Team

Campbell Memorial

Record	Div.	Conf.
3/7	Div. V	All-American Conference Blue Tier

Team

South Range

Record	Div.	Conf.
13/1	Div. V	Independents

By TOM WILLIAMS

williams@vindy.com

CAMPBELL

The play that had everyone in the stands buzzing during Campbell’s 42-21 victory on Friday over South Range was the Red Devils’ fake punt that resulted in a 20-yard gain in the third quarter.

With the game tied 21-21, upback Charles Smith took the ball from long snapper John Sikora to race into Raiders’ territory, setting up Lester Hughes’ 18-yard touchdown pass to Claxton LeBron.

But for South Range coach Dan Yeagley, an even more important play happened a few snaps earlier when the Raiders had the Red Devils pinned deep after Jon Kenney sacked Hughes for a 17-yard loss to the Campbell 8. On third down, the Raiders stopped Ja’les Hughes after an 8-yard pass reception, but were penalized for roughing the quarterback.

“That was a great play by them,” said Yeagley of the fake punt. “Great execution, but I think the [biggest] play came before that when they had third-and-26 and we had a personal foul. You can’t do that kind of stuff.

“If they would have punted it from there, they wouldn’t have faked it from there and we would have gotten the ball back,” Yeagley said. “There were a lot of things that went wrong on that drive, but it was good execution on their part.”

Campbell coach Mickey Sikora credited his team’s preparations for the gamble.

“We saw something on film and we thought it was the right time to try and gain some momentum,” Sikora said.

Assisted by several costly South Range penalties, the Red Devils (2-0) dominated the fourth quarter in pulling away. Lester Hughes’ 1-yard scoring run put Campbell ahead 35-21 with 8:14 to go. A 71-yard drive late in the game ended with Shawndale Ray scoring from 1 yard out.

Lester Hughes, who rushed for 93 yards and passed for 111, said his teammates are excited for their fast start.

“It’s the first time we’ve gone 2-0 since 1999,” said Hughes who hit Richard Bledsoe with two first-half touchdown passes covering 16 and 58 yards. “That was a big, big game for us to win.”

Sikora said the score is surprising considering the Red Devils’ giveaways.

“The scary thing is, we had five turnovers and scored 42 points,” Sikora said. “We went from no turnovers last week to five, and we can’t do that. Defensively, we played better last week because we’re giving up the big play.”

Trailing 14-0 early in the second quarter, the Raiders (1-1) struck for two quick scores in a little more than two minutes. First, quarterback David Buzzacco hit Phillip Arsuffi on the fly with a short toss and the running back raced untouched 65 yards for a touchdown.

On Campbell’s next possession, the Red Devils suffered a double loss after running back Skevo Zembellis ran for a 9-yard gain. During the tackle, Zembellis injured his left leg while linebacker Robbie Grahovac stole the ball for a fumble recovery. On the next play, Buzzacco hit Arsuffi for a 40-yard scoring strike.

Sikora said Zembellis’ injury was not as serious as feared and he is expected to play again.