CAMPBELL COUNTY 51, RYLE 20

By Greg Shoemaker | Featured Analyst
Everything was clicking for the Campbell County Camels’ offense as they won their second straight Class 6A, District 6 title and first outright championship in taking down the Ryle Raiders, 51-20.

Quarterback Tyler Durham accounted for 308 yards of total offense (123 rushing, 185 passing) with three touchdowns on the ground and two more through the air. The senior now has 15 scores on the ground as he solidified his case for a second consecutive District Player of the Year.

Things didn’t start off great for Campbell County (5-3, 3-0) as the Raiders capitalize on a turnover and a pair of penalties that gave them great field position less than four minutes into the contest. Tanner Pulice would score from four yards out and give Ryle (3-5, 1-2) a 7-0 lead.

A field goal by Grant Mahoney would pull CCHS to within four at 7-3.
The Camels would capture the lead for good as Durham would connect with Jake Zabonick on a pretty 63-yard scoring strike with eight seconds left in the first stanza. Durham added a nine yards touchdown to make it 17-7 midway through the second quarter. Paul Griffis intercepted a pass with 11 seconds to go before intermission for the home team. On the very next play a halfback pass down the right side from Avery Wood to Zabonick for a 30-yard touchdown gave Campbell County a commanding 24-7 advantage heading into the locker room.

Zabonik came into the tilt averaging 26.1 yard per catch. He would end the night with four receptions for 111 yards, a 27.2 average with the two touchdowns.

After the break, Wood saw his efforts throwing the ball get rewarded when he sprang free and Durham found him for 15-yard touchdown. It capped off a six-play, 39-yard scoring drive on their first possession of the second half. Ryle answered back with a Nathan Davis to Pulice scoring pass making it 31-13 with just under five minutes left in the third quarter. The period would end that way.

The fourth quarter opened with Durham finding the end zone to cap off the team’s second drive of the contest of 70 yards or more. Davis and the Raiders finished off their next possession with a 25-yard pass to Thomas Baumann that pulled Ryle to within 17 at 37-20. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Camels. The very next snap saw Durham put the explanation point on the schools second straight title as the score hit 44-20 with 7:03 left on the clock.

The Camels were so good that they had three touchdown drives of eight seconds or less. They racked up 379 total yards of offense, 215 of that through the air and converted 7-of-11 third downs in addition to all five of their red zone opportunities.

Campbell County will entertain Boone County (1-7, 1-2). Ryle sees a Dixie Heights (2-6, 1-2) team come in that is riding high after their upset over Simon Kenton.