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| Westview defense can't stop Camden |
By: Joey Guest – Special to the Weakley County Press
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Posted: Tuesday, September 15, 2009 6:01 pm
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Paydirt — Westview quarterback Tanner Spencer finds paydirt in his team's 27-12 non-district home loss to Camden Friday night. Spencer scored both WHS touchdowns.
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MARTIN, Tenn. — Camden quarterback Michael Gaskin rushed for 187 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Lions to a 27-12 victory over Westview, Friday night, at Hardy Graham Stadium. Devon White added 120 yards as Camden (4-0, 1-0 District 11-A) amassed 404 yards on the ground to remain undefeated. The Chargers (0-4, 0-1 District 13-AA) remain winless in 2009 and dropped their fifth straight decision dating back to last year’s playoff loss to Milan.
Westview will hope to break its winless streak next Friday night at Dyersburg in an important district tilt, while Camden plans to keep its record unblemished with a trip to Stewart County. Despite career-high passing marks for completions and yardage from Tanner Spencer, who connected on 16-of-25 passes for 203 yards and two interceptions, the Chargers were unable to balance their offense with a ground attack which was limited to 105 rushing yards on 24 attempts. Each time Westview tried to mount a challenge, a penalty or turnover would break the team’s comeback hopes and end a drive.
“That’s kind of been the story this year,” said Charger skipper Don Coady. “We just can’t seem to get a break. The ball bounces funny sometimes, and that will turn around at some point.”
The Lions had little concern for funny bounces in the opening quarter as Camden took the opening kickoff and marched 67 yards on eight straight running plays. Gaskin’s 15-yard keeper to the left capped the drive, and after Dakota Summers missed the point-after try, the Lions had an early 6-0 lead. Gaskins recorded his second TD of the contest late in the second stanza, capping a 14-play drive with a 17-yard option keeper for paydirt at 3:07 until halftime. Derek Easley ran in the 2-point conversion for a 14-0 advantage.
The Chargers responded quickly as Spencer connected on four consecutive passes for 51 yards, and then reached the end zone on a 15-yard scamper with 61 seconds left in the first half to trail 14-6 after the point-after try missed wide left.
Just as Westview was ready to hit the lockers with a respectable 8-point deficit to the No. 4-ranked 3A team in the state, Gaskins crushed the Chargers’ momentum, scrambling out of the pocket and zigzagging through the defense for a 51-yard TD run with 11 seconds left in the half. After Summers’ kick, Camden led 21-6 at the break and never looked back.
Gaskins proved his prowess on defense on the first possession of the second half, intercepting a Spencer pass on Westview’s third play from scrimmage.
Gaskins led the Lions to the Charger 9, thanks largely to a 10-yard run on fourth-and-six, before Travis Martin recovered an Easley fumble to give the Chargers a comeback hope late in the third stanza. However, another Spencer pick, this time by Kendrick Hudson, thwarted the Westview drive at its own 27, and five plays later, Gaskins again converted a fourth-down play with a 22-yard keeper to the end zone for a 27-6 lead after the failed point-after kick.
Spencer added a 10-yard TD run late in the fourth, but it was too little, too late as Camden held on for the 27-12 victory.
Spencer’s two TDs and 42 yards led Westview’s ground attack to give him 245 yards of total offense. Through the air, he connected with five different receivers, led by Mark Tucker’s five catches for 85 yards.
Editor’s Note: Joey Guest is a free-lance writer and associate editor of Pressbox1.com. He can be reached at joeyguest1@yahoo.com or 731-332-1164.
Camden-Westview, Stats
Camden 6 15 6 0—27
Westview 0 6 0 6—12
First Quarter
CHS – Michael Gaskins 15-yard run, (kick failed), 8:39.
Second Quarter
CHS – Gaskins 17-yard run, (Easley run), 3:07.
WHS – Tanner Spencer 15-yard run, (kick failed), 1:01.
CHS – Gaskins 51-yard run, (Dakota Summers kick), 0:11.
Third Quarter
CHS – Gaskins 22-yard run, (kick failed), 0:52.
Fourth Quarter
WHS – Spencer 10-yard run, (pass failed), 1:38.
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CHS WHS
First Downs 21 17
Rushes-yards 56-404 24-105
Passing yards 16 203
Comp-Att-Int 1-2-0 16-25-2
Punts 0-0 1-32
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties-yards 7-55 5-45
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Individual Statistics
Rushing — Camden, Michael Gaskins 15-187, Devon White 18-120, Maurice Whitfield 3-36, Derek Easley 9-30, Kendrick Hudson 7-17, Trae White 4-14; Westview, Tanner Spencer 7-42, Chevy Taylor 6-23, DeMarcus Williams 8-22, Matt Melton 1-9, Mark Tucker 1-7.
Passing — Camden, Gaskins 1-2-0 — 16; Westview, Spencer 16-25-2 — 203.
Receiving — Camden, R.J. Scott 1-16; Westview, Mark Tucker 5-85, Seth Waterfield 3-45, Brian West 2-37, Matt Melton 4-24, Taylor 2-12..
Records — Camden 4-0 (1-0 District 11-AA), Westview 0-4 (0-1 District 13-AA).
Next Game — Camden will visit Stewart County, while Westview will travel to Dyersburg with kickoff for both games at 7:30 on Friday night.
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