ELIZABETHTOWN – Dashon Campbell knows a thing or two about power football. He also knows where games are won or lost.
The 235-pound senior running back/defensive end rushed for 173 yards, scored three times, ran for four 2-point conversions and was in on several tackles as East Bladen outscored West Columbus 54-28 on Friday night at Lenon Fisher Stadium in the Carolina Conference opener for both high schools.
“It starts up front with everybody,” Campbell said, “on both sides of the ball. You’re not going to get anything without your (offensive) linemen and your defensive linemen putting pressure on the quarterback.
The offensive linemen “did good on replicating our offensive plays that we run in practice. They opened the holes up pretty well and we were able to hit them really hard. Like I said, it starts up front. You win the ball game at the line of scrimmage.“
Jaden Lewis ran for 175 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore also returned a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter that allowed East Bladen (4-1) to regain control of the game after West Columbus (0-4) scored three times to trim the Eagles’ lead to 32-28.
Julius Battle blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone in the first quarter that put East Bladen ahead 16-0 with 1:35 remaining.
“A bunch of stuff we can improve on, but I’m excited,” East Bladen coach Robby Priest said. “I’ve learned to enjoy every win. We’ll enjoy it for a minute or two, then we’ll get back to work for next week.”
East Bladen will host Hobbton next Friday in its homecoming game.
Campbell scored on a pair of 5-yard runs, Lewis ran in from the 20 and Battle scored after his blocked punt to stake East Bladen to a 32-6 halftime lead. The Eagles converted all four 2-point conversions.
West Columbus drove 56 yards in nine plays following the second half kickoff that ended with Jahan Lesane-Powell’s 1-yard run that pulled the Vikings within 32-12.
East Bladen fumbled on the second play from scrimmage following the ensuing kickoff. West Columbus quickly converted when D.J. Graham connected with Charlie McLeod on a 36-yard pass play with 5:05 left in the third quarter. Santonio Vereen passed to McLeod for the 2-point conversion that made it 32-20.
The Vikings then recovered the kickoff at the East Bladen 30. Graham’s pass to Vereen in the left corner of the end zone from 11 yards out brought West Columbus within 32-28 with 4:14 left in the third quarter.
That’s when Lewis returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards up the middle for a touchdown. Campbell’s fourth 2-point conversion raised the East Bladen lead to 40-28 with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter.
Campbell and Lewis each had scoring runs in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve got to clean up (the fumbles,” Priest said. “We put ourselves in a little lull in the third quarter. We were able to weather the storm, but we’ve got to shore up those fumbles. Turnovers are costly in a tight ball game.”
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
EB – Dashon Campbell 5 run (Campbell run), 7:53
EB – Julius Battle blocked punt recovered in end zone (Keyshawn Kemp run), 1:35
WC – D.J. Graham 58 run (run failed), 1:12
2nd Quarter
E – Jaden Lewis 20 run (Campbell run), 8:54
E – Campbell 5 run (Campbell run), 0:12
3rd Quarter
WC – Jahan Lesane-Powell 1 run (run failed), 7:35
WC – Charlie McLeod 36 pass from Graham (Santonio Vereen pass to McLeod), 5:05
WC – Vereen 33 pass from Graham (Lesane-Powell run), 4:14
EB – Lewis 75 kickoff return (Campbell run), 4:03
4th Quarter
EB – Campbell 12 run (run failed), 8:53
EB – Lewis 15 run (Kemp run), 3:35
Sonny Jones can be reached at [email protected].