COLUMBIA, S.C. — Keynnard Campbell had bad memories of Bible Baptist’s last trip to the SCISA Class A state championship.
That won’t be the case following his second trip to the title game.
The Bible Baptist quarterback put on a performance for the record books as he amassed 617 total yards and accounted for seven touchdowns in the Braves’ 60-24 victory over Williamsburg Academy on Saturday at Benedict College.
“I didn’t think I could have a performance like this,” Campbell said. “I was just coming out here to do my job, do my part and my teammates were going to do the rest.”
Bible Baptist was making its second trip to the championship game in the last three years. In 2010, the Braves lost 43-40 to Dorchester on a 25-yard touchdown pass with .4 seconds left.
Campbell was a defensive back on Bible Baptist’s 2010 team and was in the area where the game-winning pass was caught.
When Bible Baptist arrived in Columbia for a walk-through on Friday, first-year coach Jonathan Mauk took his team to the end zone where that pass took place for extra motivation.
“It was heartbreaking to lose that game,” Campbell said. “But we put it in our minds that the game today wasn’t going to be that close and, as you can see, we didn’t let it get close at all.”
Campbell had three touchdowns in the first half, including a 77-yard run to give the Braves a 22-8 lead. Mulik Simmons made it 30-8 when he picked off Williamsburg’s Chris Kellahan and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown.
Kellahan got the Stallions to within 30-16 with 1:13 left before halftime when he hit Robbie Heathcott on a 7-yard pass.
Heathcott broke up Campbell’s pass in the end zone on the final play of the half to keep the Stallions within striking distance.
On the opening drive of the second half, Williamsburg moved the ball to the Bible Baptist 18 but turned it over on downs.
After that, Campbell did the rest, throwing three more TD passes in the quarter, including a 58-yarder to Luke Long to make it 54-24 going into the fourth.
“(Campbell) doesn’t get a lot of credit he deserves because of the level of football he plays. But I don’t think it matters what level he’s on, he’s going to make plays,” Mauk said. “There was a guy named Herschel Walker who played on the same level and did things, too. I’m not comparing him to Herschel, but he is a big-time athlete who makes great plays.”
Williamsburg coach David Rankin knew what to expect from Campbell because the two teams played last month with the Stallions winning 32-26 in double overtime.
“We couldn’t stop him so we couldn’t get back into the game,” Rankin said. “ … He threw it well, ran it well and that was the difference in today’s game.”
BB 22 8 24 6 — 60
WA 8 8 8 0 — 24
BB — Campbell 17 run (Campbell pass)
WA — Ward 15 pass from Kellahan (Kellahan pass)
BB — Boatwright 16 pass from Campbell (Campbell run)
BB — Campbell 77 run (run failed)
BB — Simmons 70 interception return (Campbell run)
WA — Heathcott 21 pass from Kellahan (Kellahan pass)
BB — Stiney 40 pass from Campbell (Campbell run)
WA — Ward 2 run (Kellahan run)
BB — Hall 3 pass from Campbell (Campbell run)
BB — Long 58 pass from Campbell (Campbell run)
BB — Stiney 25 pass from Campbell (run failed)