CF QB Thomas and defensive end Barker named Players of the Week – Camden News

The Camden Fairview Cardinals (3-1) are off to the best start of a football season they've seen since 2014.

Last Friday's game against the Watson Chapel Wildcats was a big one for the Cardinals for a couple reasons: the team wanted to finish their non-conference games on a high note, and get revenge on the Wildcats for beating them at home last season, 22-17.

Camden Fairview did get their revenge in a big way as they dominated Watson Chapel on the road 60-24.

This game showcased a dominating performance from several players on both sides of the ball, but there were two who impacted the outcome tremendously. Cardinals quarterback Martavius Thomas dominated the Wildcats' defense significantly, while defensive end Jacovey Baker made life difficult for the Wildcats' offense.

Thomas and Barker are Camden News's Week 4 Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively. This is the second time that Thomas and Barker were named Camden News' offensive and defensive players of the week.

The offense for the Cardinals had a unique strategy in mind while attacking the Watson Chapel's. The Wildcats had an experienced secondary, a strong interior defensive, and a solid middle linebacker. Camden Fairview was cautious about passing the ball deep as well as attacking up the middle in regular run plays.

The Cardinals didn't need Thomas to be an explosive passer; they needed him to be an efficient game-manager in Run-Pass-Option schemes. Not only was Thomas efficient as a playmaker in the RPO scheme, but he was also dominant. He threw for 101 yards, one touchdown and a quarterback rating of 135.9 on seven completions (out of ten passing attempts). He rushed for 133 yards and four touchdowns on eight carries.

Thomas accumulated 232 total yards on offense and five of the team's nine total touchdowns. Thomas' longest run was 64-yards as he was an explosive runner off the edge as soon as he saw the defenders crash into the running backs during the RPO plays. He made the defenders for Watson Chapel stall their decisions on who to attack in the backfield. Thomas was the perfect game-manager and the most explosive player on the offense for Camden Fairview.

On the defensive side of the ball for the Cardinals, senior defensive end Barker was one of the most disruptive players. Barker came off the edge as one of the most aggressive and consistent rushers for the Cardinals against the Wildcats.

Barker accounted for eight total tackles, six solo tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks. He consistently created chaos in the backfield for Camden Fairview. He and linebacker Kameron Easttam were the first defenders that recognized the ball carriers in the backfield of Watson Chapel and made the open-field tackles. Barker was responsible for four of the team's nine tackles for loss for Camden Fairview and three of the six total sacks for Camden Fairview.

The Cardinals will start their 5A South conference play this Friday night as they face the Lakeside Rams in Hot Springs.

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CF QB Thomas and defensive end Barker named Players of the Week - Camden News