No. 1 Chambers High shakes off sluggish start, determined Glenn Bobcats team Friday
It doesn’t take much for nationally ranked Chambers High School to look, like, well nationally ranked Chambers High School.
For the first two quarters of Friday’s 30-6 win over Glenn, Chambers (3-0) looked like a team that had won two highly anticipated and highly emotional games in Raleigh two weeks ago (32-29 over Cardinal Gibbons) and in Virginia last Saturday (24-13 over nationally ranked Highland Springs).
And the Cougars also looked like a team that had been moved up to a Carolinas-best No. 16 in the High School Football America national poll this week, a team maybe was feeling a little too good about its reflection in the mirror.
In the first half, Chambers was held scoreless, and while the crowd didn’t seem worried -- the Cougars defense was really making life really hard for Glenn — this wasn’t the performance they were probably expecting.
But a couple plays early in the second half changed the game, and Chambers — however briefly — was energized.
Glenn, ranked No. 11 in the N.C. 4A state poll, fumbled the opening kickoff of second half and Chambers got the ball at the Glenn 25. Two plays later, Anshon Camp hit KC Concepcion with a 30-yard scoring pass.
After Glenn mishandled the kickoff, the Bobcats were pinned near their goal line. Chambers’ defense got a safety and a 9-point lead.
Chambers bogged down twice in a row in Glenn territory after that -- an interception and a fourth down and 5 pass from the 10 that was incomplete — but with the Cougars defense playing this well, those couple of plays — when Chambers looked like Chambers — was more than enough.
And especially with the Cougars defense on patrol like it was.
After the fourth down failure, for example, Chambers knocked Glenn back near its on end zone and then Zairion Jackson recovered a fumble in the end zone.
Later in the third quarter, Glenn deflected a punt and got the ball at the Chambers 40. It scored a few plays later, on a long pass from QB Tyson Worthy to Levine Smith. Worthy, a 5-10, 130-pound junior, started in place of Glenn starter Camden Coleman, who is a 6-3, 215-pound senior.
On Chambers’ next possession, the Cougars offense again struggled to get going and a fumble gave Glenn the ball at the Cougars 40. Down 16-6, Glenn tried a halfback pass that was intercepted by Jeremiah Smith.
For the game, Chambers defense had a safety, the defensive touchdown and four turnovers.
▪ Chambers tailback Daylan Smothers had a 46-yard scoring run called back but finished with 122 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. QB Anshon Camp had 190 yards passing, completing 12-of-27 attempts. He also had a 14-yard scoring run.
▪ The game was called late in the fourth quarter after shots were fired near the stadium.
Glenn 0 0 6 0 — 6
Chambers 0 0 16 14 — 30
C: KC Concepcion 30 pass from Anshon Camp (Melvin Benitez kick)
C: Safety
C: Zairion Jackson fumble recovery in end zone (Benitez kick)
G: Levine Smith 32 pass from Tyson Worthy (pass failed)
C: Anson Camp 14 run (Benitez kick)
C: Daylan Smothers 4 run (Benitez kick)
This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 9:41 PM.
