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Cameron Defeats Paden City, 50-26

PADEN CITY — Despite not playing its best game, Cameron kept its undefeated season alive with a 50-26 road victory against Paden City on Friday at Berger Field.

“We had a drop in enthusiasm and execution,” Cameron coach Scott Holt said. “We know that we are getting somewhere as a program when our coaches and kids aren’t as thrilled with a 5-0 start and a 24-point win as we should be, but we will continue to learn and we will be OK.”

The game started with a trio of three-and-outs as Paden City punted twice and Cameron was forced to kick once. But when the Dragons picked up their initial first down, they caught fire and began finding a rhythm.

Quarterback Colby Brown took to the air and found Trey Routt for a 25-yard touchdown to get the visitors on the board first with an 8-0 lead.

In the second quarter, Paden City was aided by a personal foul on a chop block to set up a 51-yard scamper by running back Hayden Hizer, who scored all four of the Wildcats’ touchdowns, cutting the lead to 8-6.

Cameron answered on the ensuing possession as Brown found the end zone with his feet on a 21-yard run to extend the Dragons advantage to 14-6.

Cameron’s Travis Mickey then picked off his second of three interceptions just moments before hauling in a 43-yard touchdown reception from Brown to give all of the momentum to Cameron.

Paden City quarterback Aaron Heasley took the field with poise and led a 55-yard touchdown drive that ended with Hizer running in from 6 yards out to keep the Wildcats in the game. However, with a little less than three minutes to go before the break, Cameron’s Trin Scott delivered an 18-yard kickoff return to put the Dragons at the Wildcats 43-yard line.

Then, on a fourth-and-5 play, Brown hit Trey Scott for a 20-yard reception to give Cameron a first down. Running back Michael Starcher did the rest on a 2-yard score to give his squad a 28-12 advantage going into halftime.

Starcher was limited to 21 yards rushing in the first half but took over after halftime as he scored the first two touchdowns of the second half for Cameron and ran for 111 yards to finish the with 132 on the ground.

With Starcher’s back-to-back scores putting Cameron on top 44-12, it was Hizer’s turn to step up and make plays in front of the home fans as he took the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to the end zone making the score 44-18 in favor of the Dragons, but it was too late at that point.

Starcher and Hizer each garnered their fourth scores in the fourth quarter.

“Paden City gave us their best shot and they have a lot of heart,” Holt said. “We weathered the storm and put a big number on the board. We still have a lot to learn but we will get better on defense next week.

“Starcher carried us again. He has gotten really good at making the first man miss when he needs to by extending the play. He always gives us a chance when he is out there.”

Hizer paced the Wildcats with 143 yards on the ground to go along with his four scores.

“Hayden is a good athlete,” Paden City coach Brent Croasmun said. “We know what he is capable of and what he can do on a football field doesn’t surprise me. Our line also made some good blocks for him.

“We just don’t do enough on defense to stop the other team. When you are playing from behind against a team like that, you put yourself in a tough situation. Cameron is an excellent football team that is hungry and well coached. They figured out what it takes to win and we are still in that process.”

Brown passed for 117 yards on 6 of 15 passing accuarcy, while rushing for 42 yards.

Logan Ritchea, Austin Cain and Brown all tallied sacks for the Dragons and Austin Falk recovered a fumble. Michael Shreves secured a fumble recovery for the Wildcats.

Cameron 50, Paden City 26

Cameron        8 20 16 6 — 50

Paden City         0 12 6 8 — 26

Scoring Plays

C — Routt 25 pass from Brown (Brown run), 5:41.

P — Hizer 51 run (run failed), 10:43.

C — Brown 21 run (pass failed), 10:06.

C — Mickey 43 pass from Brown (Brown run), 8:17.

P — Hizer 6 run (run failed), 3:03.

C — Starcher 2 run (run failed), :25.

C — Starcher 28 run (Routt pass from Brown), 7:52.

C — Starcher 3 run (Routt pass from Brown), :54.

P — Hizer 80 kickoff return (run failed), :38.

C — Starcher 20 run (run failed), 11:50.

P — Hizer 1 run (Heasley run), 8:02.

Individual Stats

Rushing: Cameron 41-227-5 (Starcher 18-132-4td, Simms 5-30, Brown 5-42-1td, Neely 4-(-8), M. Ritchea 7-19, Dobbs 2-12). Paden City 38-180-3td (Hizer 23-143-3td, Heasley 14-37, Shreves 1-0).

Passing: Cameron 6-15-117-2td (all by Brown). Paden City 5-16-30-3x (all by Heasley).

Receiving: Cameron 6-117-2td (Routt 2-29-1td, Scott 2-30, Mickey 1-43-1td, Starcher 1-15). Paden City 5-30 (Hizer 1-(-6), Shreves 1-16, Smith 3-20.

First Downs: Cameron 15, Paden City 11.

Penalties: Cameron 3-30, Paden City 6-60.

Fumbles: Cameron 4-1, Paden City 1-1.

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