By Sudha Gururaj
Last Friday the Campbell Spartans fell to the Pebblebrook Falcons 26-3, but the team will have a chance to improve on its season with another contest tomorrow against East Coweta.
Campbell (2-6, 0-2 AAAAAAA Region 2) desperately needed a win after being trampled by McEachern 44-7 the week before. With both Campbell and Pebblebrook (6-2, 1-1 region) coming off a loss, each needed a win to regain momentum. Unfortunately, the Spartans weren’t able to get much going and Pebblebrook took home the win.
Similar to the McEachern game, Campbell’s stagnant offense and a defense that couldn’t stop the run doomed the Spartans against Pebblebrook. Campbell’s only scoring came via a 33-yard field goal from Dzenan Ceramagic in the second quarter. Pebblebrook started out hot on their opening drive with a touchdown, though missing the extra point which put them up 6-0.
Simple errors have been a concern for Campbell the whole season. Campbell had two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties help Pebblebrook score on its opening drive. Pebblebrook managed to score another touchdown with only less than a minute left in the first half of the game. They opted to go for the 2-point conversion, but failed to convert making their lead 12-3 at halftime. In the third quarter, Pebblebrook extended its lead to 19-3 with a touchdown with 6 minutes left in the quarter. The Falcons finished their scoring with a 34-yard touchdown with 8 minutes to go in the game, making the final score 26-3.
Campbell’s offense failed to get going as they were limited to only 105 yards on the night. The top offensive players for Campbell included Emon Padgett, Kaeto Nwosisi and quarterback Mark Anthony Swain. Paddgett led the Spartans with 79 yards on 21 carries, Swain threw for 35 yards and Nwosisi grabbed a 21-yard reception. Jalik Yancey led the team in tackles with 8, while Davion Weathers was the lone Campbell player to record a sack.
Campbell will look to bounce back with a road game against the East Coweta Indians. The game will be held at Garland-Shoemake Memorial Stadium in Sharpsburg on Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. Last time the two teams met Campbell fell 33-14, and East Coweta is coming in strong with an overall record of 6-1 and a 1-0 region record. The Indians beat Pebblebrook 39-14 in their last game.
In order to beat East Coweta, Campbell’s defense will need to play strong and make the crucial tackles they’ve struggled with this season. Campbell hopes to get the win in order to gain some momentum for the season’s last game on Nov. 13.
Sudha Gururaj is a student at Campbell High School and an aspiring sports reporter