By Sue Pascoe
Editor
Meet Palisades High School wide receivers Cameron Bailey and Alex Vaupen. Their football careers and current statistics are almost identical: Bailey has 20 receptions for 389 yards and four touchdowns this season; Vaupen has 19 receptions for 386 yards and six touchdowns.
They both played flag football, but Bailey started tackle football as an eighth grader for a team in Baldwin Hills and Vaupen started playing as a freshman at Pali.
They spent two years on the Pali JV team, but were moved up to varsity at the end of their sophomore year.
“They started me at corner back, then put me at receiver my sophomore year,” said Bailey, who also runs the sprints in track and has impressive speed. At 6-0, 175 pounds, Bailey is also on the kickoff return team, with 13 returns averaging 35 yards, and three touchdowns, highlighted by a 95-yard run.
Vaupen was a safety as a freshman and then a corner back.“I was moved up because I was a better receiver,” he said. “I have good hands.” In the Hamilton game this year, Vaupen, though only 5-8 and 165 pounds, managed to snag a high ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
Vaupen, whose parents are Deborah and Drew, attended Palisades Elementary and Paul Revere. Bailey’s parents are Lanitra and Erick and he attended elementary in Bald- win Hills, before coming to Revere.
Vaupen and Bailey explained the tactical moves a receiver goes through.
“The toughest part is getting off press [getting free of the initial defender at the line] and getting wide open,” Bailey said. Vaupen added, “And getting the defender to move the way you want him to move.”
They study films of the teams they are going to play to “learn the defenders’ techniques and how they play.”
Vaupen, who has a 4.25 GPA, said some Division 3 schools are emailing him about playing, but most likely he won’t be playing football in college.
On the other hand, Bailey, who has a 3.0, would like to play football for a Division I or II program and he’s keeping his options open until after he takes his SAT on November 4. But coincidentally, he said, “The USC coach has been emailing my dad about track.”
One other identical statistic—both are nice kids. Any school would be lucky to have them.
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