photo by: Bill Ferguson Photography

Cameron’s Kason Angel (8) hands off to Slaton Pettit (28) who runs for a touchdown, while Klypsan Wallace (4) sets up to block.

CAMERON – Cameron will be seeking to make school history Friday night when it hosts No. 5 Doddridge County (9-2) at Dragons Stadium in a West Virginia Class A quarterfinal round playoff game.

The No. 4 Dragons (10-1) have never appeared in a semifinal playoff contest, losing in the second round to the same Bulldogs outfit two years ago when a quick-passing winter storm dumped four inches of snow on the artificial surface in rural Marshall County just hours before kickoff.

“Two years ago we only had about 18 kids and they outweighed by about 60-70 pounds per man,” Cameron head coach Tim Brown recalled. “Then it snowed about 4 inches, so they had a good game plan. They averaged about 3.8 yards a carry that night.”

Brown said the forecast for this weekend is favorable.

The Dragons have reeled off 10 consecutive victories since a season-opening loss at Edison, 30-28. They haven’t given up more than 21 points in a game since.

“Playing Edison in the first game of the year really helped us, despite us losing,” Brown explained. “It let us know where we stood against good competition because (Edison’s) Coach (Mike) Collopy does an excellent job and they have a lot of kids that have size and speed.

“We didn’t play really well. We lost by eight points to a team that made the Ohio playoffs. It allowed us to see what we needed to work on.”

And work they have.

“There’s a pretty rich tradition of getting to the playoffs,” Brown added. “With the four classifications now, it’s a little more fair. It kind of leveled the playing field. Some of the teams in Class A like Doddridge County and Tyler Consolidated will still have quite a population advantage over small schools like us. We average graduating around 40 kids a year and some of those schools are graduating between 85 and 120.”

Cameron has averaged more than 44 points an outing, eclipsing the 60-point barrier three times, including last week’s 62-0 thrashing of Valley.

Leading the Dragons offense is first-year starter Kason Angel at quarterback who took over for four-year starter Colson Wichterman. Angel has completed 61 percent (53-87) passes for 1,134 yards and 18 touchdowns while throwing just one interception. He also has four rushing touchdowns.

“Kason was the backup behind Colson and he learned so much from him. It has really helped him prepare for this season,” Brown said. “He’s a good athlete in multiple sports and that gives him the confidence to go out there and figure things out. This year he has really learned how to listen to the coach and take his advice.

“Sometimes when you’re a really good athlete, you’re going to take that big play every time. Sometimes it’s not the big plays, but the little one’s that lead up to them. There are times when you need a first down,” Brown added.

Returning at tailback is senior Klypsan Wallace. He has run for 1,501 yards and scored 22 touchdowns on 158 carries.

“Klypsan really fits in well here. He likes to hunt. He likes to fish. He likes to drive his truck. He’s a Cameron boy that has fit right in. He has learned a lot about football, by his own admission, from our coaches. He’s such a good kid and is a good example of earning the respect that you get.

“He runs hard, so you’d better be ready for him or he’ll run you over.”

When talking about the offense, it all starts up front in the trenches.

“Our young guys assistant coaches Matt Burge (offensive coordinator) and Derek Martin (defensive coordinator) have done a great job of communicating with the kids and preparing them each week,” Brown praised. “As a coaching staff, we try to get the kids to understand what we are trying to do as part of a team. Our kids have been receptive and try to do their job. This has been a really good team effort this season.

“This is one of the areas where the coaches have done a wonderful job of building around what we did have coming back,” Brown noted. “Hunter Wright played for us last year. He lost a lot of weight, got in shape and is a lot stronger and faster this year. He has been a great leader for us by taking some of the younger kids and showing them how we do things here.

“Wes Starcher is a skill player that had to play center for us last year because we just didn’t have enough bodies,” Brown continued. “He’s played center, guard, tackle, tight end and now he is wearing No. 21 at times so he can be the h-back.

“Other than those two, we didn’t have a lot of experience coming back.”

According to the head coach, Brody Hill played some last year, but had some injuries that limited his time.

“He’s really come along this year.”

Brown said Wright tips the scales at about 240, Hill is around 210 and Starcher 150.

“We might be small at some positions, but we have some really athletic kids that work hard every day. They spend a lot of time in the weight room and we do a lot of agility work.”

Cameron is giving up less than 10 points a contest and has posted four shutouts – two against Valley and dangerous Gavin Derby – this season.

“That’s due to our speed, quickness and the athletic ability of our kids,” Brown said. “Coach Martin is very good at preparing the kids at what their jobs are. They watch films. We knew what Valley did. Our kids stayed at home.”

Leading the defense are freshmen ends Talen Brown and Griffin Miller.

“Both have really surprised us,” Coach Brown said. “Colin Magers also rotates in.”

Wright and Hill man the down tackles with Brown playing some at nose, along with Wallace. Brown, the coach’s grandson, has made a team-best 81 tackles, with 37 being solo stops. He is also the only Dragon with double-digit tackles for lost yardage with 14. He has eight quarterback sacks, forced four fumbles and recovered three. He has two of the team’s five defensive TDs.

Linebacker Carter Paczewski is the leader on defense. He has charted 55 total tackles.

“Carter has done a great job the last two years for us. He’s our defensive captain. He is very football-intelligent as well as in the classroom. He knows where everyone should be lined up.”

Brown said his juniors and seniors remember two years ago and want to atone for that 21-6 loss.

“The kids remember that game. Some played. Some watched. They know what’s at stake. A couple of years before that Cameron went down to Doddridge and lost in a really close game. So Doddridge has kind of had our number. We’re hoping to change that this year.

“If we can keep our heads, I think we have a shot.”

Doddridge County enters the game as winners in eight of its last nine games, the lone blemish coming to powerful Williamstown, 35-13, in week 9. The Bulldogs beat Wirt County, 28-8, last week.

“Doddridge County is very similar to us,” Brown said. “They have a lot of athletic kids. They are balanced, fast and have some tall receivers. I think we match up pretty well against them right now.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.