The William Campbell Generals opened their 2012 football season against county rival Rustburg on Friday. Despite all the preparations on and off the field, the Generals fell to the Red Devils 35-21.
Senior Damiun Lockett sparked the Generals on both sides of the ball, leading all rushers with 193 yards on offense.
In addition to his offensive production, Lockett moved to outside linebacker for the Generals and had multiple tackles for loss, as well as a touchdown-saving hit on a kickoff return.
“We knew he would present match-up problems there,” Coach Greg Mullins said. “He’s big. He’s strong. And tonight, he played with a motor like he hadn’t before. He’s always played hard, but never with that kind of determination. We’ve got to feed off that and use that as our springboard.”
The Red Devils set the pace of the game on the first play from scrimmage as quarterback Randall Jones broke up the right side of the field for a 55-yard gain. The Generals were able to put together a defensive stand that resulted in a missed field goal by Rustburg.
On the next series, General quarterback Patrick Lockett fumbled, giving the ball back to the Red Devils deep in William Campbell territory. The Red Devils scored on a 9-yard run by Anthony Lovelace. The Red Devils took a 7-0 lead.
After fumbling the ensuing kickoff, the Generals again stood tall in the red zone, forcing a fourth down. The snap was high, and Jones covered up the ball, giving the Generals the ball back on downs. The Generals moved the ball down the field, setting up Damiun Lockett for a 13-yard touchdown.
On the point-after attempt, the snap was low, forcing holder Malik Slayton to throw a 2-point conversion to Tevin Easley, giving the Generals their only lead of the night at 8-7.
Both teams had ball security issues throughout the first half, with Rustburg regaining the lead on a touchdown run by Jones, giving the Red Devils a 14-8 lead.
Easley created a turnover on a punt return, stripping Rustburg returner Brent Thacker and recovering the ball, which set the Generals up with great field position. The Generals were unable to get a first down and again turned the ball over on downs in the red zone.
The Red Devils were poised to add more points with less than a minute in the half, when Easley forced Jones to fumble the ball on the William Campbell 10-yard line. The Generals took a knee and went into halftime down 14-8.
The Red Devils continued to press the field position advantage to start the second half.
William Campbell’s defense was again able to stand tall and deny a Rustburg score, despite a first-and-goal inside the 5-yard line. On the ensuing set of downs, Patrick Lockett threw the ball from his own end zone and was picked off by Anthony Lovelace, sending the score to 21-8.
After trading punts, Damiun Lockett broke free for a long run into the end zone, bringing the score to 21-14 after a two-point conversion failed.
Rustburg then added 14 points, led by backup quarterback Lovelace, who had come into the game after Jones had cramping issues. Cramping was a major problem for both teams. Jones had to sit the last quarter-and-a-half of the game.
William Campbell added another touchdown with less than a minute to play on a run by Patrick Lockett to bring the final score to 35-21.
Looking forward, Mullins said the Generals need to make sure they improve their ball security and conditioning. He also said the younger players on the squad would improve with each week.
“I think (they) saw tonight that Friday night is a lot different than Thursday nights,” said Mullins.
The Generals host Altavista Friday night at 7.