Football: Camden at Paul VI scrimmage

By Phil Anastasia

Some thoughts on Thursday's scrimmage between Camden and Paul VI:

1. Camden looks good. The Panthers had a 3-1 edge in touchdowns in one half of game action between the first stringers.

Camden senior WR/DB Sean Chandler had two TD catches -- including a 92 yard catch and run -- and an interception. That gave him four TDs in three scrimmages, according to coach Dwayne Savage.

But the Temple-bound Chandler is no one-man band for Camden. Soph WR Brad Hawkins had a TV catch, the Panthers ran the ball pretty well and the D came up with two picks.

2. Paul VI is going to be tough to handle on the offensive side. The Eagles are still a little inconsistent in terms of their execution but they have weapons and will improve as they get more familiar with some of the things that former Moorestown coach Russ Horton is doing.

Paul VI has one of South Jersey's most impressive look young players in junior WR Irvin Charles. He's 6-5, 200 and can run. He fueled the Eagles' TD drive with a long run after catching a short pass on a crossing pattern.

"He looks like Calvin Johnson," one coach said of Charles, who has scholarship offers from Rutgers, Temole and Mississippi, among other schools..

Senior QB Alec Vignola will make some plays, especially as he gets more comfortable in Horton's system. He's a tough kid who bounced up from several hard hits.

3 . It wasn't a great day for Paul VI's defense but that was mostly because of big plays that Camden made in the passing game -- many times just making better adjustments to the ball in the air. Chandler is great at that but there aren't many guys in SJ with his kind of football instincts.

4. Camden has a tough start to the season, playing at Delsea and Camden Catholic in road games that would have been home events if the field construction project had been finished in time for the start of the season.

As it stands, Camden isn't scheduled to play a home game until Oct. 11 vs. Cumberland -- a night game at Farnham Park to open the new field. The Panthers' only other scheduled home game is Nov. 1 vs. Kingsway although there's a chance the Thanksgiving Day game with Woodrow Wilson will be moved from the Tigers' home field to Farnham Park.

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