Campbell, LHS line help seal win

When Lawton High School needed to wipe clock off the scoreboard in the second half of Friday’s season opener against Duncan, offensive guard Rhamell Campbell and his mates up front were able to open some good holes for running back Nate Jones.

“Nate rushed for 174 yards on 23 carries and he scored four touchdowns, so it was obvious that our offensive line did a good job,” LHS head coach Ryan Breeze said before Tuesday’s practice.

Campbell, a 5-10, 260-pound senior, said while he liked the overall effort of the line, he wants to up the bar.

“I know as far as myself I can do better, but we all have to do a better job of scraping that lineman and getting to the linebackers,” he said. “I think we have a good group of linemen who all like each other and we spend time together whenever we have a chance. It takes that type of friendship to make a good line work together.”

Like most offensive lines, there is usually one who is more vocal and keeps that group going.

“I think (Aidan) Hooee is the guy who keeps us together and motivated; he’s the vocal guy in the group,” Campbell said of the right tackle who lines up beside him and also makes the line calls on the field.

Many young football players come up to the high school level without much weight work and for some it is a bit intimidating but not for Campbell.

“I really loved it once I got a chance to lift on a regular basis,” he said. “That is the only way you are going to succeed in this game, especially on the offensive or defensive line. The stronger you are the better.”

When it comes to food, something all offensive linemen love, Campbell has his standard fare as often as possible.

“I love chicken wings from Wingstop,” he said. “I change up the flavor some but I had the garlic parmesan recently and they were great. Throw in their seasoned fries and that’s my favorite meal.”

One issue that the Wolverines are facing is depth with a roster of around 50 players, well below most 6A-II programs. That means more players are going both ways, which puts a heavy demand on conditioning, especially when games go to overtime like LHS had to do to beat Duncan, 32-26, last week.

“We do a pretty good job practicing and we didn’t have but a couple instances where somebody had a cramp,” Campbell said. “But we all know and expect that we have to keep practicing hard if we’re going to reach the goals we set. I do think we made improvement from our scrimmages to the first game and that is important to keep doing that each week.”

Like most seniors, now is the time to start thinking about a future after football and while Campbell would love to play in college, he’s prepared for anything.

“I love math and make good grades, so I’d love to go to college but right now I’m not sure of what I want to do,” he said. “It is getting to the point where there are many trades that pay well and that is another option.”

Friday the Wolverines face MacArthur and Campbell knows it will be a challenge.

“I have seen them on video and we are going to have to play well on the line again to give Nate and Jayden (quarterback Olmstead) time to find holes or get passes off,” Campbell said. “We did a good job last week but Mac has a good defense and we are going to have to block well against them.”

That may very well be where this battle will be decided and if the Wolverines have a chance at victory, Campbell and his mates on the offensive line will have to handle their roles well and slow down Mac’s quick front seven.