THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 24, 1995 TAG: 9509220233
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 35 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Jeff Zeigler
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
When the athletic conference in North Carolina realigned for 1993, Camden County found itself in familiar terrirtory. In the new, highly balanced Albemarle Conference, the Bruins had the smallest student population.
And yet, since the realignment, the Bruins, and Lady Bruins, have usually been in the thick of things, no matter what the sport. The baseball team and the girls basketball, volleyball, and softball teams are scrappy, perennial playoff contenders.
It's just that the football team had been the butt of jokes for several years. Football is a tough sport to field when you have a small school. The numbers just aren't there, and many players have to play both offense and defense. The Bruins were 0-10 in 1991, 0-10 in 1992, and 1-9 in 1993. When Camden came to town it was a sure ``W.'' Schools like Perquimans County and Gates County whipped them good. It had to be demoralizing.
In 1994, the Bruins turned the losing around and went 6-5, narrowly missing the playoffs, and getting back at teams that had been blowing them out since their last winning season in 1988.
Still, there were non-believers. And head coach Scott Jones was hearing them earlier this year. In a preseason poll, the Albemarle Conference picked Camden to place sixth in the seven-team race.
After the Bruins downed Jamesville earlier this season, Jones said, ``I think some people think last year was a fluke, maybe. I feel like we have a pretty good group of kids and that we do a pretty good job of coaching.''
It was the only time I've ever heard Jones say anything about the good job the coaching staff was doing at Camden. He was right. It showed this past weekend when the Bruins played their best game since before 1991. Camden played tough defense and made all the right moves on offense as the Bruins knocked off Chocowinity 35-14.
It was a thing of beauty to see a formerly maligned program mature to a football machine and beat a worthy opponent. Players like Leary, kicker/receiver Kevin Dodson, and running back Joel Taylor, and a host of offensive linemen and defensive players now know what it's like to dominate instead of be dominated.
Sitting in the press box as a ``neutral observer,'' I couldn't help but shout when Leary and Dodson connected for a 63-yard touchdown to open the second half.
One Camden fan reflected on the game a few days later. He said, ``Chocowinity was faster than us, bigger than us, and more experienced than us. We won it on pure guts.''
Whether or not Camden wins another game all season, they are now believers. by CNB