MARIETTA – As the old saying goes, you never look a gift horse in the mouth. On Friday night at Kell, Cambridge High followed that adage closely.
The Bears took advantage of a Kell turnover on the first play of the game and began their first two offensive possessions in the red zone, converting touchdowns on both drives and pulling away for a 42-24 win. They ran the ball at will for most of the contest, racking up 291 rushing yards and controlling the pace of the game on the ground.
“They’re a really good football team,” coach Craig Bennett said. “Anytime you get opportunities early down in the red zone, that helps. And I know that’s going to eat at (Kell) because they’re a really good football team. Obviously, that helped, I’m not going to lie.”
The win was the fourth straight for No. 8 Cambridge (6-2, 4-0 Region 6-5A), which remained undefeated in region play. No. 5 Kell (6-1, 2-1) entered the game undefeated, but dropped its first game of the season and never really gave itself a shot.
The Longhorns took the opening kickoff, but quarterback Bryce Clavon couldn’t corral the opening snap of the game. The ball hit the ground, and Cambridge defensive end Josh Bagwell fell on top of it. Four plays later, the Bears were in the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown run by Christian Isibor, whose name became a regular throughout the night.
On its ensuing possession, Kell faced a three-and-out and attempted a punt from its own 15-yard line. The snap was off, and Cambridge disrupted the punt, falling on top of it at the Longhorns 15. Three plays later, the Bears were in the end zone again, this time on a 5-yard pass from Preston Clemmer to Will Taylor.
Clemmer completed just six passes for 57 yards in the game, but three of those completions went for touchdowns. Taylor caught an 11-yard pass from Clemmer on the team’s third possession of the game to go ahead 21-0. That touchdown pass was set up by a 69-yard run by Isibor on the first play of the drive. Isibor broke through the line and nearly got into the end zone on his own but was tracked down by Marquavious Saboor.
Isibor finished the game with 212 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries to pace the offense.
“He’s been doing it all year,” Bennett said of Isibor. “He’s one of the leading rushers in Fulton County, and we felt like we could run the football on them. Our offensive line has done a tremendous job.”
Jack Marlow added 69 yards and two touchdowns on the ground for Cambridge, which needed to hold off a late Kell comeback. Kell cut the Bears lead to 35-24 in the fourth quarter, but a 12-play drive was capped by a 15-yard touchdown run by Marlow to put any doubts to rest.
Clemmer added one more touchdown pass to Drew Petit, a 7-yarder that made it 28-3 in the second quarter.
Kell briefly put a scare into Cambridge late in the game, completing an 11-yard touchdown pass from Clavon to Derian Thomas in the fourth quarter to cut the score to 35-17. Five plays into the ensuing Cambridge drive, a botched handoff hit the ground and Kell linebacker Sawain Simmons picked it up and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown to make it 35-24. That was as close as the Longhorns got in the game.
“Never,” Bennett said when asked if he ever felt comfortable. “Never did. Not against a team like that.”
Cambridge, which controls its destiny in region play, returns to action at Northview on Oct. 21. Kell now finds itself a game back in the region standings with three to play. It plays at Greater Atlanta Christian next week.
Cambridge – 21 – 7 – 7 – 7 – 42
Kell – 0 – 10 – 0 – 14 – 24
First Quarter
CHS – Christian Isibor 4 run (Connor Noone kick); 10:16
CHS – Will Taylor 5 pass from Preston Clemmer (Noone kick); 7:10
CHS – Taylor 11 pass from Clemmer (Noone kick); 4:27
Second Quarter
KHS – Collin Mitchell 37 field goal; 11:48
CHS – Drew Petit 7 pass from Clemmer (Noone kick); 3:30
KHS – Bryce Clavon 2 run (Mitchell kick); :55
Third Quarter
CHS – Jack Marlow 4 run (Noone kick); 2:58
Fourth Quarter
KHS – Derian Thomas 11 pass from Clavon (Mitchell kick); 10:46
KHS – Sawain Simmons 61 fumble return (Mitchell kick); 8:31
CHS – Marlow 15 run (Noone kick); 1:31
About the Author
