The Cambridge Bears host the Kell Longhorns in a key division and region contest…

The Cambridge Bears are one of the many that makeup a long list of new football programs across the state. After a 4-16 record in their first two seasons, 2012 & 13, the Bears surprised many last season by putting together a 7-3 record. If not for a division cross-over region loss to Creekview, the Bears would have reached the post-season.

The 2015 version of the North Fulton squad features a roster where half are upperclassmen, which is good news for a young program. The bad news is many of the high impact players from last year’s seven win club have graduated.

Gone is two-year starter Brian Moore, at quarterback, and a fine playmaker at wide receiver in Hunter Smith.

It looks as though junior Cameron Moore will take over the reins at quarterback. So far, sophomore wide out Spencer Gaddis looks like he could be playmaker. Also, senior Eric Cizek has contributed on both sides of the ball with sacks and a two touchdown scoring day.

Special teams have the potential to be just that in 2015. Sophomore kicker Victor Valentine is 11 of 12 on point after attempts this season.

The defense, at least early on, appears to be the strength of the club. SR LB Trey Wolfe is averaging right at ten tackles per game. Versus Rome he was all over the field, leading all players with 13 tackles.

So far, the Bears are 2-1, with wins over Holy Innocents and Chapel Hill in the first two weeks; where they outscored both by a combined score of 69-0. JR RB Kaelin Byrd was the offensive star of their win versus the Panthers, when he carried the football 22 times, for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

The Bears also intercepted Chapel Hill three times in the ballgame.

Cambridge enters this week’s affair on the heels of a 21-14 loss to the Rome Wolves. That potent offense that racked up 457 offensive yards versus Holy Innocents was stymied throughout, and the Bears did not accrue a first down in the second half of that ballgame.

Craig Bennett is the only head coach the program has ever known. Now in their fourth season of varsity football, the program sits at 13-20.

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Meanwhile, it was not so long ago that Kell was a new program themselves. Born in 2003, the Longhorns from just off Canton Road in Marietta, have become a standard bearer for success by a young program.

The Longhorns have only two losing seasons in their 13 years on the gridiron; and have reached the playoffs nine times total and each of the last eight years. In fact, they have become so dominant as of late, the Horns have not lost to a region opponent, astoundingly, since September of 2011. The result is a streak that sits at 24 straight wins, counting region cross-over games. If you reach all the way back to 2009, which was the last time they lost consecutive region contests, and again, count region cross-over games in the season’s last weekend, Kell has won 37 out of their last 38 region games. Finally, the Longhorns are 58-9 from 2010 to this week.

The 2015 version of the Copper and White features ten men returning on defense who either started, or played significant minutes, in 2014. Their strength is in the linebacker corps. They literally have seven starter level players that are highlighted by senior Bryson Armstrong. You may remember the Kennesaw State commit from his week one performance versus Carrollton. Versus the Trojans in the Corky Kell Classic, the two-way star returned two punts and a fumble for touchdowns; and forced another fumble on a sack. Last year, Armstrong finished with 113 tackles, 50 receptions, 725 yards receiving, and 3 touchdowns.

The biggest challenge entering this season was finding a replacement for two-year starting quarterback Cameron Rosendahl. Coach Cook told us on the air last week on the Nalley Lexus of Roswell Scoreboard Show, on 680 The Fan in Atlanta, the decision was a tough one. He chose Stone Hatfield over John Lampley; although he made sure to articulate each were capable.

This year, the Horns started with a resounding 35-0 victory over Carrollton. The next week, they were ambushed and lost a Cobb County rivalry contest versus an upstart Lassiter team. Following a 31-0 trouncing of Sequoyah, Coach Cook said “we survived and almost gave away” the 14-13 win over Forsyth Central.

Head Coach Derek Cook is now 72-17 in 7 seasons at Kell. With a previous two year stint at South Cobb, he is 81-29 overall.

Don’t forget to join us on 1230am/1340am and at Atlantassportsstation.com. The pregame show begins at 7pm, kickoff is at 7:30pm and we will see you for the Nalley Lexus Roswell Scoreboard Show following the ballgame.