Campbell delivers in clutch for CHA

Before Chestnut Hill Academy's final drive yesterday, coach Rick Knox found his star tailback on the sideline.

More than once, Ibraheim Campbell had been forced off the field with cramps, and Knox needed to know that Campbell could deliver with the Blue Devils holding a one-point lead with about five minutes remaining.

"This is where everything you do goes," Knox told Campbell, who nodded.

The drive lasted four plays - four handoffs to Campbell. On the last one, Campbell scampered 28 yards for a touchdown, and host Chestnut Hill defeated North Catholic, 21-13, in the football opener for both teams at Landreth Field.

Campbell rushed 26 times for 144 yards. The final 47 yards on the Blue Devils' last drive mattered most.

"He showed a lot of toughness and character, because physically he wasn't real good," Knox said. ". . . When he had to get those yards, he was surging and pushing people over."

Campbell was in and out of the game as he tired and battled cramps. Playing both ways, he showed lapses; the most egregious was blown coverage on a 34-yard touchdown pass by North Catholic's Anthony Reid to Julian Huggins.

Campbell said he wasn't concerned about his workload, chalking up his mistakes and the team's to first-game miscues.

Knox said he noticed the most inconsistent play on the offensive line. He wants to see better execution there, which would help Campbell.

"There were too many run plays especially where it wasn't quite there," Knox said. "We know with [Campbell], if you give him the seam, pop."

North Catholic could say the same about its talented tailback, Eugene Byrd, before he was injured early in the third quarter. A returning 1,000-yard rusher, Byrd hurt an ankle and was kept out as a precaution, North Catholic coach Charlie Szydlik said.

Without Byrd, the Falcons relied more on the passing game. Reid was 14 of 30 for 192 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a TD.

Trailing by 14-0 for much of the game, North Catholic scored two touchdowns in 1 minute, 5 seconds in the fourth quarter, thanks to a recovered onside kick. After the second score, the Falcons were assessed a false-start penalty on the extra-point attempt. Szydlik called time-out. Leery about his kicking game, he sent his offense out to try a two-point conversion. But CHA called a time-out, and Szydlik reconsidered, sending his kicker, Kerry Shields, out for the tie.

"He felt like he could make it, so we decided to go with the kick," Szydlik said.

The kick was well wide, and the Blue Devils still held a one-point lead. A second onside kick by North Catholic failed, and Campbell took over.

Knox had faith in the senior because he remembered the work ethic that Campbell's older brother, Rashad, had passed along.

"They work so hard in the off-season that on this hot day they may not be 100 percent, but if everybody else is 75, they're going to be 85," Knox said. "That last drive showed that."

North Catholic 0 0 0 13 - 13

Chestnut Hill 7 7 0 7 - 21

CHA: McAllister 5 pass from Gallagher (Connaghan kick)

CHA: Campbell 4 run (Connaghan kick)

NC: Reid 1 run (Shields kick)

NC: Huggins 34 pass from Reid (kick failed)

CHA: Campbell 28 run (Connaghan kick)