By Dan Wiederer
Staff Writer
The Fayetteville Observer
Reprinted With Permission

BUIES CREEK - The play is called "Tornado." And in the second quarter Saturday, Campbell tight end Mike Stryffeler executed his part perfectly, running a crisp out-and-up route that froze two Valparaiso defenders.

With Stryffeler turning up the left sideline, quarterback Daniel Polk saw exactly what he wanted and lofted a pass toward the front corner of the end zone. Touchdown.

That 16-yard reception was Stryffeler's biggest contribution during an 11-minute outburst in which the Camels scored 35 points.

"For me, it was great to get into the end zone on my Senior Day - especially during a win," Stryffeler said.

This storyline has been explored a million times before: a group of seniors playing their final home game and leaving the field triumphant. That was the case at Barker-Lane Stadium as Stryffeler, Polk, Charles Fiore, Christian Dixon and Lee Stanley all contributed to a 56-14 hammering of Valpo.

This wasn't just the program's most lopsided victory and a sign of encouraging momentum. It was about a group of seniors who have ridden a unique roller coaster stopping to appreciate the growth within themselves - and within the program they helped launch.

Campbell coach Dale Steele carries a special appreciation for these seniors. The transfers - guys such as Stryffeler and Polk and linebacker Lee Stanley - have used hustle and enthusiasm to help forge the program's identity where none existed previously.

Reaching further back, Steele feels even deeper admiration for defensive end Charles Fiore and safety Christian Dixon, two of the original Camels who got in line for this wild ride when Steele had absolutely nothing to sell them. No tradition, no upper-class leadership, no facilities.

Heck, during the fall of 2007, the Camels had nothing but practice - for 3 1/2months.

And even that was no easy shakes with the team's makeshift practice field nothing more than an plot of grass behind the school's soccer field - a half-mile walk from a temporary locker room, which was an unheated, converted laundry room.

It takes a special kid to sign up for the task of building a program from scratch. It takes even more character and resolve to stick it out, even as the losses come three times more often than the wins. Campbell is now 7-24 in its three seasons.

Yet the Camels have a special pride about them, a devotion to Steele's most prominent advice: If your goal is not bigger than the obstacles between you and your goal, you'll never reach your goal.

"We've had a chance to prove our toughness," Stanley said. "And we've been taught a lot the last few years about perseverance and leadership."

Added Polk: "When you're building something from scratch, there's an understanding that the adversity levels are going to be much greater. But within that, you develop a strong bond with everyone around you."

In the offseason, the Camels reminded each other to revel in their bond. They even made black "Brotherhood" bracelets to symbolize their accord.

In so many ways, that was what Saturday was about. It was a celebration of the unity that's been steeled in a tiny town in a fledgling football program.

"Of all the teams I've been on in my life, this is the closest one I've been on by far," Polk said. "In the three years I've been here, I've seen so much growth. I can't even imagine how it's going to look 10, 15, 20 years from now. And having ownership, that knowledge that we gave the start to this whole program is something we all take great pride in."