The Camden Game: Part 3 of 4

We meandered further down the Georgia coastline as the rain continued to violently pelt against the windshield, virtually blindfolding us from any distance markers.  After an hour of darkness and deluge, we are able to make out a brightly-lit outpost ahead:  the Hwy 82 Steak and Shake.

We pull in about a half-hour or so before kickoff, and are happy to find the Pyramid there as well. We take our time eating, because everyone thinks the stadium is just down the street, when in fact it's an additional 30+ minutes down 95.  You have to remember this is before GPS existed, and when you combine this with Savannahians' mostly benighted sense of geography and distance ("oh no big deal, Camden County is just 'down there', right by Glynn and Jacksonville and Georgetown and Richmond Hill, it's all the same") you can understand why none of us made it to the game until midway through the 2nd quarter.

We go another 30 miles further south, and when we finally make the exit off 95, the torrential downpour suddenly decides to slacken off into a slight drizzle. The lightening and thunder quickly cease as well. It is clear God is set on this contest going forward . We pull into Camden's university-sized campus with Cadet Fleming and his date, young Jennifer, tailgating. We quickly make our way towards the stadium, but can't see the scoreboard because it's facing the direction opposite the parking lot. With each step, the curiosity intensifies. How bad were we down? 21-0? 28-7 maybe? Could we at least keep it respectable?

As we entered the stadium, my eyes painstakingly darted right toward the well-lit, turquoise-colored display, which had finally come into full view. With 6 minutes left in the half, the Cadets were only down 7-0!!

The picture immediately came into focus:  Owens was hurt but still playing both ways. Taking snaps every other down, Dotson was filling in when needed.  Lamar was struggling to get much of anything going and Camden's offense was driving a little better but could never seem to capitalize or make any big plays.  The crowd was pretty thin:  in addition to Fleming, Whitledge, Madison, and myself, Cadets Bruce and Toraya are present, as are former (i.e., couldn't cut it in military so had to drop out after sophomore year) cadets Reardon, Hissam, and Sauers, but no one else from the class of 2001.  

As the halftime buzzer tried to penetrate the humid but cooling September air, BC fans immediately rose to their feet in astonishment. Could this really be happening? Were we really only down to one of the state's biggest schools and strongest programs by a touchdown after 24 exhausting minutes?  Could we just hold on for 24 more?

An unknown freshman wideout, white senior running back, and untested sophomore backup kicker must have thought we could...

To Be Continued...