Lions bring back a 42-14 victory over Westview

Camden and Westview have only played eight times & Westview has won the last six...by a combined total of 70 points. The last two years, Camden has JUST missed a non-Region win with one-point losses, but the "L" still goes down exactly the same. This 2008 band of Lions traveled to Martin with a new resolve: Beat Westview!

The UT-Martin Skyhawk field was groomed to perfection with a new artificial turf for this season at a price tag of about $750,000...and it looked it! The radio announcers from WCMT interviewed Lions Head Football Coach Kevin Ward during the pregame & Coach Ward indicated that Westview had "no real weaknesses". The Lions were set to find some as team captains Davie Miller, Ross Dudley, Andy Travis & Will Latendresse met with the refs & the Chargers captains at midfield. Westview (WV) won the toss, deferred, and the Lions take the football to start...

...a REEL good choice as the wedge works to perfection! Andy Travis fields the deep kick and splits the middle of the field, Chargers are chasing, but Andy sprints all the way to the WV 35! Travis takes the 2nd hand off thru the center of the line behind the blocks of Elias Nazi, Will Latendresse, and Thomas Pierpoint, cuts left and gains 6 yards. Devon White takes the ball from QB Michael Gaskin, motors in behind Davie Miller & has a first down at the WV 23! The Chargers jump & it’s a CHS 1st & 5. Gaskin fakes the handoff & keeps for 3. Michael gives to Devon, he slides left into a gap that Thomas & Sean Ellis made, and runs into the endzone standing up for a Lions score! Pierpoint snaps, Gaskin holds, and Danny Kim is perfect for the year on PAT kicks to put the Lions up 7-0 with 9:50 on the 1st quarter clock.

Danny Kim kicks it deep & their returner gets out to the 43 before Larry Jamison & Michael Gaskin get him on the ground...time for the defense to keep big Mo’ on our side! WV starts with a run by their big back & it takes Trevor Latendresse, Larry Jamison, and Ross Dudley to get him on the ground after a gain of 5. The WV speedy back finds a gap for a 15 yard gain before Ross & Dakota Summers combine on the stop...add a holding flag & its 2nd & 12 at the WV 41! Charger QB rolls right, looking downfield, but he should have been looking for Ross & Dakota as they nail him for the sack, 3rd & 17! A run up the middle is met by Trevor...and the WV punter is on the field. It’s a low punt that takes a down-home roll & Camden will start at the 28.

7:15 left in the first as Gaskin gives to Dudley; he’s got the left end corner, down the sideline for 26 yards & a huge first down at the WV 45! Gaskin pitches it to Travis, its student body right, Andy thanks Elias for a huge block at the corner & we’ve got another first down at the WV 30. Dudley in motion left to right, has the ball thru the right tackle hole & gains 7. The Chargers stuff a run for no gain, but Gaskins’ pitch to Travis goes left & he fights for the first...almost...4th & a foot. Gaskin keeps, the Lions front line roars & Michael slides into a soft spot for a 1st down at the WV 19! Three plays later the drive stalls with a Gaskin pass to Patrick Hassell for a big gain...but just short of the marker & the ball goes to WV on downs.

The Chargers crank out a 14-play drive that ends with a missed field goal attempt from the 25 & the Lions take over at the 20 yard line. Travis in motion, but stopped after only one. Dudley left, cuts back inside at the left corner & has a 1st down at the 32! The double handoff ends with Travis slanting inside for a gain of 6. White blasts into the line & bulls ahead for a 1st down out at the 42! Devon again, this time around right end for 3. The Chargers must have still been looking right, as Gaskin pitches to Travis on the power sweep left, he has the corner & it’s a footrace at the 30...and it’s ALL over at the 10 when the last Charger runs out of gas, Touchdown Lions! The 55-yard score sets up a Danny Kim kick right down the pipe and with 4:49 left in the 1st, it’s Camden 14, Westview 0. The Charges aren’t out of juice yet, and a big kick return down their right sideline almost goes the distance before Trevor Latendresse is able to drop the returner at their 26. The Lions defense weathers a first down at the 4, a second down at the 1 foot line, and a THIRD down QB sneak (they never miss, right?) from the 1 foot line before they dive over right guard for the score. Five play scoring drive, the kick is up, but misses the right side bar & the new score is CHS 14, WV 6.

Time for a VERY offensive Black & Gold reply: WV kicks it high & short & Brandon Shannon takes the big hop & blasts thru the middle out to our 47! Gaskin keeps for a seven yard gain. Gaskin again, looks to throw downfield, then sprints to the right sideline, has the corner & a first down at the WV 33! The WV defense smothers a run in the backfield, and it’s time out Camden with 54 seconds left. That was JUST what we needed, as Gaskin takes the snap from Will Latendresse, rolls right, steps up to let the line hold their blocks and rips a perfect pass to Andy Travis who has faked two defenders into buying the short pattern! Andy hauls the ball in at the 2 and scores! Danny Kim nails it between those skinny little College goalposts & with 46 seconds left in the half, Camden has stretched it out to a 21-6 lead!

The kick is returned to the 43 before Michael Gaskin sticks him. Westview has the "jumps" & the false start penalty moves them back 5. The screen pass left looks WAY too good, but Dudley hangs on to a foot after a gain of 11. Eleven seconds left, a throw into the left flat, where Thomas Peirpoint grabs the ball & sprints down the left sideline to the 20, first down Lions, but no time left on the clock. Lions lead Chargers at the half 21-6.

Both bands perform at halftime & Danny Kim sends a rocket back deep left. Tyler Plant & Larry Jamison combine for the stop at the 30 & the Lions defense knows about the first 5 minutes after the half...don’t let them score! A run for a gain of 6, another run into the middle of the line is stopped by Plant, but it’s enough for a first down at the WV 42. "LJ" stops another run after a gain of 5 just short of their 47. Their "jumbo" back starts left, but Jordan Murphy breaks thru a throws him down for a loss of 2. 9:50 on the clock as their QB starts around right end, but he is stopped after only a gain of two by LJ, Dudley, and Murphy...time out Chargers. They try a delay handoff up the middle, but Murphy nails him for a loss of one and the ball goes over to Camden on downs! Great stop, defense!

Big Momentum guy runs over to the Black & Gold side & the Lions offense knows how to use him! Devon White plows thru the middle, makes one miss & gains 5. Ross Dudley dives in behind Davie Miller & Dakota Summers, squats low & carries two Charges all the way to their 29! First down! Ross with the ball around right end, looks inside, cuts outside & has the 21 yard line. Flag. No flag. We continue! The 4th play of the drive has White slanting down left, runs over a Charger & has the first down at their 13!

Westview time out.

Just what we needed, as Gaskin pitches the ball to Travis around left end. Andy has great blocks downfield from Elias Nazi & Patrick Hassell & carries a defender into the endzone, Lions touchdown! Kim is perfect & with 7:25 showing on the clock, Camden is up 28-6.

Camden’s defense is able to stop the WV 7-play drive & their punt is downed at the Westview 44! The Lions offense cranks up a 10-play scoring drive that ends with a 19-yard scoring pass from Gaskin to Nick Ibarra! Danny Kim drill it up the hill toward the football building & with 43 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, it’s Camden 35, Westview 6.

Westview strings together an 8-play scoring drive that ends with a QB keeper & a successful 2-point conversion run to make it 35-14 with 9:11 left in the game. The Lions immediately answer with a 4-play drive that highlights a big first down run by Ross Dudley to the CHS 39 and a huge run by Andy Travis down the left sideline for 61 yards! A flag on WV is declined, Kim’s kick is good, and with 6:49 left, Camden has the final say in a 42-14 victory over Westview.

Some stats of interest:
First downs: CHS-19, WV-14
Rushing Att/Yds: CHS-42/372, WV-44/203
Passing Yds: CHS-65, WV 28
Completions/Att/Int: CHS-3/4/1, WV-3/8/1
Fumbles/Lost: CHS-2/0, WV-3/1
Penalties/Yds: CHS-5/45, WV-5/35
Leading CHS Rusher: Andy Travis, 10 carries for 185 yards, 3 TD’s
Leading Receiver: Andy Travis, 1 for 35 yards

Leading Tacklers: Ross Dudley: 11 total, 3 solo, 1 for loss, 1 batted pass
Larry Jamison: 11 total, 4 solo
Jordan Murphy: 11 total, 5 solo, 2 for loss

Talking with Lions Head Football Coach Kevin Ward about the win over his former "coaching alma mater":
"It’s always good to go back to Westview & see friends that we have there, it was good to see a bunch of people that we were close to for so many years. It was good to see Don (Coady) and his staff. It’s hard playing them, because I coached with them for so many years, but it’s always good to play a high caliber quality team like they have."

On the quick start:
"Had a great wedge, everyone held there blocks, Andy did a good job of running it & the offense was able to punch it on in for the score five plays later. They come back & move it a little, miss the field goal. We take it down and score again, so we were up 14 to 0. It’s always good to get off to a good start against a quality opponent. Westview is able to get one it, but we answer right before half & to be able to take a two-score lead into the lockers was huge! I was very proud of our team at the way they started fast & then also showed that it wasn’t a fluke."

On the success of the running game:
"We didn’t use as many running backs as we have, but they all had good success due to the success our line was having up front! Good blocks make for big runs. I think Andy finished with over an 18 yard average, we tried to mix it up a little with the fullback carrying more & that seemed to work out well. We try to keep their defense from just keying in on one person."

On Westview’s offensive scheme:
"We knew they were going to run lots of counter plays & they blocked us well at times; had one back over 100 yards, so they were having some success. Their back does a great job of seeing the crease & hitting it hard, he is tough to tackle! It’s hard to simulate what they do on our practice field, it’s a good scheme. We had lapses in our performance up front."

On the pregame comment about us having to be "more disciplined" than Westview:
"I am very proud of our kids. We didn’t beat ourselves, no turnovers, they tried to jump us offsides, it didn’t work. I am proud that they took it to heart to beat a good team. We had some penalties, but they really weren’t a factor."

On the way our team "finished" the game:
"About 7 minutes left, I thought the bands "goodbye" song was a little premature, plus that is my good friend over there (Coach Coady), so I didn’t really like that. But one thing we did well was finish the game with good defense & offense. We haven’t done that in the past, put the other team away, no fumbles, interceptions, give they one last chance to score. I was very proud of the way they finished out a solid win, very physical. Our backs blocked well, especially on the perimeter on the sweeps."

On the kicking game:
"I am very proud of Danny Kim’s kicking; he is executing & is very successful, scoring a lot of points for us! A lot of players performed well, but Danny’s improvement has been noticed by everyone on our football team. They are patting him on the back for the job he is doing."

On the excellent UT-Martin facility:
"It is what a Div 1 programs facility should look like! We have scrimmaged at Bethel some, but this is a lot nicer surface. The crowd it a lot further away, but I thought our fans were into it the whole game. Our kids on the sideline were into the game, concentrating on what was going on, I was proud that they were focused."

On next week’s game against Huntingdon:
"This could possibly be for a Region Championship; we know it will get one team much closer to it and making the playoffs. Our goal of a Region Championship involves beating Huntingdon! We are going to get focused & get back to work on Monday.

Let’s all get out to Wright Field early Friday night as the Huntingdon Mustangs roll into town to battle the Lions in a Region 7AA battle!

GO LIONS!