Camden Lions

Camden Lions down JCS Eagles, 27-16

The CHS Lions traveled to Madison County to do battle with the 4-1 Jackson Christian School Eagles and brought back a hard fought victory. The Lions team captains met the Eagles at midfield; we won the toss and deferred until the second half. Clay Carruth teed it up and banged it inside their 25. The returner touched a knee, and the Lions defense trotted out to start the game. The Eagle QB keeps and starts right, but Shawn French drops him after two. The hard count works, and we spot ‘em five. The slant pass is caught, and the receiver gets a first down at their 40 before Maurice Gastelum drops him. Run over center is met by Heath Yoder and Gastelum after a gain of 2. Their QB takes the 2nd down snap and thinks about setting up for a pass, but Shane Corbitt beats his blocker, and throws him down for a huge sack! A loss of seven, and the Lions defense is pumped. Toss sweep left, but Keith Leslie and Gastelum stay at home, and they are punting. Good stop defense!

Ryne Haynie takes the punt return to the 31, but an “illegal block” flag moves it to the 20 where the Lions offense starts with a first down. A fumble is recovered by JCS at the 19, and the Lions defense comes out again. Daniel Woodall stunts and completely disrupts their first down play, but somehow the back gets loose and Keith Leslie combine to make the stop inside the five. Shawn French and the Lions snag a JCS fumble under center, and it’s a Black & Gold first down on our four!

Josh Boyd follows the block of John Hodge and blasted over right tackle for a first down at the 20! Boyd takes the handoff from Ben Tinkle and cuts left behind some great blocking to make the 25. Boyd in motion, Tinkle fakes the handoff to Josh and gives it to Heath Yoder. Heath bulls his way thru the middle, and then adds a nifty cut to make the 37-yard line before he is finally hauled down! First down Lions! Boyd is caught in the backfield by a whole flock of birds, and it is 2nd & 14 on the 34. The double handoff only gets two, but the sudden addition of some yellow linen moves it back to the 23. Two incomplete passes finish the drive off, and Ben Tinkle is set to punt. It rolls dead at their 43, and the Black & Gold defense is back at work.

The Eagles start a five play scoring drive that puts six on the board with 3:46 showing in the first. The kick is an ugly low-left knuckle ball that only counts, and its seven-zip JCS. Josh Boyd takes the kick up the middle of the field, and makes a great return to our 43! Great run! Yoder drops in behind the block of Josh Beasley and gets one. Josh Boyd is bird bait, and its 3rd & 11. Ben Tinkle rolls left, can’t find an open receiver, so he tucks it away and runs for five. It’s 4th & 5, and Woodall downs Tinkle's punt at their 23. The Lions defensive unit stands strong and three plays later they are punting. Good pressure up the middle, and the kick is short and high and downed at our 39! Hmmm-great field position…wouldn’t this be a great time for a scoring drive…

Ben Tinkle takes the snap, rolls right, and hits Ryne Haynie in the right flat for a first down at their 35! 6.5 seconds left in the quarter, and they are thinking pass so the handoff goes to Boyd. Josh follows his blocks and is finally rolled out of bounds 6” short of the first down. It’s the end of the quarter and the Lions offensive unit is rollin’! Fake the give to Boyd, and Yoder runs completely over three slow-moving birds, adds a cut, and is finally stopped at the 11! First down Lions, and we can make a first down without scoring! Boyd in motion takes the handoff and dives over center for three. An Eagle player is down, so an injury time out is taken with 11:40 left before the break. Jesse Leonard takes the 2nd down handoff and pushes it forward for a gain of one. The Lions take a time out to make sure we’ve got it straight. The double handoff goes to Ryne Haynie and he slants to the left and dives in…one inch short of the first down. Ben Tinkle takes the snap, and follows the blocks of Ricky Schopf, Jeremy Stokes, Josh Beasley, Justin Smith, and Shane Corbitt to score! Touchdown LIONS! Daniel Woodall snaps to Brian Markham, Clay Carruth bangs it into the parking lot, and with 10:31 showing it’s all tied up!

Clay boots the kick dead center, and it’s ‘way too exciting before Shawn French, Josh Boyd, and Maurice Gastelum stop him at their 40. Hodge & Gastelum pop the Eagle runner after only one. The 2nd down run breaks free for a first down at our 45 before Daniel Woodall is able to catch him from behind. 9:27 showing, and John Hodge leads a whole pack of Lions on a stop after a pick up of 5. Good Black & Gold pressure on the QB leads to an incomplete pass. A Lions offside penalty flag helps the Eagles drive stay alive, and they have a first down at the one. They try the middle, but a huge Stack-o-Lions pushes them back, 2nd down. Run up the middle again but Daniel Woodall and Shawn French meet them, no gain. Shawn was shaken up on the play, and is helped to the sideline. The 3rd down run is over left tackle, it looks like we have ‘em stopped, but after the refs talk it over & call Cleo for their “free readin’”, it’s a JCS touchdown. Another low-ugly kick that sneaks inside is just good enough, and it’s a 14-7 game their way with 4:31 left in the half.

An offside call on the kick is reset to the 35, and Josh Boyd only gets to the 26 where the Lions start. Yoder slants over center for no gain. Sweep right with Boyd carrying ends up at our 48 and a 1st down Lions! Great run! 3:37 left, Heath Yoder busts three birds, and is finally stopped at their 46. The 2nd down pass is incomplete, and Haynie gets smothered on the double hand off, so we take a time out to think about a neat 4th down play…hmm-fake punt? Punter Ben Tinkle does his best high snap impersonation, Ryne Haynie handles the high snap, and when his feet hit the ground he is gone around right end. He almost broke it for six, but is rolled out of bounds at their 37! Gutsy call, great play! The Lions offense can smell the goal line, but the Eagles still have Boyd’s number, loss of two. Tinkle to Boyd thru the air leaves it two feet short of the first down. 57.9 seconds remaining, Ben Tinkle rolls left and throws it to a slanting Daniel Woodall who carries to the three! Neat play! Bryce Wilbanks gets the motion start from right to left, grabs the ball from Tinkle, and drives thru the Eagles defensive line to score! Clay Carruth sails the ball into the parking lot…again…and with 35.3 seconds left in the half, it’s a tie ball game, 14-all!

Clay’s squib kick is downed on their 37, and the Eagles QB takes the first down snap and carries for 8 before Heath Yoder and Maurice Gastelum knock him out of bounds. Eagle QB to pass, rolls left, and the pass is intercepted by Ryne Haynie! Ryne makes it to the 32 before he is dropped. First down Lions! 13.6 seconds on the clock, and Tinkle throws the fade to Matthew Chandler in the right corner of the end zone, just barely incomplete. There is a defensive jailbreak, and Tinkle is sacked for a loss as the clock shows 00:00. The ref puts two seconds back on the clock, and Tinkle throws it to Josh Boyd underneath the coverage. Josh makes two miss, and makes a flashy run, but is finally knocked out of bounds at the 20. The Lions trot into the locker room sharing a 14-14 tie.

The JCS band performed at halftime, and both teams are on the field and ready to go. The refs finally make an appearance; get a round of applause to rub it in, and the Eagles kick it thru the end zone for a touch back. Lions first and ten at the 20. Boyd starts back where he left off at the end of the half, and the cut back left moves the ball ‘way out to our 34! Great run! Yoder gains one. Pass complete to Matthew Chandler, and it is 3rd &3. Boyd cuts left, makes an Eagle miss, and has a first down at our 46! Bryce Wilbanks is in motion, gets the ball and is immediately hog-collared for a loss of 3. Yoder drops in behind Shane Corbitt for four. An incomplete pass stops the drive, and the punt rolls out of bounds at their 29.

8:17 showing, and Kyle Moore hangs on to drop him after three. The dive play looks like it could be too good, but Woodall, Haynie, and Markham combine for the stop at their 44, first down JCS. Ryne Haynie plays some hard-nosed pass defense and knocks the first down pass incomplete, 2nd & 10. Great coverage! The ball carrier starts left, but Woodall covers him up and slams him back, no gain! Yoder and Woodall down a pass receiver in the right flat on our 43, and it enough for the first down. Dennis Will pops the back running slanting over left guard after two. Woodall and Gastelum combine for the stop after one, and with 5 minutes left in the third, it’s third and seven. Gastelum and Will lead a host of Lions for the stop, and it’s 4th down. They line up to go for it, we don’t jump on the hard count, but they do! Back it up five, and now they punt it away. They down it inside the 7, and the Lions offense is ready to roll…

Let’s roll on a five play scoring drive! Boyd in motion left to right, takes the handoff from Tinkle, cuts up field and he is all alone! Eagles move to stop him, but a great open field cut makes it a pick up of nine. Yoder carries on the dive play over right tackle, and it is a first down at our 29! The one-two punch is working, and Boyd cuts up the right side for six. Boyd in motion, the Eagles are watchin’ him…and Yoder bangs the middle and picks his way straight ahead for a first down at their 45! Great play! Haynie’s turn to make it the one-two-three punch, he slants left, gets hit, keeps running, and slants into the end zone for six! Touchdown Lions! 1:56 left in the third, and Markham handles the low snap so that Clay Carruth can bang in thru to make it 21-14! Great drive, offense!

The JCS offense is shook, and after starting on their 36, their six play drive leaves them punting it back with 4th & 11 from their 47. It splats down in the big muddy spot, and they down it at the 19. The Lions offense has scoring in mind, and it shows quickly. Yoder gets three up the middle. Boyd cuts it up the middle and makes a great run to the 30, first down Lions! Boyd in motion, and he picks his way to the 36. Matthew Chandler gets a leg dinged, and is helped off the field. Yoder busts the middle for a great run for a first down to our 46. Boyd left for 5. Yoder dives over right tackle, and drives a second effort all the way to the 42 and a first down! We are pitchin’, they are catchin’, and it’s Haynie’s turn. Ryne is in motion left to right, takes the handoff, cuts, stops, cuts again, hit’s the burners and is finally stopped at the seven yard line! First down Lions! Boyd in motion left to right freezes some birds, and Yoder bangs over the stripe for a touchdown! 6:26 showing, the kick just misses and it’s 27-14 Lions!

Maurice Gastelum covers Carruth’s kick at the 30, and the Lions defense is on the field. A pass is complete in the left flat, and it’s a first down. Brian Markham has played some outfield, so he plays a little centerfield on the first down pass and knocks it to the muddy turf, incomplete, 2nd & 10. As the QB drops back to pass, Shane Corbitt pops him with a “MONSTER LICK” as all the fans immediately named it, and that bird is hearing birdies--3rd &17! They still want to pass, but this time it is our quarterback’s turn to sack THEIR quarterback. Ben Tinkle slides off his block on left end and nails the Eagle QB just as he is ready to let it go. Great Play! They punt it away and down it at our 23.

Yoder carries for 8, but a muddy yaller holding flag moves it back to the 12. Haynie is dropped for no gain. Yoder gets a plus one, and it’s time out Lions. Tinkle rolls right and has to tuck it away to pickup one. The Eagles take a time out with 3:06 left and 4th & 21. Tinkle drops back to pass, but the Eagles are blitzing, so he alertly trots out of the back of the end zone for an intentional safety. The get two and the ball, but they don’t get six! Good call, and the score is 27-16.

Clay bangs the free kick from the 20, and the Lions practice their Eagle stomp at our 47. The first down pass is complete for two, and the receiver slides out of bounds to stop the clock with 2:40 showing. The quarterback keeps for a run to the 38, third down. Jesse Leonard dives thru the middle and hangs on to the quarterback’s foot for the sack, 4th & 6 on our 44! Great play, defense! They are going for it, but the center is concentrating too much on our stunt, and the fumble under center makes it Lions ball and a first down at the 44 with 1:59 left in the game!

Heath Yoder carries up the middle for 4. The second down run by Yoder is stopped for no gain…59 seconds and ticking…Tinkle takes the delay of game penalty, and the “win-the-game” play seals it, Lions 27-JCS 16!

Congrats to the players, coaches, and everyone associated with the team for a strong victory! Camden will play Adamsville Friday night at Wright Field for Homecoming. Adamsville is a regional opponent that will come looking for a needed win as well.

The Homecoming Parade on Thursday night will travel from the Bank of Camden Branch to the Court Square starting at 5 PM. There will be a pep rally on the Courthouse steps immediately following, and everyone is invited.

The Camden Quarterback Club will host a pregame tailgate behind the Stadium with the theme “Roast the Cardinals”. Bring enough for yours and one more and the QB Club will provide the drinks and paper products. The Homecoming activities will start at 7 PM, so plan to join the tailgate and be in the Stadium early to root the Lions on to a big Region win!

GO LIONS!

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Photos by Tony Dillon