Football: Camden beats Camden Catholic

By Phil Anastasia

One measure of a good football team is the ability to win a big game.

Another is the ability to win the next week.

Camden has passed both tests this season, opening with a road upset of defending South Jersey Group 3 champion Delsea and getting back to business in Saturday's home-away-from-home triumph over Camden Catholic.

"I'm most proud of the way we came out," Camden coach Dwayne Savage said after his team's 35-7 victory on a warm, sunny afternoon at Woodrow Wilson High School. "We didn't have a letdown and that's a good thing for the program."

Camden (2-0), the No. 13 team in The Inquirer Top 25, built a 27-0 halftime lead and stretched its advantage to 35-0 midway in the third quarter.

Junior twins Khalil and Khalif Williams led Camden's offense. Khalil Williams, the Panthers' quarterback, was 12-for-16 passing for 221 yards and a touchdown and also ran 11 times for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Khalif Williams, the team's tailback, ran 12 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns.

Sophomore wide receiver Brad Hawkins caught four passes for 120 yards and a touchdown for Camden. Senior wide receiver Sean Chandler, a Temple recruit, caught six passes for 67 yards.

"We have our heads on right," Khalif Williams said of the Camden team. "You can tell in practice. Guys are serious."

Camden Catholic (0-2), the No. 22 team in the rankings, lost standout sophomore running back Benny Walls to an ankle injury in the first half. Walls carried six times for 59 yards before leaving the game.

Camden Catholic coach Dennis Scuderi said he believed the injury was a "bad sprain" and wasn't sure of Walls' availability for Friday's game vs. Moorestown.

"We're young and inexperienced," Scuderi said. "We have to work hard and get better. We're going to get better as the weeks go by."

Camden's defense was led by senior tackle Andrew Stevens, sophomore end DyMelle Parker and junior cornerback Jamir Washington, who had a pair of interceptions.

Camden's early-season success is creating a buzz around the program. There was a large crowd in the home bleachers at Woodrow Wilson, which hosted the game as work continues on the Panthers' new turf field at Farnham Park.

Camden will debut its new field Oct. 11 against Cumberland.

"We're trying to bring Panther Pride back," Savage said. "We're getting there."

Camden Catholic 0 0 7 0 -- 7

Camden 7 20 8 0 -- 35

C: Brad Hawkins 39 pass from Khalil Williams (Hawkins kick)

C: Khalil Williams 9 run (kick fail)

C: Khalif Williams 4 run (pass fail)

C: Khalif Williams 4 run (Sean Chandler run)

C: Jamir Washington 10 pass from Khalil Williams (Chandler pass from Khalil Williams)

CC: Jamal Parker 21 pass from Matt Goldner (Everett Minchew kick)

Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com. Follow @PhilAnastasia on Twitter.