photo by: Bill Ferguson Photography

Cameron’s Klypsan Wallace runs in for a score during the Dragons’ playoff game against Doddridge County on Friday, Nov. 29.

CAMERON – Cameron’s senior backfield tag team of quarterback Kason Angel and lead back Klypsan Wallace has been a driving factor on their ride to the WVSSAC Class A Championship against Wahama on Friday, the schools’ first state title appearance in its history. Just as Cameron’s presence at the state championship makes for a change, Angel and Wallace also experienced their own changes on their way to standout individual seasons.

For Angel, his change came by taking the reigns of the team as the Dragons’ new quarterback this year after biding his time in years prior.

“In the last two years I knew at some point this would be my spot,” Angel said. “Been working hard, all of us are, to be the best you can be wherever on the field you’re being put. Our team chemistry, we work really well together, we push each other, and I think that’s what’s helped us get to where we are today.”

Angel has more than done his part, with 20 touchdowns and only a single interception through the air.

“He’s a multiple-sport athlete, and he’s an intelligent kid,” Cameron head coach Tim Brown said.

“That’s the reason that we put him in that position to start with. He also had a couple years to hang out with a really good quarterback that we had before in Colson Wichterman. Being around that atmosphere, we were pretty sure that he was going to do a good job for us.”

For Wallace, his change had to do with how he approached his senior season, dropping weight in an effort to gain mobility.

“Last year I came in, and I had less muscle and I was heavier, about 15 pounds heavier than I am now,” Wallace explained. “I made sure to keep lifting, and I came in at about 185 this year. I feel a lot better, I feel like I can move a lot better, I’m not just a bowling ball running into everybody out there, I can actually run around people. I’m still not one of the fastest out there, leave that to our receivers, guys with long legs and long strides, I’m out there to give some power, but for sure the weight coming off has helped me.”

Wallace has over 1,500 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns on the ground in his senior campaign.

“What I’ve seen is the development of his quickness- the kid lost about 15 pounds for football this year, he knew he wanted to be quicker, faster,” Brown said. “He’s strong as an ox, we didn’t have to worry about him not being strong enough, I think that’s shown through the way that he runs. I think he was smart enough to say ‘I need to lose a little bit of weight and be quicker, faster.’ And that takes discipline and dedication by itself.

“He has just continued to get better vision, to know when to be patient- he can run over just about anything, but sometimes if you just slow down and let your blocker get there, and go run over somebody else, it’s a better outcome. He’s done that very well, one of the best overall running backs I’ve seen in a long time.”

During the Dragons’ playoff run, Angel has also been more dynamic on the ground, rushing for 66 yards and a two-point conversion against Doddridge County, and running for 55 yards, a nine-yard touchdown and two two-point conversions against Tug Valley.

“Up until lately, I haven’t ran the ball too much,” Angel said. “But now we’re understanding, it’s pretty hard to stop the two of us combined, especially when they start keying in on Klypsan, who’s a great runner all on his own. When you’ve got to worry about him so much, and you put into effect somebody else who can carry the ball as well, it’s really hard to scheme against that. Offensively, we’ve done a really good job of being able to assess when we need to run the ball, when we need to pass the ball.”

Wallace echoed the same sentiment.

“Kason, he didn’t run much in the beginning of the year, but now he’s figured out how to run with power, how to run with speed, he’s playing really well,” the senior back said. “Slaton Pettit back there, the three of us, you don’t really know what’s coming, you can’t key in on one guy because if you do, someone else is going. It showed in the Tug game- they started keying in on me pretty hard, and Kason kept the ball and ran about 25 yards upfield. Everybody in the backfield, everybody on our team is just tough.”

With the Dragons still unlocking new strengths even deep into the postseason, what else could be better evidence of Cameron’s motivation for their shot at school history.

“It’s been exciting. We never went into a game thinking we’d already lost, we kept a good attitude and kept working hard. Ultimately, that pushed us ahead,” Angel said. “Working as hard as we have for years, coming close, and now becoming the first team to do this, it feels great.”

“When I first started high school I never thought I’d get to this point,” Wallace said. “My whole goal is to be successful and to be on a team that I love to be on. At the start of the year we set goals, and we’ve achieved them, getting here, but the biggest one hasn’t hit yet, to win it all. We’re going to work as hard as we can, we know we have a really tough opponent to play. It’s just special being here.”