One ridiculous points record got broken in the six-man game between Campbell and Fannindel last Thursday. But in a game that was called with just under eight minutes remaining on the clock, there’s no telling how much more they could’ve lit up a scoreboard that isn’t equipped for triple-digit basketball scores on a small town football field.
The Campbell Indians scored 125 points, capping an impressive comeback and unbelievable scoring feats. The Indians defeated Fannindel, 125-122. The 247 combined points tops the old mark set in 2011 when Fort Davis beat Midland Christian, 124-108. Campbell’s 125 points was just seven shy of the 132 scored by Trent over Novice in 2009.
“Their coach called timeout and called me over,” Campbell coach Paul Johnston said. “One of their kids who’d gotten hurt had to be Life Flighted. We just decided to end the game right then.”
“The health and safety of the kids is always our first concern. Breaking records never enters my mind even during a crazy game like that. Having our kids continue to play hard and never give up is all we were concentrating on.”
Both teams sustained injuries in the slugfest, so they shook hands with just under eight minutes to go and went their separate ways. Who’s to say what the score could’ve been had they played another seven-plus minutes? Campbell had already scored 79 points in the second half, which was basically just over 10 minutes of clock time. Fannindel scored 49 in that span.
“There were a lot of one- and two-play drives,” Johnston said.
Campbell initially thought they’d tied the state record for points early in the fourth quarter. When Johnston paced the sideline and Fannindel holding a 122-117 lead, he heard the Fannindel public address announcer say one of these six-man teams was on the verge of breaking a single-game scoring record.
“The announcer said the record was 125,” Johnston said.
Campbell’s Nate Dart scored a 35-yard rushing touchdown to put the Indians ahead and Kameron McCormack’s extra point was good to give the Campbell Indians a 125-122 lead.
“We knew on the sideline we’d just tied it, or so we thought,” Johnston said. “But we weren’t going for a record. We just wanted to win the ball game.”
The teams combined for more than 1,200 total yards of offense, and both were fairly balanced. Campbell quarterbacks combined to pass for 345 yards and 10 touchdowns while they ran for 303 yards and seven touchdowns.
Fannindel quarterbacks combined for 362 passing yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for 272 yards and seven touchdowns. Fannindel added some kick return touchdowns.
The game could’ve ended in the first half when Fannindel twice reached a 41-point lead. Note: When six-man teams reach a 45-point lead in the first half the game ends with a mercy rule.
Fannindel, which scored 52 points in the first quarter, held a 59-18 lead early in the second quarter and held a 73-32 lead late in the first half. Campbell scored two late touchdowns in the second quarter. Campbell scored 56 points in the third quarter and 23 points in just over two minutes of the fourth quarter.
This was the second-straight week Fannindel and Campbell met on the gridiron. The Falcons blew out the Campbell Indians, 106-56, on Friday, Sept. 15 at Campbell. Last Thursday Fannindel hosted the game and held a 109-94 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Fannindel is located in the small town of Ladonia, and it’s separated by just 21 miles from Campbell in the northeast part of the state. With not many six-man teams in that region, it forced them to play two non-district games against each other in back-to-back weeks. In 2016 they played just once, with Campbell winning a rather low-scoring nail biter, 57-56.
Campbell’s football program launched in 2012, and their numbers are large enough that Johnston will submit paperwork this January to the UIL in hopes of playing 11-man football next biennial alignment and moving forward.
“We have a 100-yard practice field and we now have a dirt track around it,” Johnston said. “We have the facilities and we’re ready to make the move to 11-man. The things we’re doing are to prepare for 11-man.”
Johnston himself favors 11-man ball. He’s been a head coach in 11-man at Shiner St. Paul and offensive coordinator at Canton. He’s also had stints at Frankston and Fruitvale (six-man).
Campbell (1-2) will play at Cornerstone Christian Academy (2-1) in McKinney on Friday while Fannindel (3-1) will travel more than two hours to play at Leverett’s Chapel (3-1) on Friday.
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2011 week 1
SA The Winston 122
SA Town East 120
Total 242