Swanson shines as Rams down Fairview
Conference play brought out the Lakeside Rams’ best performance of the season Friday night.
Dupree Swanson scored four touchdowns, one in each quarter, against Camden Fairview in a 26-14 game at Austin Field. The Rams improved to 1-3 overall in beginning defense of their second straight 5A-South title.
Lakeside responded positively after nonconference losses to Joe T. Robinson, Sylvan Hills and Malvern.
“I’m proud of our kids,” said head coach Jared McBride. “We’ve been battling hard. We’ve been a little bit unlucky early in the year, but our kids fought
hard and are getting better each week. It’s a big week for us with homecoming, and it’s just exciting to see them put it together and start off conference with a win.”
Swanson’s second-quarter touchdown made it 12-0 at halftime, giving the Rams a scoreboard cushion while Lakeside’s defense shut down the Cardinals.
“I thought in the first half offensively, we shot ourselves pretty well,” said Fairview head coach Jeremiah Monden. “We had a bad snap for a fumble, turned over and we were down in the red zone. We’d get a holding call here and there every time we got down there ready to score. It’s self-induced. We’re doing it to ourselves.”
Swanson had short carries for second-half touchdowns before Fairview set the final margin with 4:54 left in the game.
“He had a great night,” said McBride. “The guys up front did a good job of blocking for him. It takes everybody for us. They opened good holes for him. He’s a good runner, has good vision and a very good kid.”
Mondon credited the Cardinals’ second half success to an increased pace and running the ball “right at them.”
Fairview lost 166 yards on 16 penalties, falling to Lakeside for the third-straight year after nine consecutive wins over the Rams.
“It’s special,” McBride said. “We haven’t done it in a long, long, long time. It’s special to get. We kinda mark this on the calendar to get our conference season started well, and we did.”
Swanson finished with 229 yards on 37 carries. Ryan Pelt tallied four sacks with six tackles for the Rams, and Brandon Chambers had seven takedowns.
“They’re a good football team,” McBride said. “You can’t hold them down forever. I think our kids played hard and kept them in front. I’m just proud of our execution.”
Lakeside (1-3, 1-0) travels to Magnolia next week.