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Hughes brothers dominate
By Greg Gulas
STRUTHERS
In the 83rd renewal of the Campbell-Struthers football rivalry, the brother act of Campbell Memorial’s Ja’les and Lester Hughes, and Struthers’ Tommy Kimbro took their games to another level.
Ja’les Hughes rushed for 292 yards and three touchdowns while brother Lester passed for 168 yards, rushed for 71 yards and accounted for three scores as the Red Devils stopped the Wildcats, 51-35, Friday at Laddie Fedor Field.
The Hughes brothers accounted for all but two of the Red Devils’ 533 offensive yards.
Kimbro, who completed 21 of 36 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns, also rushed for 67 yards and another score as he accounted for 368 of his team’s 449 total yards.
The two teams combined for 982 yards offensively.
“This was just a typical Campbell-Struthers football game,” Red Devils coach Mickey Sikora said. “The resiliency that [we] showed when [our] backs were against the wall this season was nothing short of amazing.
The Red Devils (9-1 and champions of the All-American Conference Blue Tier) could be home for a playoff game next Friday. In this week’s Division IV Region 13 computer playoff ratings, the Red Devils were four.
They finished their best regular season since going 10-0 in 1999.
Alex Sudacov’s third field goal, a 21-yarder, put the Red Devils in the lead for good, 30-28.
Ja’les Hughes’ 54 yard run increased the advantage to 37-28.
But Kimbro scored from a yard out to cut the lead to two points.
Ja’les Hughes then tacked on scores of 49 and 44 yards for a 16-point victory.
“I struggled in the first half but was a little more comfortable after halftime,” Ja’les Hughes said. “This was a big win for us because it now gives us momentum heading to the playoffs.
“I love playing with my brother. We really feed off of each other when we are out there together,” he said.
Lester Hughes agreed.
“He [Ja’les} takes the pressure off of me and gets me going,” Lester Hughes said. “I feel like I could have done better tonight, but getting the win was most important.”
Campbell finished the season 9-1, their best regular season finish since going 10-0 during the 1999 campaign.
“I anticipated a tough battle whether it was 14-7 like last year or a shootout like this year,” Struthers coach Dallas Saunders said. “It was evident that both teams came ready to play.
“You have to give a lot of credit to Tommy [Kimbro],” Saunders said. “He stepped up and made great strides as the season progressed.
“Our offensive line was instrumental in his improvement in that they didn’t give up many sacks this season,” Saunders said.
Kimbro threw touchdown passes to Jermayne Brooks (41 yards) and Tyler Dugan (38 yards).