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Cameron Downs Van to Advance

Another 200-Yard Performance from Ritchea

Photo by Alex Kozlowski Cameron’s Andrew Ritchea had another monster game in leading the Dragons to a first-round victory against Van. The senior rushed for 247 yards and three TDs.

CAMERON — The third time was a charm for Scott Holt and Cameron. After falling in the first round the past two years, the Dragons jogged off the field in celebration with a 30-12 victory over Van in a West Virginia Class A contest Saturday night at Dragon Stadium.

The Dragons’ next matchup is against Doddridge County in the state quarterfinals.

It did not take long for the Dragons to make a statement as they recovered the opening kickoff after a Bulldogs returnman mishandled the ball. From there, it was the Andrew Ritchea Show as he scored on the Dragons’ first two possessions with runs of 4 and 29 yards.

“I think the kids learned their lesson over the last two years, getting the playoff experience and they knew they needed to make the most of this opportunity,” Holt said. “They really didn’t wait to capitalize on the chance Van gave us and that’s one thing our kids have been doing all season (is) taking advantage of mistakes.

”I think we put them behind in their game plan by putting them down so early and forcing them in to some things they don’t want to do. And when they did grab a little momentum, it was way too late to get it moving.”

Ritchea finished with 247 yards and three touchdowns, with his biggest run off coming following a Van fumble late in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs put together a nice drive starting from their 35-yard line as they made their way to the Cameron 14 in nine plays. Gavin Smith connected with Caleb Price but he fumbled the ball on the 1-yard line and the Dragons dove on it in the end zone.

On the Dragons’ next play, Ritchea tallied a 71-yard run putting his total at 127 yards in the opening quarter. Two plays later, Jessop Broughton connected with Travis Mickey from 18 yards out to make it 24-0.

“When somebody goes for 200 yards-plus, and you just kind of say that’s just another typical performance, that says not only the night he had, but the season,” Holt said of Ritchea. “But doing it on this stage, he’ll tell you it’s extremely gratifying.

”When you get great playing, great blocking and a great athlete like that, that’s what you get.”

Although the Dragons fumbled on the opening drive of the second half, the defense held strong and forced a turnover on downs.

Two plays later, Ritchea was in the end zone for his third score. That 28-yard run made it 30-0 with 9:17 left in the third.

“It feels amazing,” Ritchea said of getting a playoff win. “All the hard word, dedication leading up to this. The coaches are always there for us through anything. The players are always there for each other. We’re just a big family and big team.”

The Bulldogs, though, were able to gain some ground as the Dragons had a couple of offensive miscues of their own. On the ensuing kickoff following Ritchea’s third touchdown, Cameron was able to pounce on the ball before a Van player got to it. However, the Dragons fumbled it away on the first play of the drive.

The Bulldogs went down the field in 10 plays, and with the help from a personal-foul penalty by Cameron, David Stewart was able to get them on the board on a 4-yard touchdown run.

The Dragons ran into some a little more trouble on their next possession as two penalties stalled the drive. Van took advantage of that as Stewart led the charge again as he found the end zone from 10 yards out as time expired in the third to cut the deficit to 30-12.

“I’m proud of my boys. They battled to the end, but you can’t dig out of a 24-0 hole against a good ball team,” Van coach Steve Price said. “We had a little bit of nerves to start with.”

Smith threw for 135 yards for the Bulldogs while Jarod Puckett caught seven passes for 85. Stewart led the ground game as he compiled 53 yards.

For the Dragons, Trin Scott hauled in two passes for 39 yards, including a 31-yarder on the opening drive that set up their first touchdown.

“It obviously feels great,” Holt said. “We hear a lot about our schedule and we hear a lot about how we’re overrated. Well, we started the season off with a Pennsylvania playoff team. (Saturday) we beat a West Virginia playoff team, so people keep putting teams in front of us and we seem to find a way one way or another to make it happen.”

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