[Stardust]

Tyler Durham’s arm kept getting him into trouble on Friday night. His legs kept getting him out of it.

The Campbell County senior quarterback compensated for three costly interceptions by rushing for 222 yards and three touchdowns to rally the Camels past unbeaten Simon Kenton, 29-28.

“(Durham) took the game over,” Simon Kenton coach Jeff Marksberry said. “When he’s got the ball good things happen for them and we kept (allowing the ball) to get back in his hands. He's a heck of a player.”

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Campbell County (3-3), ranked sixth in the Enquirer Northern Kentucky coaches’ poll, fell behind by 14 points early. They still trailed 28-21 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.

That’s when the Camels embarked on a seven-minute, 62-yard game-winning drive. That march concluded with a 3-yard Durham scoring run on fourth down-and-2 that left Campbell County trailing 28-27. Rather than opt for the game-tying extra point, Camels coach Stephen Lickert chose an even surer bet – hand the ball to Durham and let him plow ahead.

That’s exactly what Durham did, muscling his way through the Pioneers for a two-point conversion to push the Camels past their district rival.

“We ran that same play all the way down the field that last drive, so we said ‘Let's make them stop it,’” Durham said.

Simon Kenton (6-1) led 14-7 at the half despite picking up only one first down on offense. The Pioneers built that cushion by taking advantage of Durham’s early throwing miscues.

Simon Kenton junior Chase Wilson returned Durham’s first pick 70 yards for a touchdown. Jared Swanson brought back Durham’s next errant toss to the Camels’ 22-yard line. Simon Kenton nearly squandered that prime field position, but junior quarterback Brenan Kuntz came through on fourth-and-11 with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Grant Wassom to give the Pioneers a 14-0 lead with seven minutes to play in the half.

Kuntz finished with 245 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-33 passing, but every time he pushed the Pioneers ahead, the Camels clawed their way back. Campbell County tied the score four different times in the second half before finally taking its first lead on Durham’s game-winning two-point conversion.

“Our motto is play the next play. We don’t worry about what happened before because we can’t control that,” Lickert said. “I believe in our kids and when they believe in themselves we can be special. As long as we keep believing we are going to have a great year.”


Campbell County 0 7 7 15 –29
Simon Kenton 8 6 7 7 –28

S-Wilson 70 interception return (Swanson run)
S-Wassom 23 pass from Kuntz (pass failed)
C-Durham 29 run (Knaley kick)
C-Howard fumble recovery in end zone (Knaley kick)
S-Huesman 44 pass from Kuntz (Smith kick)
C-Durham 7 run (Knaley kick)
S-McEntyre 12 pass from Kuntz (Smith kick) C-
C-Durham 3 run (Durham run)
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