(Anita) CAM jumped right back into the hunt in the 8-Player, District 10 race with their 42-8 homecoming win against Audubon last week. The Cougars have another local rival on their hands in Week 6 when they travel to Exira-EHK.
Things didn’t look particularly promising on the heels of back-to-back losses, plus coach Barry Bower admits they didn’t have the best week of practice with homecoming distractions, but it all came together for a much needed win. “That’s one of the things that we really challenged them on was to leave it all out there and they did, but one of the things that really impressed me was just them running to the football and wanting to get after it. There was no special type of scheme or anything else it was just effort and desire and saying we are done with this stuff and let’s get back to what we are capable of doing. That’s what they did. That’s what’s impressive about this group is when they really look good, they really look good.”
They held a strong Audubon rushing attack to just 1.1 yards per carry for the night. Coach Bower says turnovers against West Harrison and East Mills were unable to be overcome, but they took good care of the ball last week. “Very, very efficient on the offensive end. They were very, very efficient on the defensive end and created some opportunities and stopped the run and put them in situations they aren’t used to being in.”
Kegan Croghan recorded a team best seven tackles last week while Austin Williams, Collin Bower, and Gabe Rouse were all in on six stops apiece.
Exira-EHK comes in with a 2-3 record, but two of their three losses have been games that have slipped away very late in the contest. Senior quarterback Trey Petersen leads the team. “It starts with Trey. He is the key component regarding their offense. The ball goes through him in all phases. He’s such a skilled athlete and understands the game very, very well. He’s very smart with what he does and a very tough competitor.”
Bower notes Cash Emgarten and Derrek Kommes are tall targets that can go up and get the ball.
Coach Bower says his team is finally starting understand their roles. “In different types of situations they understand what we need. Our kids have bought into that. The #1 thing for us too is we are very balanced right now.”
A lot of teams are still alive for an 8-Player, District 10 title. West Harrison is 4-0, Audubon, CAM, Coon Rapids-Bayard all 2-1, Exira-EHK 1-2, Woodbine 1-3, and Boyer Valley 0-4.
CAM coach Barry Bower:
