(Anita) It’s a rematch of a 2019 playoff game when #4 CAM welcomes Lamoni on Friday night. The Cougars beat the Demons 62-24 on the road last season.
Not a lot of seniors played for either team in that game, here’s CAM coach Barry Bower. “They are definitely improved and we are going to have our hands full on Friday. It all starts with their quarterback Javin Evans.”
One of the unique aspects for Lamoni is the fact that they only 14 players listed on their roster. Coach Bower admits his team would like to find ways to take advantage of that. “Well I think that’s going to be the case, but I think they are going to be in pretty good shape. They’ve been playing a full season and they have some guys that are very athletic.”
CAM eliminated Stanton/Essex last Friday night and opened up the margin of victory competed to their regular season meeting. “We kind of reminded our players that that wasn’t up to our expectations. We have a certain expectation here that we have to live up to and I think our kids understood that. Right when we started talking to them on Monday it was all focus, all locked in. They know they didn’t play very well and execute very, very well. That’s what we hammered with them all week and they got better this week.”
Coach Bower says the blocking was sharp in the 2nd round of the playoffs. “We had some interior guys take that motivation to heart with the likes of Reese Oglesbee, Gavyn Jessen, and Nolan Hensley and our other two guys Colby Rich and Cade Ticknor up front. They took it to heart regarding their blocking. You can tell what type of a night we had because of their desire and their willing to sacrifice. They did a really good job Friday.”
It allowed Lane Spieker to run for 230 yards and 6 touchdowns. CAM made the trek to Lamoni last year. Coach Bower is glad it’s their opponent that will be logging the miles this time around. “Did I have enough to eat? Can I spread my legs a little bit? And I understand they only have 12 kids or 14 so they can probably spread out, but it’s really not the most comfortable to be on a bus or anything like that. What’s your preparation like when you get here? What’s the atmosphere like? There’s a lot of different things that come about when you do travel versus being at home.”
CAM is 8-0 on the season and has put the 35-point running clock rule into effect during five of their eight games. Lamoni is 7-2. They lost to Martensdale-St. Marys in Week 1 and fell to SE Warren in Week 7. They since have avenged that regular season loss to the Warhawks with a 38-13 road win last week.
