It will be a tall order for Keynnard Campbell to duplicate the nearly 5,000 yards of total offense and 58 touchdowns he amassed last season. But if Friday’s season opener was any indication, Bible Baptist’s senior quarterback is certainly up for the challenge.
Campbell threw for four touchdowns and ran for four more, as the Braves annihilated visiting St. Andrew’s 60-6 in a SCISA Region 1-A contest.
“Our goal is to keep getting better every time we step on the field,” said Bible Baptist second-year coach Jonathan Mauk, whose team got off to a strong start following its 9-4 state championship season a year ago. “Last week in our
scrimmage (against Bethesda) we lost a couple guys, so we’re a little banged up, but we’re going to keep going out and getting better. “
Campbell was a one-man wrecking crew, torching the Lions for 513 total yards. The Braves’ standout finished 13-of-22 passing for 311 yards and rushed for 202 more on just 15 carries.
“His offseason was very strong,” Mauk said of his star signal-caller. “He squatted around 500 pounds in the weight room. He’s a beast to be reckoned with, and that’s all a testament to his work ethic. He never gives up out there.”
Penalties stalled Bible Baptist’s first possession, but after stopping St. Andrew’s at the Bible 37, the Braves (1-0) needed just seven plays to get on the board, when Campbell hit Chad Boatright over the middle of the field from 35 yards to make it 8-0 after a Campbell pass to Rahshon Slater on the two-point conversion attempt with 2:01 remaining in the opening period. After another Bible stop on defense, Campbell didn’t waste any time, connecting with his brother, junior receiver William Campbell, wide open down the left side for a 73-yard score.
The Braves needed just four plays their next trip, as Campbell took to the ground, faking a handoff and sprinting down the sideline 47 yards, dodging defenders and shedding tackles en route to the end zone.
Following a fumble recovery by Boatright on the ensuing possession, Campbell found Slater wide open over the middle for a 64-yarder that increased the edge to 30-0 at the 4:05 mark.
But Campbell and the Braves weren’t done in the first half. Campbell converted a fourth-and-6, scrambling for 21 yards down to the Lions’ 25, and after an incomplete pass, kept it again for another score to push the lead to 38-6 with 44 seconds left.
The Campbell brothers hooked up one more time on an 80-yard pass on the Braves’ first offensive play of the third quarter for another score, and Keynnard scored his third touchdown on the ground later in the period to boost the advantage up to 54-6. He punched in one more with a one-yard sneak early in the fourth to cap the scoring.
The Lions (0-1) were held to 196 yards of offense, but did get on the scoreboard late in the first half. Junior quarterback Nick Mayo scrambled for a first down at the Braves’ 14, and after a 11-yard completion to Caleb Tymchyshyn down to the three, senior running back Wright Wallace broke the plane to make it 30-6 with 1:50 to go in the half. Wallace, who ran for more than 1,000 yards last season, finished the night with 92 on 20 touches.
“We moved the ball all night,” St. Andrew’s first-year coach Doug Dixon said. “We had some turnovers and breakdowns in coverage that really hurt us, but we fought until the end. It’s easy to get discouraged when you get in this situation, but our guys exhibited class and character, and that class and character is going to stick with them for the rest of their lives.”
While St. Andrew’s will try to take a lesson from the blowout, the Braves will now get ready for three teams that defeated them last year and whom they’ve never beaten, in Thomas Heyward Academy, Hilton Head Prep and Hilton Head Christian.
“Our No. 1 goal right now is to compete with those teams,” Mauk said. “We’ve got a state runner-up (Thomas Heyward in AA), a state champ (Hilton Head Christian in AA) and a very good Hilton Head Prep team coming up. We’ve gotta be more disciplined and not make mistakes out on the field.”
SA 0 6 0 0 —6
BB 8 30 16 6 —60
BB—Chad Boatright 35 pass from Keynnard Campbell (Rahshon Slater pass from K. Campbell)
BB—William Campbell 73 pass from K.Campbell (W. Campbell pass from K. Campbell)
BB—K. Campbell 47 run (run failed)
BB—Slater 64 pass from K. Campbell (W. Campbell pass from K. Campbell)
SA—Wright Wallace 3 run (pass failed)
BB—K. Campbell 25 run (K. Campbell run)
BB—W. Campbell 80 pass from K. Campbell (Slater pass from K. Campbell)
BB—K. Campbell 9 run (Slater pass from K. Campbell)
BB—K. Campbell 1 run (pass failed)