by Natalie Brevick and Sudha Gururaj
The Campbell Spartans hope a victory tonight against Berkmar will properly christen the new artificial turf at Campbell’s McDaniel Stadium (7:30 p.m. kick-off). The first two games were tough losses to Lambert (34-9) and East Paulding (34-17).
Unlike the game against East Paulding where the Spartans had film to kind of get a sense of how East Paulding played, this will be Berkmar’s first game this season. Campbell High School’s Head Football Coach Howie does not have a sense of how they will play.
When asked how the Spartans would prepare for the game against Berkmar, Coach Howie said, “Well, there’s a downside to that. We don’t know what their strengths and weaknesses are because they haven’t had a game yet. They were under quarantine for COVID and just started back to practice this past week. So, they didn’t play on Friday, so we have nothing on them to see what they’re doing now.”
Even though Campbell lost in their previous two games, there are many positives to build on. Campbell’s starting quarterback, Mark Anthony Swain, rushed 17 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns against East Paulding. Campbell’s place kicker, Dzenan Cerimagic, has been automatic making all four field goal attempts including a 50+ yarder against Lambert.
“Well, I think our running game is our strength. We have to control the ball, and if we can control the ball we can control the clock. And, hopefully on defense, we can get them to go three and out multiple times, which will give the offense the ball back. If we can do that, we have a good chance to win the game,“ stated Coach Howie.
“We need to block better and tackle better,” said Coach Howie. Many simple but costly errors led to Campbell losing games against Lambert and East Paulding. Things like fumbles, missed tackles, and unnecessary penalties hurt Campbell in the first two games. So, if the team could sure up the errors then they could pull out the win.
The team has been working hard at practice to make sure that they have the best chance at beating the untested Berkmar Patriots. The game starts tonight, Sep. 19th, at 7:30 pm. Senior Night ceremonies begin at 7pm. The Spartans will be pushing hard for their first win.
Natalie Brevick and Sudha Gururaj are students at Campbell High School and aspiring sports reporters.
