[Stardust]

Campbell County has had experience in late-game situations this season, but at times couldn’t deliver the big play when it needed one most.

On Friday, the Camels came up with two in the final minute of their 6A playoff game against Tates Creek. The defensive stops sealed a 22-20 victory.


We’ve been in these close games," Campbell County coach Stephen Lickert said. "We kept telling our kids, just believe, just play hard and at some point we’re going to make that play. And fortunately for us we made that play tonight."

The class 6A area district champion Camels (4-7) advance to play Lexington-Lafayette which downed Dixie Heights on Friday.

Campbell County would be well-served with another performance from Tyler Durham like the one he provided against Tates Creek.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound junior ran wild Friday at Bob Miller Stadium, scoring three touchdowns on the ground and earning his yardage by busting through the Commodores’ defensive front.

Durham finished with 203 yards rushing on 30 carries and threw for another 62 yards as Campbell County tallied almost 300 yards of total offense.

"We just try to do what’s working," Lickert said. "Tyler Durham is just a heck of a football player. Those guys up front love blocking for him because they know that he’s going to get those tough yards after they make their blocks.

"When we’re running the football with him, it’s a total team effort."

The defense held a Tates Creek team averaging 233 yards of total offense entering the game to just 164. Still, the Commodores (3-8) were able to comeback after falling behind 19-6 in the first half.

"We had a chance," Tates Creek coach Mike Harmon said. "We just didn’t finish."

Campbell County fumbled on its first play in the second half, and the Commodores recovered. They then drove 41 yards in 5:50 and pulled to within six points on quarterback Martell Berry’s one-yard run with 6:01 left in the third quarter.

Campbell County got a 24-yard field goal from Stewart Knaley on its next drive to take a 22-13 lead, but Tates Creek got it to within two when senior running back William Hardin scored on a four-yard run with 9:47 left in the fourth quarter.

With less than a minute remaining in the game, and Tates Creek at the 18-yard line, the Camels blitzed Commodores quarterback Martrell Berry. Berry was sacked for a seven-yard loss to force fourth down.

Tates Creek called two timeouts. When its offense returned to the field, Berry took the snap and threw right toward the end zone. The pass was batted down, giving the ball back to Camels with 27.9 seconds left.

Campbell County entered the postseason on a two-game losing streak that capped a hit-and-miss regular season in which the Camels lost their first five games and then rebounded after the bye week to win three consecutive district games.

"We haven’t let things faze us very much," Lickert said. "We’ve yet to put four quarters of football together. And as soon as we’re able to do that, we’re going to be a pretty good football team."