By: Kipp Branch

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Camden Head Football Coach Bob Sphire enters year three and should start seeing big results from the massive rebuild he started in 2017.

Camden made big strides in year two and have the makings for a fantastic 2019 football season. Look for the Cats to make some noise in Georgia’s highest classification this fall. This is a very good football team folks.

Regular season schedule and my predictions:

08/23   at West Forsyth: Long bus ride for the Cats against a playoff team from last year. Camden won at home last year and they get off to a great start with a 24-17 win over the Wolverines.

08/30   at Wren (Piedmont, SC): Camden plays Wren again in Macon at Mercer University. Camden fell to Wren 25-14 last year, but something tells me that scoreboard will read a little differently this year. The Cats get some redemption by beating Wren 28-17 to go to 2-0 on the season.

09/06   vs Locust Grove: In the home opener for Camden you have Locust Grove rolling in and rolling out with a 35-7 beating. The Cats go to 3-0 on the season.

09/13   vs Richmond Hill: Richmond Hill travels to Chris Gilman Stadium trying to find some offense after losing most of it to graduation. The problem is the offense that graduated only scored 6 on Camden in 2018.

Camden beats down a team that will probably be in their region once the State reclassifies next season. Camden 38-7 to go to 4-0 on the season.

09/20   vs Brunswick: Brunswick High Head Coach, Sean Pender tells me that Camden County is the best team on the Brunswick schedule and that spells trouble for the Pirates. The Cats roll the Pirates 38-20 to go 5-0 on the season.

10/04   at Glynn Academy: The undefeated Cats play the undefeated Terrors at Glynn County Stadium in what should be a great game. Camden will pull out a 24-21 win to go to 6-0 on the season.

10/11   at Colleton County (Walterboro, SC): This one could get ugly in a hurry. Cats win 49-7 to go to 7-0 on the season.

10/18   vs Colquitt County: This will be the biggest home football game in Kingsland in years. The region opener and Colquitt coming in with a new staff, but with top talent.

Could the Cats make a statement here? I think they do and pull out a 24-20 win to go to 8-0 and send a message around the state.

10/25   vs Lowndes: The Vikings roll in for another huge home game for Camden. The Cats go to 2-0 in the region with a hard fought 21-17 win over Lowndes to go to 9-0 and 2-0 in the region.

11/08   at Tift County: The Cats are sky high coming off back to back huge wins at home, and run into a Blue Devil team that has beaten Lowndes and lost to Colquitt in region play.

The Cats fall in a classic 38-34 to go 9-1 and 2-1 in the region. Tift gets great news from Martin Stadium as Lowndes beats Colquitt and Tift wins region championship.

Region 1-AAAAAAA Standings:

Tift: 2-1

Camden: 2-1

Lowndes: 1-2

Colquitt: 1-2

Camden goes 9-1 and finishes with a number #2 playoff seed from region 1.

Opposing Coach View on Camden: “They were down when Bob took that job. Really down. You saw the signs last year that they were starting to get back to being Camden County again.

They have some talent on that football team. Will they get back to what they used to be just a few years ago? I believe they will and are on the right track.

Who will their QB be? They are pretty set everywhere else. I think they have as good of a shot as anyone in their region. They had Lowndes on the ropes at their place last year.

Colquitt has a new coaching staff, and Tift as an at large made it to the third-round last year. They have Colquitt and Lowndes at home. The game at Tift could be for the region championship don’t shake your head because that region is really good and right now with the Colquitt scenario pretty much up for grabs.

Bob is a very good coach and he is in a place where he can win big with the talent pool and resources available.”