The Cambridge Bears gained confidence at the non-region football game against the South Forsyth War Eagles on Friday, Sept. 13th.

Student enthusiasm was high and Bears' stands were full for the second game of the season. The Cambridge defense was an early force to be reckoned with and provided highlight plays by defensive back AJ Campbell and linebackers Brock Nielson and Charles Mills.  In the first War Eagle drive, the Bears held them to only a field goal. The Cambridge defense was quick to return to the field after a disappointing QB sack in a 3 and out drive.

After a touchdown for the War Eagles, the Cambridge defense fought harder and blocked the point after attempt. Crippling penalty calls for the Cambridge offense left the team scoreless heading in to the second quarter.

Second quarter showed that Cambridge had some fire in their bellies when the combined efforts of juniors Josh Kania and Nick Oakes made a huge quarterback sack for a War Eagle loss of 6 yards.

The Bears offense, not to be outdone by the defense, advanced up the field with a 9 yard pass to running back Sean Kaira, and then back to back first downs by quarterback Brian Moore. The crowd was on its feet after Moore's 36 yard pass to well-positioned wide receiver John Hurst leading to a Cambridge touchdown! The War Eagles didn't seem to know what hit them during the Bear's successful two point conversion from Moore to Kaira.

The next offensive drives for both teams led to punts from strong defensive efforts. #12 (Moore) to #2 (Hurst) was the hot play of the night, and consecutive passes between the two led to a second Cambridge touchdown. The point after attempt by kicker Clayton Hammer brought the score to 24-15. The chatter among fans hit the nail on the head, "We have ourselves a football game!"  In confirmation, an interception by #4 Zeke Gormley gave Cambridge possession on the 1 yard line, where they kept control until the clock ran out for halftime.

Cambridge Defense continued to be strong in the third and fourth quarters, putting everything they had into the game.  Brock Nielson, for one of the most exciting plays of the game, hammered through the War Eagle line blocking the punt, for a Cambridge repossession of the ball, which led to a Bear touchdown. High-energy defensive plays by sophomore Trey Wolfe kept the fire burning.

Calls by the referees in the fourth quarter brought back a beautiful Bear onside kick recovery, and recalled a fumble recovery touchdown run by Craig Carter. That gave the Cambridge crowd and coaches something to yell about. Overcoming these obstacles, the Cambridge offense brought the score up to 38-28 with a 23 yard pass play by Kyle McDougall and a 41 yard gain on a pass from Moore to Campbell.  JD White ran in for two touchdowns.   Moore finished his strongest game to date with over 120 yards gained in completed pass plays.

The bye week clearly was beneficial to Cambridge. The coaches showed increasing confidence in their Bear players by using a good mixture of play calling and a variety of players. 

Despite the final score of 38-28, Principal Edward Spurka was pleased the young, 5A Bears players never gave up against an established, 6A, South Forsyth football team.

The Bears head in to next Friday's game away against the Osborne Cardinals on Sept. 20th, looking to earn a Cambridge victory.

Go Bears!