The Camden Fairview Cardinals (3-1, 1-0 in 5A South Conference play) opened conference play with a dominating home victory against the Hot Springs Lakeside Rams (0-3, 0-1), 42-14.
Camden Fairview took its opening possession 61 yards in six plays and was capped by a 16-yard pass from Martavius to Trenton Haygood at the 8:26 mark of the first quarter.
Lakeside would respond. After some issues with the clock and a questionable pass interference on a third and long, Lakeside would connect on a 50-yard touchdown pass.
Big plays started to define the game for the Cardinals on their next possession as the home team spread the Rams' defense and capitalized in space. Haygood caught two passes for 40 yards and Caleb Tate caught a 19-yard pass during the drive before Thomas ran it in from the one-yard line. Nasir Khan was perfect on PATs throughout the night as the Cardinals climbed to a 14-7 lead.
CF's defense forced Lakeside to punt from their own 37, and the ball was down at the Cardinals 9-yard line. Then Thomas found a seam up the middle before hitting the Lakeside sideline and outracing the Rams for a 91-yard touchdown.
Jabauree Lockhart would rip a Lakeside ball carrier on the next series and Xzayvion Morris would recover it. A play later, Thomas hit Jarvis Reed for a 27-yard touchdown pass.
Lakeside punted on their next series after their drive was stalled by the Cardinals' defensive front and A.J. Alsobrook split Lakeside defenders on his way to a 62-yard touchdown.
By the half, the Cardinals had its 42-7 lead with the sportsmanship rule coming into play at the start of the third quarter.
Thomas ended the game with 238 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14/18 passing and one interception. He added another 128 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
DJ King, Bacari Jackson, Kameron Easttam, Bricen Butler and Kaleb Smith were dominant in the trenches rendering the Lakeside rushing attack nearly non-existent. The secondary was strong as Matthew Davis led the team with 5 pass break ups in the game. Sophomore Ronald "Buck" Buchanan came up with an interception in the second quarter as well.
Camden Fairview will be on the road next week to play the Arkansas High Razorbacks in Texarkana.
Photo By: Michael Hanich
Camden Fairview cornerback Jabari Spencer and defensive tackle Bacari Jackson combine on a tackle on the running back of Lakeside.