Like many times in the past, both Rockdale and Cameron have a lot at stake going into the “Battle of the Bell,” which will be played for the 68th time on Friday across the Little River in Cameron.
In Rockdale’s case, they are looking to grab a playoff spot in what Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine has described as the toughest district in Class 3A-I.
Things have looked good for the Blue-and-Gold, beginning district play by holding their own against top-ranked Franklin and fighting back to beat Troy, 34-27 on Oct. 27. However, Tiger head coach Jacob Campsey described his team as “a little banged up” after falling to Lorena, 63-20, this past Friday. Throughout district play, they have been without safety Cruz San Migel, a leader on defense. The team has also had other starters miss a game or two due to injuries this season. The list of starters includes Gerren Marrero, Noah Pastrano and Robert Owens, who leads the Tigers in receiving yards. Owens was unable to play in Troy due to concussion protocols.
Across the Little River in Cameron, the Yoemen have their sights set on a district crown. Coach Rick Rhoades and his team opened district play with an upset win over defending state champion Lorena 48-44 on Sept. 23.
Since then, the other Class 3A-I school in Milam Coun- County has been on a roll, taking down playoff hopeful Academy 48-13 on Oct. 7, and leaving McGregor with a 58-21 victory in their latest voyage. As of Monday, Texas Football has the Yoemen ranked eighth in Class 3A-I.
Cameron is led by junior quarterback Braylon Drake, who has earned 1,349 yards with a completion rate of 69.2 percent. Drake’s main target is Trayjen Wilcox, a 5-9, 150-pound senior that has racked up 466 yards on 33 receptions. The Yoemen aren’t short-handed when it comes to receivers. Charles Mayer, Kason Goolsby, Armando Reyes, Ja’Quorious Hardman and Connor Jeter have each accumulated more than 100 receiving yards through the team’s first seven games.
The team north of the Little River is also a threat on the ground, led by junior Kardarius Bradley’s 629 yards on 77 carries. Of the 331 plays Cameron has run this season, 191 of those have been running plays.
HISTORY OF ‘THE BELL’— According to Reporter archives, the first ever game between Rockdale and Cameron was played in 1911 on Thanksgiving Day at what is now known as Fair Park. The rivalry began as a game that
Robert Owens
Kason Goolsby was played only occasionally over a course of 43 years. That changed in the fall of 1954.
That was when Rockdale Sandow & Southern Railroad stepped in and donated a train bell as a prize to whichever school won the game.
Originally, the Bell was striped with one side blue and gold, while the other was maroon and silver.
Nowadays, students of the winning school take the time to paint the Bell with their team’s colors.
Prior to the railroad company stepping in, Cameron won 20 out of 28 times. Since 1954, Cameron has won a little more than two-thirds of their meetings, leading the Battle of the Bell series, 45-22.
Kick-off at Yoe Field is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
LORENA—
Rockdale struggled in their third district outing, falling 63-20 to Lorena, the 10th-ranked team in Class 3A-I.
The Leopards got on the scoreboard first when Jackson Generals found Camden Brock open in the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown pass at the 6:25 mark.
Rockdale fired back right away as Blaydn Barcak found Gerren Marrero open near the 11-yard line. Marrero was able to out-run defenders and score an 89-yard touchdown. The play is the fifth longest passing play in school history.
On the extra point after, a bad snap led to a failed conversion and Rockdale trailed 7-6 with 6:10 left in the first. Before the end of the quarter, Lorena went up 14-6 when Braylon Henry scored on a 10-yard run. In the second, the Leopards earned their rank ing with 21 unans wered points, thanks to a Jadon Por ter catch, a G rayson C ollins interception and an 80-yard run by Kasen Taylor to go up 35-6 at halftime.
The Blue-and-Gold was the first to score in the third quarter on a Barcak pass to Owens for a 73-yard TD, but the Leopards clawed back to control the catfight, leading 49-14 at the close of the quarter. Lorena went on to win, 63-20.
Following the game, Campsey’s mentality was for his team to move forward right away.
“We won’t talk about this one after we leave the field tonight,” he said. “We just have to go and get ready for the ‘Battle of the Bell’ next week.”
“We’re dinged up a little bit, so we’ll get (players) some treatment, watch the film, coach them up and it’s on to the next one,” he said.
STATS—
Barcak was 11 of 25 with 245 yards in the air and two touchdowns. The RHS junior also rushed for 50 yards on nine carries. Castro led the team in rushing, with 73 yards on 11 carries. Marrero led the team in receiving with three catches for 109 yards and one TD. Kemar Spencer was the team’s top defensive players with 10 tackles.
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