12 Nov 09
The Camden Lions went on the road early in 2009 and defeated the Westview Chargers 26-14 in Martin. The Chargers must have taken that loss personal and ran off 7 straight wins, including a road win in the 1st round of the playoffs! The Chargers were on Wright Field tonight ready to add one more victory to that streak. The Lions had a little plan of their own: Streak Breakers!
It was football weather on a fine Friday night in Camden as the refs and team captains met at midfield. For the Lions, Dee Dunlap, Michael Gaskin, and Dakota Summers walked - while Patrick Hassel hobbled out on crutches - to meet the Westview (WV) players. All of the Senior class team members stood to back the captains at the numbers. We won the toss, Lions took the ball and with Derek Easley next to Trae White deep, the kick was in the air! Derek fields the kick cleanly, cuts up the middle and gets to our 30 where the Lions offense will start.
The double handoff ends up with Derek surrounded, no gain. Maurice Whitfield speeds in from left wing, gets around right end and is pushed out at the 41, 1st down! Devon White powers in behind Trevor Latendresse and Ethan Melton for a gain of 2. Michael Gaskin drops back to pass, but he is smothered by Chargers at the 40, 3rd and 16. An attempted flair pass is batted down and Michael is punting. It's Westview's ball at their 42 and the Lions defense is in the house.
The Chargers assemble an 8-play scoring drive that uses rushes and three pass completions to get the ball down to the 7 with a run around left end for the score. The kick is good and with 5:31 left in the 1st, Westview leads 7-0.
Trae White fields their kick at the goal line, cuts up the middle, is hit and spins down at the 25. Gaskin is hit quickly for a loss of 1; timeout CHS. Whitfield for a gain of 1. Gaskin rolls right and shoots a bullit pass to Easley. He has it tucked away and is finally run out of bounds at the Lions 49! First down! Michael is stuffed for a loss of 2. Maurice dives in behind Dakota Summers and Blake Riley's blocks and dives down to the WV48. Gaskin hits Easley with a short pass in the left flat and Derek hits the burners to the WV20, 1st down Lions! An official time out is called because Derek broke sumpthin...his equipment, that is. Trae has the sweep going around left end, cuts to the sideline and has a 1st down at their 9! Gaskin keeps rolling left, cuts behind a block by Jacob Sharum and gains 5. Maurice on the sweep around right end, takes it out wide and scores! Dee Dunlap snaps it, Michael Gaskin sets it up, and Tanner Hudson bangs it down the middle to add one more: 1:40 left in the 1st quarter: CHS 7, WV7.
Dakota Summers sends a low spinning kick deep left and Cody Beal drops the returner at their 36. They run left, reverse back around right end and Trae makes the stop after 7. It's a misdirection inside that ends with a big pile that Dakota created, but they have the 1st at the WV47. Run is around left end where Sean Flores and Jordan Murphy make the stop after a gain of 8. Injury time out, start the clock and end the 1st quarter. Whew, that was fast! Tyler Plant is in the backfield and blows up their delayed hand off, no gain. Trae has a play on the quick pass into the left flat, but can't come down with the ball, incomplete. Westview is punting and it is huge; Trae calls for the fair catch at our 8 yard line.
The Lions start a 10-play drive with Maurice running around right end, pushes two Chargers down and gains 7. Devon dives in behind Ethan Melton and Jordan Murphy to the 15...close...3rd and 1? Measure, 1st down Lions! Maurice takes the speed sprint around right end for a short gain. An incomplete pass is followed by Gaskin rolling left, makes a Charger miss and has the pass complete to Derek at the 34! Devon busts in behind Ethan, Trevor and Jacob for a tough 3 yards. Gaskin fakes to Devon, slants the other way, makes a Lightning Bolt miss and has a 1st down at our 48. Two plays later, a long pass is intercepted at the 25 (think: Punt) and a flag during the run back adds up to a WV 1st down at their 44 with 6:06 left in the half.
Tyler hangs on after a gain of 4. The pass is complete and Kendrick Hudson teams with Trae to get him on the ground at the CHS 34, 1st down. Screen pass is complete around right end, Sean Flores turns the play back in and Dakota sticks him. Add in a holding flag and it's 1st and 16 at the 40. Dive play up the middle, Dakota and Larry Jamison stop the pile from moving, 2nd and 10 at the 35. QB keeps around left end, Dakota props him up so that Michael can finish at the 28. Ball is in the air in the left flat and in a ‘bolts hand, but Trae White punishes him, incomplete! 4th and 4, they are going for it, but the receiver touches his knee as he fields the ball at the 28, Lions ball on downs! Great stop, Defense!
3:19 left to play in the half and it's all Camden's offense for the rest of this half!
Maurice around right end, jumps over a Charger, runs thru traffic, pushes a would-be tackler back and has the 1st down at our 44! They jump, everybody stops, no flag, so Maurice runs to midfield, 3rd and 4. Gaskin rolls right looking downfield, tucks it away and gets two. Line it up, Michael can't get them to bite on the hard count, time out Lions. We line it up to go for it again, this time it's a WV time out. 45.9 seconds left, we are back at the line going for it, Maurice runs around left end, bangs helmets with a ‘bolt and pushes forward for the 1st down at the WV36! Gaskin rolls out right, looks, cuts back to the left and runs down to the 30, 3rd and 3 with 17 seconds left. Quick spike of the ball stops the clock, 3rd down. Michael spots Derek at the left pylon pass is there but is pushed out at the 1-foot line. 1.6 seconds on the clock, quick snap and Michael keeps up the middle...doesn't get it. FLAG....but, a good flag. The result is 1.6 seconds on the clock and another try from the 5 yard line! Excellent! Michael keeps, rolls right looking into the endzone, pulls it down, keeps and scores! Tanner's kick is good and with zeros showing on the clock, Lions are up 14-7 at halftime!
Both bands perform and Dakota has the kick gone to an up back at the 30. Kyle Blackburn pins him so that Jackson Burns can finish him at the 36. The Chargers craft a 9-play drive that results in a short field goal try, it's good, and with 8:03 on the 3rd quarter clock, Lions lead it 14-10.
Derek fields the high short spinner at the 25 and runs up the middle to the 38. Maurice has the ball around left end; cuts back right, back to the sideline for a 1st down at our 48! Devon punishes the middle for a powerful 4. Gaskin out of the shotgun, runs behind Dakota and Blake then dives to their 39. Devon on the quick hitter behind Jacob and is spun down at the 36. Shotgun snap, Michael runs around left end, gets folded backwards on the hit and is down. Injury timeout, 5:32 left on the clock and Derek is taking practice snaps from Trevor on the sidelines. Michael is finally vertical and helped to the sideline with a lot of attention to his ankle. Play is resumed with Derek under center for the Lions. Devon on the dive behind Jacob and Dakota, +4. Maurice slants to the left, churns, but is pushed back at the 20, 3rd and 2. Maurice behind left tackle again, stretches it, but its 4th and 1. We are going for it, Maurice around left end, adds a cut, is snagged, still churning, 1st down at the 9 yard line! 2:57 left in the 3rd, we jump, -5. Derek rolls right and just misses Blake Riley, incomplete. Derek pitches it to Maurice, has the right edge, stiff arms a ‘bolt at the 5. Maurice for no gain, Lions time out. Derek fakes the handoff right and drops back to pass. It's away, but batted incomplete, ball goes over on downs, Chargers ball at our 5 yard line.
The Chargers string together an 11-play scoring drive that stretches into the 4th quarter. With 8:21 left to play, the dive behind the right end pushes into the endzone, kick is good and the Lions trail for the 2nd time tonight, 17-14.
Derek fields the kick on one hop at the 20, sprints behind blocks to the 38 where he is pushed out of bounds. Easley gives to Trae slanting right for a short gain. As Trae runs around right end he looks inside but cuts outside! Great move and he is pushed out at the WV49, 1st down! Devon bulls in behind Trevor for 2. Derek's pass into the right flat just misses, incomplete. Maurice is running inside, big pile moves forward, no whistle, keeps moving with Whitfield pushing...1st down Lions at the WV36! Trae has the pass complete down at the 26, gain of 8, 3rd and 1. Derek on the keeper behind Trevor for the 1st down at the 24! Derek's pitch to Trae around right end cuts wide for 5. An injury time out ends with a Charger walking off under his own power and Devon has the quick hitter up the middle going on. He knocks over a defensive back and has the 1st down at the 5!
It's play number 11 and Maurice is slanting to the right, jumps over a downed Charger and scores! The kick just misses, but with 3:30 left the Lions are up 20-17.
Dakota kicks the big hopper to an up-back so that Tyler Plant and Cody Beal can drill him at the WV37 and the Lions defense needs a stop. Lions time out to work on some math (11 + 1 = Bad) and we are ready to play. Trae makes the tackle, but it's a 1st down at our 47. The Charger runner is loose up the middle and Kendrick Hudson trips him up at the 34, another 1st down, 2:30 left. The WV QB spots a receiver open over the middle, pass is away, but he didn't spot Kyle Blackburn in a most excellent position to grab it out of the air, intercepted, Lions first down at our 36!
The Lions keep the clock moving with four runs so that Westview uses up their three remaining time outs and Derek sends the punt down the right sideline rolling end over end to stop at the 23 with 1:07 left to play! Great pressure punt!
The WV line moves and LJ covers the center, but the ref must have blinked, 5 yards on us. Whooot? They try a long pass down the right side line, but Trae is there, incomplete. Pass complete at the 35, 1st down. QB keeper down the right sideline for 7. Pass complete down the left side line, Kendrick has the 1st hit with Derek finishing, but it's a 1st down at our 46. Another completion at the 39 with Kyle making the stop, 2nd and 2. Derek tackles the receiver after a catch at our 29, but it's another 1st down. 5.8 seconds left to play, 2nd and 10 at our 28 and the Westview kicker is on for the field goal try. Snap is back, ball is down cleanly, but the low kick never had a chance, No good! Lions' ball with 1.5 seconds left.
Derek runs the Victory Play to perfection and the Lions escape with a 20 - 17 2nd round victory over Westview!
Some game stats of interest:
First downs (#): CHS 18, WV 16Rushing (att/yards): CHS 50/224, WV 27/136
Passing (yards): CHS 97, WV 193
Passing (comp/att/int): CHS 5/13/1, WV 16/22/1
Fumbles: CHS 0, WV 0
Penalties (#/yards): CHS 4/20, WV 2/25
Leading Rusher: Maurice Whitfield - 20 carries for 124 yards and 2 TD's
Leading Receiver: Derek Easley – 4 catches for 88 yards
Leading Tacklers:
Kyle Blackburn: 11 total, 3 solo, 1 int
Tyler Plant: 11 total, 2 solo
Trae White: 8 total, 1 solo, 1 pass break up
Dakota Summers: 7 total, 1 solo
Talking with Head Coach Kevin Ward after the game about the win:
"Whew! A good win against a really good football team. They have improved as much as anyone over the course of this season. To get a 2nd round win and be in the quarterfinals is something that I am very proud of as a coach. For this team to rally and play well when Michael went down was just great to see. We are very fortunate to be playing one more week, just a great effort by our team tonight."
On the score just before the half:
"That was huge! We were able to go down and score with 1.6 seconds left. The ref on our side didn't give us a signal that Derek was out of bounds, so we were trying to hustle to the line and run a sneak! LUCKILY, we had a penalty called, because he didn't get into the endzone! So, we get another shot and really, that was a huge swing in the game."
On Westview's obvious talent:
"Their QB is good, kicker is good, and they are strong in all of their special teams. Not a whole lot of weaknesses on their team. Their quarterback has had almost 400 yards against us (in 2 games), their receivers do a great job! Very honored to be able to beat them twice in the same year! It really shows how far this program has come, taking their best shot here tonight and surviving."
On the lack of penalties called on both teams tonight:
"They let us play tonight! You get to this point of the season and the refs will give you those kinds of conditions. They want the game to be determined on the field by the players, not by a penalty. When you play someone that blocks as well as they do, they will hold a little bit, (and, well, so do we!), so you have to play thru that!"
On the mood of the team when Michael Gaskin went down with a lower leg injury:
"It was very quiet on the sidelines...but every player had confidence in Derek (Easley). What a great job he did under pressure to come in and lead them to that score. We have "ridden" Michael (Gaskin) for 12 weeks, if he isn't able to play, we will turn it over to Derek and let him lead our football team. He has been a big part of this team's success this year, anyway."
On next week's 3rd round playoff game at Milan:
"Hopefully we will get Patrick (Hassell) back this week and see what Michael's condition is. We will be playing about 3 blocks from where I grew up! I know Milan is outstanding this year, fast, big, play hard. Have an SEC linebacker and a Division 1 running back, just really loaded. We just have to go and out-execute them and out-hit them. No one is going to give us a chance, and that's fine. We will see what we can put together and get after them!"
Let's all load up, drive over to Milan and cheer our Lions to a 3rd round victory in the playoffs!
GO LIONS!
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