FFE Week 2 Player of the Week: Wyatt Campbell, Bath County

HOT SPRINGS, Va. (WDBJ) - “We were the underdog going in” said Bath County quarterback Wyatt Cambell. “Everybody doubts us because we’re small Bath County, but we’re here to win. There’s a new Bath County around here this year.”

Excitement is brewing in Charger country, with the Bath County football team starting 2-0 after a 14-point win over Page County.

For the second straight week, quarterback Wyatt Campbell lit up the stat sheet, rushing for nearly 250 yards and four touchdowns, to go with two scores through the air.

“We were down quite a few starters and a lot of injuries happened,” said Chargers head coach Jake Phillips. “We were down to our third- or fourth-string running backs probably within two series of the game. So once again, a lot of things kind of fell onto him and he’s a guy that’s gonna’ step up and he wants that opportunity.”

Campbell isn’t typically the Chargers’ return man, but with his team needing him to step up, the junior made magic happen there, too.

“We were stuck on defense on the first punt return, and we didn’t have time to get our return team out on the field, so Wyatt started at corner for us,” Phillips said. “I sent him back, and I said, ‘Just fair catch it. Just fair catch it.’ And in the headset, one of my coaches says, ‘Coach, you know he’s not going to fair catch it.’ And I already knew he wasn’t going to fair catch it and lucky for us, he didn’t. He had plenty of space and plenty of room. We made some good blocks on the edge, kind of just throwing things together. Didn’t even have a full return set up, but get the ball in his hands and special things happen.”

“First time in punt return ever, I had to show them I could do it, you know?” said Campbell. “Went back there, I knew I wasn’t fair-catching it. Gotta’ try to make a play. Made a play, we got the momentum, everybody was hyped. Shoutout to all the blockers that blocked for me.”

Campbell transferred to Bath from Alleghany before his sophomore season.

Now a junior, he’s racked up 12 total touchdowns and nearly 700 all-purpose yards through the Chargers’ first two games.

But starring at quarterback wasn’t always in the cards.

“At my old school, I didn’t even start on JV,” said Campbell. “I tried out for quarterback, didn’t start. They didn’t believe in me, but I’m here now.”

“You want somebody that wants to compete and just lives to compete and that’s what he does,” said Phillips. “He absolutely lives to compete and he loves every bit of it. He wants to be in those big moments. He wants to showcase his skill set, but that’s what he wants to do, is compete.”

If he could have one superpower?

“Super speed. I wouldn’t want nobody to catch me.”

That part, he’s already got down pretty good.

And though he’s only 5-foot-8, Campbell’s impact is as big as anyone’s on Friday nights, as the Chargers look to soar to new heights behind their very own superhero.

“He wants the ball in his hands,” said Phillips. “He wants to be able to make the play because he has that faith and he has the belief in himself. A lot of guys that are some of the best, they play with that competitive arrogance, where it doesn’t matter if he’s the biggest guy on the field, or he’s not the fastest guy, or whatever it is, he feels like he’s Superman out there.”

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