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Friday, Oct. 27 -- Bath County maintained its perfect record with a 55-0 romp over Parry McCluer High School in a Pioneer District football matchup in Buena Vista.
James Campbell rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns, and he threw for three more scores as the Chargers dominated from start to finish, improving to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the district. The win sets up a district championship battle in Hot Springs next Friday, when Bath plays host to Narrows (7-2, 3-0 Pioneer).
Nathan Glass completed 9-of-17 passes for 90 yards for the Fighting Blues (5-4, 1-2), but he was intercepted twice on the night.
Turnovers put PM behind the eight ball early. The Blues fumbled inside their own 30-yard line on each of their first two possessions, leading to two quick TDs for Bath. Campbell's 29-yard TD run and his 10-yard scoring pass to Braiden Mabe, combined with a pair of extra-point boots from Andrew Turner, put the Chargers up 14-0 with 6:49 remaining in the first quarter.
PM sustained its third series of the night, driving down into Bath territory. On fourth-and-6 at the Charger 27, Glass raced down to the goal line, but a holding penalty negated the run. The Blues would end up turning the ball over on downs.
Campbell's 35-yard touchdown pass to Luke Turner made it 21-0 at the 7:52 mark of the second period. Following another failed fourth-down conversion for PM, Campbell found the end zone from seven yards out, and the Chargers took a 27-0 lead into the break.
The second half started with more of the same, as Campbell finished off an 11-play, 70-yard scoring march with his third rushing touchdown, this time on a 2-yard plunge. The Bath quarterback's two-point conversion pass to Bransen Gordon made it 35-0.
After Cooper Lowry picked off Glass at the PM 21-yard line, Andrew Turner punched the ball in on a 10-yard TD for a 42-0 advantage late in the third quarter.
The Chargers put together another lengthy scoring drive early in the final frame, culminating with Campbell's 35-yard scoring strike to Luke Turner with 5:25 to play. Mabe then intercepted Glass and returned the ball 16 yards to paydirt to provide the final margin.
Jackson Brockenbrough caught three passes for 39 yards for the Blues, and he also led PM with 35 rushing yards on 14 carries.
Campbell's 143 rushing yards came on 17 attempts, while he completed 6-of-14 passes for an even 100 yards. Ethan Bryant notched 61 yards on just three totes for Bath.
The Blues will close out the regular season at Eastern Montgomery next Friday, with kickoff in Elliston set for 7 p.m.
