Four plays later, their pass falls incomplete & Camden takes over on downs at their 48 with 2:55 left to play.
Camden runs four plays before a fumble gives the Indians the ball back at their 22 with 58 seconds left...and they call a time out. Big hits by Patrick Robinson & Kyle Blackburn end it, as John Yarbro teams with Heath Pettyjohn to make the last stop of the game. Camden wins 35-7.
Some stats of interest:
First downs: CHS-13, MC-9
Rushing (att/yds): CHS-40/334, MC-35/80
Passing (comp/att/yds/int): CHS-2/4/80/0, MC-7/17/44/1
Fumbles (#/lost): CHS-4/4, MC-2/1
Penalties (#/yards): CHS-3/20, MC-7/44
Rushing: Maurice Whitfield-6 carries for 78 yards, 2 TD's
Receiving: Blake Riley-1reception for 53 yards
Leading Tacklers
Tyler Plant: 17 total tackles, 4 solo, 3 sacks
Kyle Blackburn: 10 total tackles, 2 solo
Larry Jamison: 7 total tackles
Dakota Summers: 7 total tackles
Talking with Head Coach Kevin Ward after the game:
"We started out really bad. I was concerned coming into the game that we weren't mentally ready to play; people had been patting them on the back all week telling them how good they are. Teenage kids, well, start to believe that. We just didn't play the first half with the intensity & fire that we did against Huntingdon. We challenged them at half time to play like they are capable of & they were able to do that. You could see the difference in the speed of the 2nd half."
On the inside running attack: "They were giving us some things inside that we felt like we could exploit. We had some success inside and they compensated, so that opened up Gaskin's running outside & gave us some outside success later with our speed backs. They didn't really slow us down offensively, it was US stopping us! Turning the ball over, giving them the short field, penalties. It is a good sign that our defense could stop them when our offense was struggling in the 1st half & only give up 7 points. Very proud of the way they came back in the 2nd half & played a lot better."
On the strange MC offense:
"They use a wildcat attack: put a running back in at quarterback & let him find a seam, some option pitch, things we had seen on tape, no real surprises. They exploited some things early in the 1st half, with their first drive & caught us off guard with our secondary coverages. We made some adjustments & pretty well shut them down."
On the success of the kicking game:
"Extra points were good, Dee, Michael & Tanner we solid tonight. We didn't cover as well as I would have hoped we could with our short squib kicks. Only punted once, I think, and coverage was OK. It wasn't that our special teams play was bad, we didn't make enough good things happen to help us. Dakota kicked one over their heads & that caught them by surprise. Stopped them around the 20, I think we scored on that drive. That is the kind of things our special teams should do."
On the success of the running game:
"I think we rushed for over 300 yards, used 5 or 6 runners including our quarterback. It really helps to not get any one back beat on too bad. We try to kind of go into the game & see who has the "hot hand", the one that feels comfortable with what we are trying to do & feed him the ball. Maurice (Whitfield) had a good night, Trae (White) ran well, of course Michael (Gaskin) did too. Devon (White) had a pretty good night as well. You are able to get 4 or 5 kids averaging 60 yards or so, well, you are having a real good night!"
On the injury to MC Quarterback (Sam Hudson):
"We hope that wasn't serious, he had some tingling in his legs. Cody (Beal) hit him hard, good clean hit, and they were doing the right thing to be careful & make sure he was OK. I thought they did a good job; the EMT's were there & handled it well. We wish him the best for a quick recovery & hope it was just a bad stinger."
On the Black & Gold fans that made the trip:
"A good crowd! I appreciate our fans making the long trip to Cunningham & supporting us! It was a good atmosphere to play in; they were loud when we needed them. We beat a pretty good football team tonight, a lot better than their record! They played hard, had some good looking athletes that got after us the 1st half. I hope our fans will come out & pack this house on Friday for Waverly!"
On the Homecoming week activities & the upcoming game against Waverly:
"It's Waverly week, a big rivalry game, homecoming, out of school for fall break...just a lot of distractions for this team. We are going to do everything we can as coaches to make sure this team is ready to play. This is a District game & we will have to be focused to win. As I have said before, our job for Homecoming is to WIN the ball game, if we don't do that we haven't done our job!"
Camden fans, do YOUR job & load up the truck to haul everyone that loves Black & Gold Football out to Wright Field Friday night to help the Lions win a key battle for the Bridge! Camden football, Friday night, 7:30 PM!
GO LIONS!
To submit news, game or event photos, game scores, etc., email this information to:
lion.news@whitestoneservices.com.