Football: Big-time attention spreading for streaking Kamara, Interboro

GLENOLDEN — With each touchdown, the word would spread. With each game film, a whisper would turn louder. With each football victory at Interboro, the secret would be leaked.

Abu Kamara, a real-deal running back and nosy defensive back, would grow to be recognized as more than a potential mid-major college prospect.

It was happening even before Interboro outperformed Chichester, 38-0, Saturday. It likely will grow after Kamara used three different methods to accumulate five touchdowns, all before halftie, for the increasingly dangerous Bucs.

After rushing for 335 yards and piling five TDs on Kennett lats week, interest in Kamara is growing. By Saturday, he let it be known how far. His new recruiting list?

“Iowa State, Stony Brook, Bryant, Holy Cross,” he said. “Schools like that.”

It wouldn’t take a cracked answer code to identify the one program that didn’t belong on that schools-like-that list, but the relatively recent injection of a Big 12 operation into the mix provides a hint at what has been happening on South Ave.

In helping the Bucs improve to 5-2 (1-1 Del Val), Kamara rushed for three touchdowns, caught a Julian Bulovas pass for one and returned an interception 22 yards for another.

With the Delaware County single-season rushing record of 2,519, set last year by Tahir Mills of Ridley, in sight, Kamara ran for 106 yards on 15 carries to raise his total to 1,495. That the second half was played with a running clock didn’t help, as Kamara had 96 rushing yards in that dynamic first half.

The Bucs have four remaining games scheduled, not including District 1 Class 4A postseason games. Until then, Kamara will not bother counting.

“I knew I had a few touchdowns today,” he said. “But five? I didn’t realize that.”

Chichester (1-6, 0-2) had something of an inkling.

“When you are playing a running back like that, it’s very difficult to control the gaps,” Eagles coach Ed Buck said. “We did a poor job of that in the first half. I thought the second half, we bounced back and had a decent half. But you can’t put yourself in a hole like that. And that’s what we did.”

Three plays after Peter Gentile recovered an early muffed punt at the Chichester 12, Kamara scored on a four-yard run. Kamara would score again, 7:40 later, striding in from the two. After adding a 29-yard TD run with 10:03 left in the half, Kamara punctured the ensuing Chi possession by returning an interception 22 yards for a touchdown. And with 2:16 left in the half, he caught a 22-yard scoring pass from Julian Bulovas.

“He’s insane,” Bulovas said. “I love having him on this team. Everybody gels together real nice. We’re like a brotherhood.”

That bonding is occurring at the right time for the Bucs, who have lost only to Strath Haven and Chester, two undefeated teams high among the District 1 Class 5A rankings this season. Interboro, which ran its winning streak to three games, entered the weekend ranked behind only unbeaten Pope John Paul II in Class 4A.

“The players have really bought into our culture,” Bucs coach Dennis Lux said. “We have a special group of seniors who had been starting since they were sophomores. They don’t have any distractions. They shut out all the noise and take care of their business.”

Chichester, which has used multiple quarterbacks this season, went Saturday with junior Walter Jones, who provided 109 passing yards. The Eagles, however, were 11 yards in arrears in the running game, a figure not helped by an 18-yard loss on an errant snap.

Dom Gunter had 38 receiving yards for Interboro, and Gentile added both a 35-yard reception and a two-point conversion pass from Bulovas. Luke Dunleavy, who furnished four conversion kicks, added a 37-yard fourth-quarter field goal.

The Bucs would need some help, but they head to Academy Park next Saturday still trying to stalk Chester for the lead in the Del Val.

Either way, the attention is growing for the Bucs and their two-way force.

“For sure,” Kamara said. “But we have to keep our heads down, keep working and win games. That’s all we are doing right now.”