By JOSH STROPE | The Intelligencer
CAMERON, W.Va. — Cameron entered Friday’s game against Clay-Battelle backed against a wall.
If the Dragons wanted any shot at making the playoffs, they had to win out. And after the first 20 minutes at Dragon Stadium, it looked like those hopes were going to be dashed.
Clay-Battelle ran through and around Cameron, punished it on the offensive line and used Sean Hays’ running abilities to take a 13-point lead with four minutes left in the half.
But the young Dragons showed their resiliency. Cameron scored twice before halftime, the second score a 44-yard pass from Jessop Broughton to Isaac Ball, to enter the locker room with a 3-point lead and never trailed the remainder of the way in a 36-21 victory.
“We had a real slow start and I thought Clay-Battelle came out with a great game plan, ran it down our throat and scored,” Cameron coach Tim Brown said. “The boys adjusted, the coaches made some good adjustments defensively to slow them down and then we got rolling.”
Clay-Battelle (4-3) looked to be in firm control. The Cee-Bees used a 19-play, 10-minute drive in the first half — all running plays — to keep Cameron’s offense off the field and eat up clock.
Cameron (5-3) needed an answer in the worst way and got it in the form a four-play drive that saw Broughton loft a pass over a Cee-Bees defender and find Noah Neely for a 14-yard score.
Cameron forced a 3-and-out, with Brown calling timeouts to preserve time. The Dragons got the ball back at the 27 with exactly a minute before halftime.
Two completions and a roughing the passer penalty moved the ball to the Cee-Bees 44, where Broughton went deep as Ball got behind the defense and hauled in the pass to give Cameron its first lead at 16-14.
The momentum carried into the second half. The Dragons scored on their opening possession as Broughton hooked up with Payton Neely for a 14-yard score.
“My kids played hard, but we lost,” C-B coach Ryan Wilson said. “The (two scores before half) put us behind and that changed the game. We were doing what we wanted to do and they hit big plays.”
Even when Cameron made a mistake — a fumble deep in its territory that turned into a 7-yard touchdown run from Carson Shriver — the Dragons showed what they were made of.
Broughton, who completed 11 of 13 for 188 yards and touchdowns to four different receivers, hooked up with Garrett Scott in the fourth quarter to put Cameron up 30-21.
On the ensuing Clay-Battelle possession, Ball intercepted a pass and Cameron ran five minutes off the clock, resulting in a Noah Neely 4-yard scoring jaunt to seal a victory and keep the Dragons’ playoff hopes alive.
Noah Neely rushed for a career-high 194 yards and a touchdown.
Hays paced the Cee-Bees with 146 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 29 carries.
