By Tristan James (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Lebanon Yellowjackets slid by the Camdenton Lakers during the Highway 5 rivalry on Friday evening by a score of 34-26. The win secured at least a share of the Ozark Conference title for Lebanon.
“It’s a big deal,” said Lebanon head coach Will Christian when asked what it meant to the community. “We dealt with adversity tonight… we certainly showed that we can handle it and played really well.”
The Yellow Jackets received the first half kickoff. Led by senior quarterback Gavin Smith, the Yellow Jackets marched down the field with ease during their first drive. Camdenton held strong making a big red zone stop holding the Yellowjackets to a field goal to start the game. Camdenton answered right back with a touchdown with 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
After a couple of defensive stops from both sides, the Yellowjackets got the ball back. Gavin Smith led his team down the field with the help of his running back Jax Glendenning. Camdenton’s defense stood tall in the red zone forcing another field goal. The Yellowjackets got the ball back after their defense held the Lakers to a scoreless drive, and they capitalized. Quarterback Gavin Smith completed a 44-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Hoyt Honey for the Yellowjackets first touchdown of the game. Leaving the Lakers with eight minutes to work with in the first half. The Yellowjacket defense held the Lakers to another scoreless drive, which allowed the offense to put another three points on the board thanks to a 20-yard field goal from Rhett Rhoades to send the game to the half.
After the halftime break, Camdenton received the second half kickoff. The Lebanon defense was able to force a fumble and a recovery to allow the offense to come back on the field. Gavin Smith ran the ball for a four-yard rushing touchdown, but a failed two-point conversion gave Lebanon a 19-7 lead with just under nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. Camdenton answered back with a score of their own making the score 19-14 with only five minutes to go in the third quarter. Lebanon got the ball back only to be stuffed by the Lakers defense. The Lakers then put up another touchdown but failed a two-point conversion to make the score 20-19 in the Lakers favor with 30 seconds left in the third.
Lebanon came out firing in the start of the fourth quarter leading to a 39-yard passing touchdown to Cannon Roark. A quarterback keeper for Gavin Smith allowed him to convert the two-point try giving the Yellow Jackets a 27-20 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the contest. Camdenton got the ball back and made the best of it. Putting up another score in just two and a half minutes, however, a missed extra point kept the Yellowjackets in the lead by a score of 27-26. A Jax Glendenning touchdown gave Lebanon a 34-26 lead which would hold up as the final score.
When Jax Glendenning was asked about the game, he had this to say: “It’s a huge game. We knew it wouldn’t be easy. They bring their best and we bring ours. Winning this game feels special.”
Lebanon will seek to remain undefeated next week at Rolla to complete an unbeaten Ozark Conference season.
Jax Glendenning: 36 Rushes for 194 yards and 1 touchdown
Gavin Smith: 3-6 passing, 97 yards and 2 TDs. 14 rushes for 68 yards and a touchdown.
