Camden Military Academy - Excalibur Yearbook (Camden, SC)

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Scott Steen performs a basketball cakewalk with his Heathwood opponent while Nick Lopez (24) anticipates another Spartan goal. 28

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You Can’t Win ’Em All An eight game season, ending 1-7, in no way reflects Spartan gridiron effort and determina- tion. The home opener against Bethune on September 14 con- cluded in a 2-6 loss. Playing well after a scant two weeks of pre- game practice, the Spartans scored on a sack in the endzone. Coach Eric Boland summed up the game: “We hurt ourselves with a great number of penalties against the offense.” The second game, at Scott’s Branch’s potholed playing field with porta-potties for comfort fa- cilities, resulted in worse Spartan luck during a very physical and punishing game. That state AA runner-up team scored on big plays—a 60 yard pass play, 40 yard run, and an 85 yard pass play. The Spartan offense had the ball inside the 10, but failed to score. Against Lockhardt, the game ended 14-8, the first victory since 1981. Marc Rogers ran a seven yard touchdown for the winning score, “A beautiful run on second effort,” according to Boland. With a home field advantage, the Spartans came from an 0-8 defi- cit in the beginning of the fourth quarter to score twice. “It was a tremendous win for the team. We deserved it,” Coach Boland stat- ed. The Spartans were ready for their next opponents, Charlotte Latin, state-ranked twelfth, but they won by a score of 18-8. Ac- cording to the coach, “The de- fense had one of the best games of the year. Charlotte-Latin scored on our mistakes and that was what hurt us.” Gaston Day’s homecoming game was a real disappointment, an 8-14 loss. The Spartans had many chances to win, but they could not capitalize. After the third quarter with Gaston lead- ing 7-0, then 14-0, Boland sent in the play “Shotgun Formation 50 Pass.” George Pagan received a 65 yard touchdown pass from starting quarterback Steve Wit- ter. A real turn-around for the moment, the Spartans elected to try for a two-point conversion in- stead of a field goal. JP Hill broke away on an off-tackle play and ran in the ball for the two- point conversion. “Every time we started to really move the ball, the clock ran out on us. We were stopped on the 12 yard line at the end of the first half and on the 17 at the end of the second half,” Boland reflected after this dis- heartening loss. The next week the Spartans traveled to Charleston to play East Cooper in a thoroughly frus- trating encounter. Having had three touchdowns called back, the Spartans lost by a score of lb- 22. Eagerly anticipated, the matchup with rival Heathwood Hall determined the Palmetto Athletic Conference champion- ship title. The Spartans were fired up, but penalities hurt and big plays helped Heathwood rack up 14 points to CMA’s 8, which JD Hill made in a five-yard run and Patrick Langley ran for the extra points. A disappointed coach complimented the Spar- tans: “The boys played a great game of football. They really moved the ball well.” The final game against Christ Church was a conclusive let- down. After grinding through an unimpressive first half, the Spar- tans played an excellent second, but the score was so enormously weighted in the Greenville team’s favor that no matter how hard they tried, they could not break the 0-26 score. The Spartans, their Head Coach Eric Boland, Lineman Coaches Phil Hudson and Leigh Dellinger, and Specialty Teams Coach Larry Seymour, who worked hard with the quarter- backs and kickers, deserve a sin- cere “well done.” You can’t win ’em all. SCOREBOARD CMA 2 Bethune 6 CMA 0 Scott’s Branch 24 CMA 14 Lockhardt 8 CMA 8 Charlotte Latin 18 CMA 8 Gaston Day 14 CMA 16 East Cooper 22 CMA 8 Heathwood Hall 14 CMA 0 Christ Church 26 (Below) Early in the second quarter, Scott Kennedy (58) and Steve Stotts (62) watch in dismay as Bethune downs George Pagan (20).