DATE: Friday, September 26, 1997            TAG: 9709260813

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: CAMDEN                            LENGTH:   82 lines

BRUINS DEVELOP NEW, SURPRISING HABIT ON FIELD: IT'S WINNING

It wasn't too long ago that every team wanted to play Camden County High School in football. The Bruins were in the throes of a long losing streak and were the doormat of the Albemarle Conference.

How times have changed.

The Bruins are off to a 5-0 start in 1997, are ranked 10th in the state among 1A schools and have beaten some of the teams that once trod upon them. They have knocked off Williamston, Perquimans County, Manteo and Currituck County, all from the supposedly strong Northeastern-Albemarle Conference.

Camden opens its inaugural season in the Tobacco Belt Conference with a home game against Jamesville at 7:30 p.m. today.

With the Bruins now residing in the TBC, which comprises smaller, 1A schools, talk around the region is that Camden could go undefeated through the regular season. Head coach Scott Jones, who once had to field questions about losing nearly every week from 1992 to 1995, and the players scoff at the predictions.

``You can't talk about going undefeated when you haven't even played your first conference game,'' Jones said. ``We've got Jamesville. And they're coming off two wins in a row where they scored 30-something points, and they beat a 2A school Friday night (Roanoke Rapids).''

``Right now we're just thinking about Jamesville, knocking them out, and going on to whoever else,'' said junior quarterback James Walker. ``We're not going to overlook them. That's one thing Coach makes sure we don't do is overlook opponents.''

``We've got to practice hard and focus on the team we're playing against,'' said junior running back Terrell Munden. ``We can't look too far ahead. We've got to focus on Jamesville now. We've just got to take one game at a time.''

Winning has become infectious. Jones, who nearly always seems serious, even stoic at times, has the Bruins practicing hard, but the players don't seem to mind. A favorite pastime for linemen is to hit the ``popsicle sled'' hard, flip it on its side, send it crashing to the ground hard, and let out a holler of triumph. There was a time when such scenes were not as upbeat.

``Part of the reason I first came out to play football was to stay in shape for basketball,'' Walker admitted during a water break. ``But now, it's fun. We're used to winning, and we forget how to lose. And it feels good.''

``When I first started playing (1995), when we lost games, people had their heads down and we thought we would never win a game,'' Munden said. ``But when we started winning, we picked our heads up and haven't dropped them since.''

In the second week of the season, it looked as though Camden might have had a snag in its plans for two-straight winning seasons. The Bruins went 9-4 last year and two rounds deep into the playoffsbehind quarterback Brian Gamet, known as one of the better option passers in the eastern part of the state.

This year, Gamet led the Bruins to a win over Williamston in the first week of the season, but he broke his ankle against Perquimans in week two. Walker, forced into the starting role in Gamet's absence, has filled in admirably. Terrell Munden, who took Walker's place at tailback, has gained 514 yards in four games. Both were thrown into stressful situations but have softened the blow of Gamet's loss.

``I was kind of scared. I wasn't ready for it,'' Walker said of his trial by fire against Perquimans. ``I kind of didn't have a choice. I couldn't say `Nah, I don't want to do it,' because I didn't have a choice.''

Gamet roamed the sidelines at Tuesday's practice, still in a cast but looking forward to getting back on the field. He even tossed a few balls.

``(Gamet's injury) was a definite blow, and it still is. I think that we did so well because James had such success in the game that Brian got hurt,'' Jones said. ``He's done real well, but we still really miss Brian. And we need him back as quick as we can get him. It was a vertical break, and nine of the ligaments were torn. It may end up being like a bad sprain.''

Offense aside, it's been Camden's rabbit-quick defense that has been impressive. After giving up 29 points to Williamston in week one, the Bruins defense has been downright stingy. The team has racked up shutouts over Currituck and Northampton East, given up six points to Perquimans, and eight points to Manteo. It's Camden's speed that's killing other teams' offenses.

``The biggest cliche in sports is that you can't coach speed,'' Jones said. ``With the 11 kids we have in there, we put the fastest defense on the field that we've ever had. We can put two guys at end that run 4.7 (40 yards) or better, and the secondary is 4.8 and under. And two linebackers are two of the fastest kids on the team. The first year I got here, I might have had two kids on the team that ran under five flat in the 40.''

Jones said this year's squad has done everything he has asked. The players seem to believe in him, too.

``They're a loose bunch. They're at practice every day, and they surely work hard. And, as a coach, that's all you can ask,'' Jones said.

``We've just been doing everything that Coach has been asking us to do, and everything has been working,'' Walker said before hurrying back to practice.

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