North Myrtle Beach avoids letdown, blows out Camden as showdown looms
The distractions were there for North Myrtle Beach all week – it was homecoming week and a rivalry matchup against Myrtle Beach is looming next week – but the Chiefs came out focused and buried Camden 63-28 on Friday night.
Using a heavy dose of the running game, North Myrtle Beach (6-0) hammered the Bulldog (1-5) defense in the first quarter, piling up 157 yards on eight carries, with three going for touchdowns. The Chiefs were up 28-0 before the second quarter began, adding the fourth score in the first quarter on a Stephon Wilson 30-yard fumble recovery.
“This is what we wanted to see from our team tonight,” said North Myrtle Beach head coach Matt Reel. “We try to instill in our guys that smash-mouth mentality every day, but it always looks better when they play like they did tonight. I’m proud of the guys up front, we’ve challenged them to be the most physical football team on the field and we did that tonight.”
Both North Myrtle Beach and Camden would score in the second quarter to take the game to halftime at 35-7. The teams would trade scores for the rest of the night, with the Chiefs staying safely ahead the entire game.
More importantly for Reel and the Chiefs, the lopsided score in the second half allowed him to pull some of his upperclassmen to give some younger players a chance at the varsity level. He was rewarded with two touchdowns from sophomore running backs, one from Zyon Bell and another by Ramsey Lewis.
“We didn’t travel a (junior varsity) team this week because of the distance between us and Camden, so it was good to get those guys in the game and see them produce,” Reel said. “We’ve got a crew of running backs that are really good. We had some older guys going both ways tonight, so putting those younger guys in there made everything flow a little bit easier.”
While the homecoming victory was sweet for the Chiefs, a short week of practice looms before facing Myrtle Beach on Thursday.
Turning point
North Myrtle Beach already had two touchdowns from Kered Class and a score from T.J. Gore on the ground before an ill-timed pitch from Camden quarterback Bryce Jeffcoat fell into the waiting arms of Stephon Wilson, who promptly scurried 30 yards to the end zone. The touchdown gave the Chiefs a 28-0 lead and effectively knocked Camden out of the game, as their passing attack could not move the ball to mount a comeback.
Key performers
Kered Class, North Myrtle Beach: Class took his first two carries of the game to the end zone and compiled 131 yards on his five carries in the game. He also played the role of a hard-nosed cornerback, delivering big hits on defense.
North Myrtle Beach offensive line: The unit up front paved the way for the Chief rushing attack, which ended the game with over 350 yards and 8 touchdowns.
By the numbers
366
North Myrtle Beach ran the ball to the tune of 366 yards and eight touchdowns, a dominant showing of smash-mouth football.
0
The Chief offense had a clean game with zero turnovers, while their defense forced four fumbles and recovered two of those.
337
Camden ended the game with 337 yards of total offense and held the ball for nearly 29 minutes.
They said it
“My team worked really hard this week, we’ve been pushing each other all week. I’m happy to have stepped up for my team to bring home the win.” – Kered Class, North Myrtle Beach running back
“It’s a lot easier calling plays when your team is running the ball and playing good defense. They make me look good out there sometimes.” - North Myrtle Beach head coach Matt Reel
“It’s crazy. We’ve got a lot of expectations, and, I won’t say we’re getting used to it, but everybody kind of threw us into an elite level from the beginning of the year. You can’t have a down week when you’re getting everyone’s best shot each game. There’s no doubt in my mind watching (Myrtle Beach) play last night that it’s going to be a knockdown, drag out kind of game next Thursday night.” - Reel
Up next
Camden: at Fairfield Central
North Myrtle Beach: vs. Myrtle Beach
Camden | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | — | 28 |
NMB | 28 | 7 | 14 | 14 | — | 63 |
First quarter
NMB – Kered Class 36 yard run (Zane Smith kick) 9:51
NMB – Class 60 yard run (Smith kick) 7:45
NMB – T.J. Gore 30 yard run (Smith kick) 5:00
NMB – Stephon Wilson 30 yard fumble recovery (Smith kick) 4:33
Second quarter
NMB – Cason McClendon 1 yard run (Smith kick) 9:13
CAM – Lance McCray 7 yard run (Bennett Caldwell kick) 6:04
Third quarter
NMB – Gore 28 yard run (Smith kick) 11:05
CAM – Jericho Murphy 1 yard run (Caldwell kick) 5:43
NMB – Zyon Belle 12 yard run (Smith kick) 4:26
Fourth quarter
NMB – Nick Vereen 1 yard run (Smith kick) 10:30
CAM – Murphy 3 yard run (Caldwell kick) 6:35
NMB – Ramsey Lewis 31 yard run (Renee Urbaniak kick) 3:24
CAM – Bryce Jeffcoat 1 yard run (Caldwell kick) 00:26
Individual leaders
Rushing: CAM – Jericho Murphy 17-90 2TD. NMB – Kered Class 5-131 2TD.
Passing: CAM – Bryce Jeffcoat 10-19-132-0-0. NMB - Cason McClendon 5-12-79-0-0.
Receiving: CAM – Randy Kambeitz 3-86. NMB – Tyron Stockdale 1-48.
This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 11:46 PM with the headline "North Myrtle Beach avoids letdown, blows out Camden as showdown looms."