H.S. FOOTBALL: Huntingdon beats Camden

CAMDEN – With Camden's Deshawn Brown sidelined, it was Huntingdon's offense leading the Mustangs to a 47-24 victory on Friday night.

"We executed well," Mustangs head coach Eric Swenson said. "We stuck our freshmen in at the end and gave up two turnovers, but we played well. Overall, great team effort."

The Lions (0-2) got things going on the opening drive when quarterback Hayden Abernathy connected on an 18-yard fade route to wide receiver Greg McDowell. Camden missed on a two-point conversion attempt to lead the Mustangs, 6-0.

Once Huntingdon (1-0) got its shot on offense, it didn't take long to respond.

Running back Kade Pearson took a direct snap, faked a handoff and then connected with Ben Clift for a 60-yard touchdown pass. The Mustangs also failed on their two-point attempt, tying the game at 6-6.

The early lead for Camden proved to be their only one.

Dylan Johnson ripped off a 67-yard run to give the Mustangs their first lead of the game, 14-6. The Lions responded with an 80-yard pass from Abernathy to pull Camden within two points, but from there out it was all Mustangs.

"We were just going to take what they (gave) us every time," Swenson said about his team's rushing attack. "I've got three really good running backs in the backfield. ... It was just what they were giving us at the time and it happened to work out."

Johnson added a 9-yard pass to Keeton Bradley while Pearson dove in for the 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give the Mustangs a 28-12 lead going into the half.

Camden scored twice in the second half following two Huntingdon fumbles, but the Mustangs outscored the Lions 19-12 to hold on for the win.

"It feels really good," Swenson said. "We played great defense. We had a little first-game jitters in the first half and gave up a couple of quick touchdowns, but then we settled down. ... Overall it's just a great team effort.

"I think we've got some depth, a lot more depth than I thought. We can throw the football, and we were saying that we were able to do that and we're going to use that to our advantage.”

Camden will host East Hickman next Friday. Meanwhile, Huntingdon will travel to Collinwood.