Lions defeated in 1st round of TSSAA State Playoffs by Fairview, 20-13

The Camden Lions ran into a swarm of Yellow Jackets at Wright Field in the 1st Round of the playoffs & couldn't put enough plays together to pull of the victory. The 2008 CHS Lions team captains were on the field to meet with the refs & the Fairview (FV) captain. Ross Dudley, Andy Travis, Will Latendresse & Davie Miller were backed up at midfield by all of the Senior members of the team. We take the football & the kick is in the chilly night air! It's steeply angled & fumbled out of bounds at the 14 & that's where the Lions offense will start.

Will Latendresse snaps to Michael Gaskin & the wide pitch goes to Ross Dudley around right end, gain of only one. Andy Travis finds a seam on the dive behind Sean Ellis & Thomas Pierpoint & is spun down after a gain of 6. A fumble is recovered & Michael Gaskin has the punt away. A 'jacket calls for the fair catch at our 44 & the Lions defense has to work with a short field.

FV runs their "Veer" offense using the late handoff well & is able to string together a 13-play scoring drive that ends with a dive behind the right tackle for six. The extra point kick is thru the middle & over the net, & with 3:54 left in the 1st quarter, Lions trail by 7.

Another high spinner kick is handled by Andy Travis along the left sideline & he sprints out to the Lions 38. The CHS offense can't get it's claws into the Wright Field turf & Michael's punt is away. Thomas Pierpoint & Jordan Murphy nail the returner at the FV 35. Both teams trade 3-and-out series that bridge over into the 2nd quarter. With 10:16 left in the half, FV has it on their own 38.

The ‘jackets have just enough to string together two 1st downs in their 8-play scoring drive that ends with a TD pass completion down the left sideline. Another kick is thru & over the net; with 6:02 left in the half, Lions are down two scores.

Andy Travis fields the low driving FV kick, runs to the middle & dives to the CHS 37. Jeremy Crawley behind Elias Nazi & Davie Miller and is spun down for 3 yards. Jeremy again with the delayed hand off, runs behind Will & Thomas for a gain of 6, 3rd & 1 at our 46. Jeremy dives thru a seam, very close, time out for the measurement, yup, 1st down by one-half of a chain link! Jeremy in motion, has the ball around right end for a gain of 3. Michael pitches it to Jeremy around left end & he has a whole bevy of blockers, first down at the FV42! A pitch to Jeremy around right end, but he is tripped up for no gain. Motion left, but Andy is headed behind Thomas & Sean down to the 35. Ross Dudley around left end, takes on a ‘jacket & has the 1st by ˝ the football! 1:31 left before the break & Michael is surrounded on a FV jailbreak, loss of 6, time out Lions. The pass is almost caught, big hit & it falls incomplete. Patrick Hassell has the inside slant pass tucked away, 4th & 3, time out CHS. The 13th play of the drive is an incomplete pass that also draws a yellow cloth, FV declines & they have a 1st down at their 25. Two QB knees gets them into the locker room with the two score lead.

The award-winning CHS Marching Band performs at the half, coffee & hot chocolate for everyone in the stands & Danny Kim has the ball in play with a high spinner down the left sideline that is carried back to their 48. Chris Pagal almost comes up with the FV pass, incomplete. Brandon Shannon finally gets the runner down on the veer around left end, 3rd & 1. Same play, other side, this time Jeremy Crawley makes the stop, but they have a 1st at our 35. Veer goes left, but Michael Gaskin & Nick Ibarra have it covered after a gain of 3. Their QB starts left, huge Lions penetration, ball is on the ground, Larry "LJ" Jamison Jr. recovers it at the 31, Camden ball!

The Lions start a 9-play scoring drive with Andy's dive, short gain. Ross slanting the other way, 3rd & 7. We jump 3rd & 12. Another false start, 3rd & 18 at the 23. Michael drills a long pass down the left sideline to Andy, complete, & the Lions have a 1st down at the FV 37! Ross runs along the right side of the line, has a cutback seam on the edge & sprints down the right sideline to the 12, 1st down Lions! Michael pitches it to Ross, he has the left end corner, gain of 2. Ross behind Elias, Will, & Thomas, covers the ball for a short gain. 6:20 left in the 3rd as the ‘jackets smother Andy's run around right end, loss of 4, time out Lions. Just what we needed as Dakota Summers runs by his defender down the left side, jump ball goes to the tall #85 & he has it for the score! Thomas has the snap, Michael has the hold & Danny Kim moves up to #3 in the TSSAA record book for 55 consecutive extra point kicks! 5:50 in the 3rd, Lions trail Fairview 14-7.

The Camden kick is fielded at the 17 & returned up the right sideline to their 46. QB keep goes for 7 before he is spun down. They try left end, lot's of traffic, ball is on the ground & Andy Travis has it, first down Lions at our own 47! Lions turnover, time out Yellow Jackets...

It's "Big Drive" time in Camden, Tennessee...!

Andy dives in behind the right side of the line for a gain of 4. Andy behind the left side for one...after the ball is "adjusted" backwards by the ref! Ross running around left end, has the corner, cut-go! First down at the FV42! Ross takes the handoff from Michael, pix his way along the right side of the line, drops back & throws to the right pylon...right were Patrick Hassell has his man beat, touchdown Lions! The kick is no good ending the Lions consecutive kick streak, & with 3:13 on the 3rd quarter clock, Camden trails FV 14-13.

Jeremy Crawley kicks it deep so that 24 & Brandon Shannon can hammer the runner down at their 25. The ‘jackets string together an 8-play scoring drive that straddles into the 4th quarter. It ends with a completed pass at the back line of the endzone into the hedges for the score. Andy Travis breaks thru for the block on the extra point & with 10:40 left to play, it's Jackets 20, CHS 13.

The Lions start at the 15 after an imaginary facemask call & Michael is able to run for one 1st down before the drive stalls. His punt is away & fair caught at the FV 43. The Lions defense is able to stand tall & with 4th & 11, they punt it & down it at our 25.

Motion left, but Michael keeps for a 1st down at our 38! Two running plays get stuffed, and a deep pass is intercepted & returned to our 45 before Davie Miller can make the stop, 4:30 left to play.

Dive up the middle is smothered by LJ. Their big back starts right, but LJ teams with Thomas Pierpoint & Dakota Summers to drop him for a loss. Dakota again on the stop, and the ‘jackets want to talk it over, 4th & 8, time out, 2:27 left. They decide to punt it & are able to down it at our 16, 2:18 left to play.

Ross carries around right end, the ref sees his knee hit the turf in an alternate world & whistles it dead. Michael's pass is complete to Ross for a gain of 7. An incomplete pass stops the clock with 4th & 3 at the 22, Lions time out. The pass play along the left sideline is complete, but the ball is pulled out & Fairview has it at the 30. Four victory knee's later, it's all over & Fairview wins, 20-13,

Some stats of interest:
First downs: CHS-11, FV-10
Rushes/yards: CHS-33/104, FV-42/112
Passing comp/att/yards/int: CHS-7/13/131/1, FV-5/6/95/0
Fumbles/lost: CHS-2/1, FV-3/2
Penalties: CHS-4/26, FV-3/15
Leading CHS Rusher: Ross Dudley, 12 carries for 43 yards

Leading CHS Receiver: Patrick Hassell, 3 catches for 60 yards, 1 TD
Leading CHS Tacklers:
Jordan Murphy: 15 total, 4 solo, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss, 1 fumble recovery
Larry "LJ" Jamison Jr: 15 total, 2 solo
Ross Dudley: 12 total, 1 for loss

Talking with Head Football Coach Kevin Ward after the game:
"Started out about as bad as we have all year, then the 2nd half, we started playing better. We challenged them at half time, to make sure that played as physical as we could & make something happen...and we did! We had a stretch there where we got some turnovers, took it down & scored. Made some big plays, had a chance to tie it up. The stars just weren't aligned for us tonight! Some things happen, they call a penalty when they throw an interception to us, just little things that have gone our way in previous games seemed to work against us tonight. You know that a game like this is going to come, you just hope that it's later, not sooner. Can't say enough about this football team, how close we are as a group."

Any surprises on FV's offensive sets?
"At first, their 3-back set was a surprise. Had to make some adjustments on that, basically the same plays they were running, just coming from different positions. We just didn't execute defensively & made us pay for some mistakes. We never really made them drive the football, gave up two big plays...we knew coming into this game that they were a good football team! They lost 3 games this year, but they were all against good teams. We lost to a good football team tonight, no doubt, they made more plays when they had to than we did. They out-coached us on a lot of plays tonight, their coaches are to be commended."

On this Senior class:
"I hurt for these Seniors, the young guys will have to get their heads right & get back to work, but there are a bunch of sad guys in this field house tonight. They mean a lot to me. One of the best senior groups I have had & I have had some good ones! It is a pleasure to be able to coach such a quality group of young men, it says a lot about their parents, what kind of people they are & the job they have done raising them! These guys are going to be successful at whatever they decide to do in the future. That is what will make me the proudest, when they come back & show me how successful they have been; that means more to me than winning any football game!

Others that need some "Thanks":
"We will lose some Senior managers, they have done a great job & they will be missed on the sideline, Alex, Brianna, Noelle & Chance. Their work frees up me & our coaches to go concentrate on other things. The underclassmen will miss them, they are so used to them being around & having a lot of things already done. We will need to go out & create some more managers! I can't say enough about my coaches; their effort, their focus. They make these games important, we get along so well & make coming to work a lot of fun. We have become very close. The community, the cheerleaders, the band, it has been a great year; once the pain of this loss passes, I think we will be able to see that."

On the many "past" players that were in the post-game huddle tonight:
"It means a lot, as a Coach, to see these previous players back at the games! When you can tell that it means something to them, even after they have moved on with their lives, they still know that they were part of this team. I know after I graduated & was in college, I would still go back & watch Milan play. These kids feel like they helped build something that was successful, it means something to the community. They were a big part of this team & still feel a connection."

Congratulations to the 2008 team on a fine season & best of luck to all of the Seniors involved with this program!

GO LIONS!