By JIM STEELE
pressbox1.com

HUNTINGDON - Huntingdon gave up a big early play, but settled down, got in a rhythm and erupted for a 25-10 victory over Martin-Westview in the Huntingdon Football Jamboree Friday night at Paul Ward Stadium.

In other action, Hickman County edged McKenzie 14-0, Camden topped Hollow Rock-Bruceton 28-0 and Lexington squeaked past Crockett County .

Two Huntingdon rushers had 100-yard nights. Senior Caleb Crocker carried seven times for 108 yards and two touchdowns. Kennon Holder carried seven times for 101 yards and a score. Quarterback Colin Hatch also added a 1-yard run.

It was a big night for the Mustangs, who really shut down the Chargers and dictated the pace of the game. Still, first-year Huntingdon coach Eric Swenson thought the effort could have been better.

"I was proud of our defense and it got better as the game went on," said Swenson. "Crocker did a good job going both ways for us tonight and we left him on the field the whole time."

Westview started the contest with a long completion on the second play of the scrimmage. Tanner Spencer hit Demarcus Williams and the Chargers held a 7-0 lead. On the next Mustang possession, it didn't take long for them to answer. Crocker rompe 39 yards and Huntingdon knotted the score at 7.

From there, it was a hometown blue-and-gold avalanche. Westview tacked on a 30-yard field goal by Hyuntae Kim with 1:24 to play in the first. The Chargers led briefly 10-7 and never led again.

Huntingdon took the lead for good late in the first when Crocker had a 26-yard set-up run for Holder's 53-yard scoring sprint. The conversion kick failed, but Huntingdon led 13-10 with 33 seconds remaining in the quarter.

The Mustangs forced a Westview punt and marched 88 yards in nine plays. Crocker was the workhorse, carrying the last six plays of the drive before the score. Hatch punched it in from the 1 with 5:24 to play. The conversion pass failed, but the Mustangs led 19-10.

Westview coughed up the ball on the ensuing possession and the Mustangs made them pay. Holder had two runs for 37 yards, camping the Mustangs at the 3 where Crocker scored his second touchdown of the evening.

"We had a hard week of practice," said Swenson. "We're young and they're young (Westview). This was a learning experience for both teams."

J.C. Scruggs led the Chargers with seven carries for 62 yards. Westview quarterback Tanner Spencer was 2-7 for 94 yards and a TD.

Brittan Thompson ha four tackles and a fumble recovery for the Mustangs. Zach Wallace had four tackles as well.

Westview opens the season with archrival Union City 7:30 Friday night at UC's war Memorial Stadium. Huntingdon also opens with archrival Milan at Johnnie Hale Stadium. Kickoff in Milan is 7:30 Friday night.

ATHLETIC HICKMAN CO. BLANKS PESKY REBELS: The pre-season mantra continues for the McKenzie Rebel football team.

The Rebels faced Hickman County in the 43rd Annual Huntingdon Football Jamboree, a pre-season exhibition that matches local teams with other squads from the area. Hickman County is touted to be a Class 2A title contender this year and looked every bit the part.

McKenzie, a Class A title contender this season, made a several nice plays, several big stops, but were a play or two away here and there from making a big play or a big stop. As a result, the Bulldogs toppled the Rebels 14-0 in the two-quarter sneak peak.

And McKenzie coach Wade Comer preached what he's been venting all pre-season: finish the job.

"Yeah we were close on a couple of plays, but close only counts in grenades and horseshoes and we weren't playing grenades or horseshoes, we were playing football," Comer said. "We have to make plays and we didn't do that; that's been haunting us ever since the first scrimmage. We have to have kids get after it."

Hickman County used its big-play capability to score in the first frame, then methodically moved the ball for its second score in the second quarter. Bulldog quarterback D.J. Key found receiver Marcus Grimes on a 54-yard aerial that camped them on the Rebel 16. After an offside penalty, HC marched 11 yards in two plays, ending in an 8-yard sprint by speedster Scott Sowell, who had seven carries for 60 yards.

The Rebels drove the ball fairly well on their first possession, saddling up Jacob Fussell, who had powerful bursts of 25 an 10 yards before the drive bogged down.

From there, the Rebel defense played pretty well, but the offense was a bit inconsistent.

"OUr effort on defense was good," Comer said. "We gave up a couple of plays we shouldn't have, but I thought we hit them good, but we had too many missed tackles."

That might have been attributed to Hickman's speed. The Bulldogs had 17 carries for 98 yards on the ground and 59 yards through the air.

In the second frame, mid way, the Bulldogs marched 45 yards in five plays for their second TD of the night. This time, Key scampered 20 yards with 4:08 to play, followed by Sowell's deuce to lift the Bulldogs to a 14-0 lead.

McKenzie had mixed results the rest of the way.

"We have kids who can play, but we need them to learn how to make plays," said Comer. "Right now, it's a mental thing with them."

Jacob Fussell carried four times for 38 yards to lead the Rebels. MHS quarterback Austin McKinney had six carries for 14 yards. The Rebels, as a team, had 63 total yards. Hickman County had 154 total yards, 59 through the air. McKinney was 1-10 for 9 yards, a completion to Nick Chappell in the second quarter.

Key was 2-4 for 59 yards. Grimes had both catches.

Defensively, Tyler Watson led the Rebels with four stops, a caused fumble and a fumble recovery. Daniel Willis had two stops and caused a fumble. Zach McEwen had three stops. Daniel Willis caused a fumble

Nathan Davis had four tackles to lead the Bulldogs.

McKenzie opens the season at Rotary Field to face the host Dresden Lions 7:30 Friday night, Aug. 29. Hickman County visits Lewisburg to face Marshall County 7 p.m. next Friday night.

CAMDEN TOO MUCH FOR REBUILDING TIGERS: Say what you will about the 2008 Camden Lions, but don't forget to mention deep.

The Lions used nine different ballcarriers, five of whom rushed more than 25 yards, three of whom scored touchdowns in their 28-0 triumph over the rebuiling Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central Tigers. Camden snapped the ball 27 times, controlled the offense and limited the Tigers.

Camden coach Kevin Ward was pleased with his team's performance and his depth at running back.

"We have a lot depth at running back and when you can use six different kids, it's a good thing," he said. "We were excellent up front an won the ine of scrimmage."

Ross Dudley carried four times for 92 yards, including a 20-yard TD jaunt on the second play of the pairing. Devon White carried five times for 53 yards, Kendrick Hudson carried twice for 36 yards and a TD, Chris Pagal had three totes for 36 yards and a TD. Michael Gaskin carried three times for 45 yards.

All in all, it was a good night for the Lions.

"We did a good job executing on offense and we ran to the football on defense and made good solid tackles," Ward said.

Central coach Tim Gilmer acknowledged that his team faced a top-notch contender.

"Camden has a good team. They do things right and they play hard," he sai. "This was a learning experience for us. We made a lot of mistakes, but when you have a lot of freshmen and sophomores out there, that's going to happen."

The Tigers were led by Chandler Jordan, who carried twice for nine yards. Ehlia Phillips had two carries for 13 yards. The Tigers managed just 24 yards on the ground.

Michael Gaskin hit Andy Travis for a 37-yard TD pass with 5:32 to play in the first quarter. The Lions were proficient in the air as well as on the ground.

Dudley had a 20-yard TD run with 9:40 to play in the first then scored again on Gaskin's TD pass just over four minutes later. In the second frame, Pagal scored from the 10 with 8:29 to play. Camden embarked on a late-game, eight-play, 97-yard drive that ended in Hudson's 17-yard scoring sprint. Danny Kim tacked on the fourth of his PAT kicks for a 28-0 margin.

"They did things right tonight an we didn't," said Gilmer. "But we're going to keep working and if we can stay healthy, we'll have a chance. Our expectations haven't changed."

The Lions will host Trenton-Peabody, who suffered a loss at Lake COunty last Friday night. Central, meanwhile, opens at Chester County. Both games begin 7:30 this Friday night.

FIELD GOAL PROPELS LEXINGTON OVER CROCKETT CO.: Lexington edged Crockett County in a thrilling defensive encounter to close the 2008 Jamboree.

Crockett County took the early lead when running back Jerry Pruitt scored on a 20-yard run with 24 seconds remaining in the first frame. Jose Dimas added the PAT for the 7-0 lead.

Lexington tied the game with 4:00 to play on Stu Jones' 7-yard scamper. Colby Chambers added the point after. He'd be called on again.

With 25 seconds to play, Chambers nailed a 29-yard field goal to put the Big Red Tigers in front for good.

Lexington opens at Riverside while Crockett county entertains Humboldt Friday night. Both games begin at 7:30.