H.S. FOOTBALL: Camden topples Lewis County

CAMDEN – Camden High senior defensive back Hunter Baker was lurking in the secondary all night, looking to make a play he said he has been practicing all week.

With time winding down in the third quarter and his Lions up 17 points over 11-AA district rival Lewis County, the Panthers had shifted from an ineffective run game in the first half to a more pass-friendly offense in the second half to try and close the gap.

Baker read the pass from Panthers quarterback Brennan Holt, stepped in front of the intended receiver and took the ball from the Lions 38 down the sideline all the way to the Lewis County 10-yard line.

Two plays later after a Lions penalty, Camden quarterback Wes Blow punched it in from 22 yards out to give Camden a 40-22 win to remain undefeated.

“When they ran that double-handoff, I was looking forward-backside and I just sat on it,” Baker said. “Sure enough, he came out of the backfield.

“I just went over there and got it.”

For the majority of the game Camden ran basically a two-back set with Wes Blow under center and junior running back Deshawn Brown flanking on either side.

Blow said the two-back system is effective when he has the ball because so many teams key in on Brown to try and stop the Lions run game.

“Deshawn, he’s really good,” Blow said. “He’s going to attract a lot of folks.

“Most of the time when I have it I’d imagine they were happy I got it [because] 33 don’t have the ball.”

Head coach William Blow said to his team after the game he was proud of all aspects of the game but especially gave praise to the offensive line for creating the holes in the defensive front.

“We issued a challenge to them this week,” coach Blow said. “We had to get better up there in those spots and they did.”

“They came through tonight. I’m anxious to watch the film and see how well we really did.”

Brown said he and the entire team feel a sense of vindication after losing twice last season to their rivals from across the river.

“It feels absolutely amazing,” Brown said. “Last year at this time we played them and we fell. We fell hard to them.

“But we believed in ourselves as a team, we played as a team and we played with heart. And that’s what it’s all about.”

Josh Lemons, 425-9636