Six first-half touchdowns by Nanih Waiya's Chris Smith were just too much for French Camp Academy to overcome on Friday night as the homestanding Panthers dropped a 55-7 decision to the Region 3-1A leading Warriors.
"Obviously they are good," FCA head coach Nathan Wright said of the 7-1 Warriors who have now won 22-consecutive region contests. "Both Chris (Smith) and Taemaus (Glass) are really good and if you are out of position, you are going to be in real trouble," Wright said of NW's dynamic running back duo.
Smith rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries, while Glass had 116 yards and two scores on two attempts. Smith also had two pass receptions for touchdowns, as well as returning a punt for a score.
"I just don't think we played very well at all," Wright said. "Offensively, we are going to struggle, but defensively we also made a whole bunch of mistakes. We just couldn't get any of the (defensive) calls right. If we went man, somebody messed up and if we went into a zone, somebody didn't cover their area. We just didn't have the guys coached up well."
The French Camp lone touchdown in the game came on a 41-yard run by quarterback Holman Edwards. He finished with 79 rushing yards on 10 attempts and also hit on 4-of-11 passes for 38 yards. Fletcher Travis led the Panthers with two catches for 24 yards.
Next up for French Camp is a road trip to Noxapater on Thursday night in another key region game.
FCA goes into the game with a 2-6 overall mark, but more importantly a 2-2 Region 3-1A record. Noxapater is 4-4 overall and 4-1 in league play with that loss being 14-0 to Sebastopol. The Bobcats of Sebastopol are tied with Noxapater for second with a 4-1 league record and 5-3 overall mark.
"This will be a big game for us," Wright said, "if nothing else to see whether or not we are going to be competitive for one of the playoff spots or fall into the bottom of the division."
If the Panthers beat Noxapater, FCA will have a strong shot at finishing third in the region. If FCA loses, it can still claim the fourth and final playoff spot in Region 3-1A, by closing out the season with wins over Durant, Ethel and Leake County.
