Generals demolish Raiders in Dogwood opener

NARUNA — William Campbell was ready to play. The Generals got into their kickoff return formation shortly after the coin toss while Appomattox was still in its pregame huddle in the end zone.

The Generals stood in formation patiently for a few moments while Appomattox whooped and hollered before finally breaking through the banner the Raiders’ cheerleaders had made. The Raiders then made their way unceremoniously through William Campbell’s end of field and through the middle of the Generals’ formation.

But that was last time the Raiders imposed their will on William Campbell. The Generals needed just six plays to go 55 yards and take a 7-0 lead and punished Appomattox 58-7 in a Dogwood District matchup Friday.

“I thought our kids played tremendous,” Generals coach Brad Bradley said. “They came out and didn’t leave anything to chance.”

William Campbell’s offense dominated the game. The Generals had possession of the ball eight times and scored six times. The clock halted their other two drives when it expired to end the first half and when the game ended.

“I’m telling you tonight you just have to give credit to our offensive line,” Bradley said. “They came out and just pushed people (around). I was on the sideline telling coach (John) Earich that this offensive line was playing the best game I’ve seen an offensive line play at William Campbell in long time.”

William Campbell (4-1, 1-0 Dogwood) rolled up 363 yards rushing on 42 attempts. The Generals averaged 8.6 yards per carry.

“I thought Mike Barbour, Thomas Wright, Brendan Kent, Josh Herndon and Dimire Nowlin played an outstanding game. None of them are more important than the other and our running backs know all they have to do is get in there behind them,” Bradley said.

Quarterback Baron Adams did the bulk of the work. Adams carried the ball 23 times for 249 yards and five touchdowns. He also completed a 46-yard touchdown pass to Devon Boyd.

“Those guys did a great job blocking up front and giving me holes,” Adams said. “We dominated up front.”

William Campbell’s defense was nearly as tough. The Generals limited the Raiders (3-1, 0-1) to just 131 yards of total offense, all of which came in the first half. William Campbell forced three fumbles, one of which was returned 50 yards by Austin Hoffman for a score that put the Generals up 21-0 with a little over two minutes left to play in the first quarter. The other two fumbles came in the second half and set up short, touchdown drives of 34 and 24 yards.