Bishop Media Sports Network
The Cats Are Back
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2022 season has come to an end for the Camden County Wildcats.
Camden traveled to Loganville, outside of Atlanta, to play the Grayson Rams in the second round of the GHSA playoffs. The Rams ended the Wildcats season with a 28-10 win.
Camden ended the season with an 8-4 record and the Wildcats accomplished a lot this season.
The Wildcats earned a two seed in Region 1-7A, upset the #3 ranked team in the state in the Valdosta Wildcats, beat the Lowndes Vikings for the first time since 2015, won three region games and won a first-round playoff game for the first time since 2015.
Camden is on the right track to becoming a state title contender again and the future is bright.
The Wildcats will only graduate 22 seniors and will 44 replace them next season. The rising freshmen and sophomore classes are loaded with talent and those will classes will contribute heavily next season as juniors and sophomores.
Expect a deep playoff run in 2023.
Let’s take a look back on the amazing 2022 campaign.
August 19: Columbia @ Camden: The season got off to a rocky start as the AA Columbia Eagles came to Chris Gilman Stadium and stunned the Wildcats, upsetting them 13-10.
August 26: Camden @ Brunswick: The Brunswick High Pirates were expected to compete for a state title in 6A. The Pirates dropped Camden 16-10 on a goal line stand at the end of the game.
This is the game that turned the season around. You could tell the kids in the locker room came together after losing this tough game.
September 2: Glynn Academy @ Camden: The Glynn Academy Red Terrors walked into an ambush that night. They were expecting a struggling Wildcat team ripe for the taking.
Instead, they got a vicious, angry, physical team that sent them home with a 37-7 drubbing.
September 9: B.E.S.T. @ Camden: This would be more of the same. B.E.S.T. Academy, out of Atlanta, came down and were overwhelmed by the Wildcats, 45-0.
September 16: Somerset Academy @ Camden: The Wildcats woodshedded the Somerset Academy Panthers 48-21, but the game wasn’t even that close.
September 23: Atlantic Coast @ Camden: This wrapped up the trio of games against Florida schools and the result was the same as the priors. The Wildcats dominated Atlantic Coast, 47-6.
October 7: Camden @ Richmond Hill: Wildcats v Wildcats. Camden did not play well in this game but found a way to win and earn their first region victory of 2022, 21-14.
October 14: Camden @ Colquitt: The Wildcats headed over to the Hog Pen and found out what Colquitt was for real. The Packers outpaced the Wildcats, 49-21.
Colquitt was ranked #2 in the state at the time and this game was a flag-a-thon by the zebras. Most of the calls going against Camden. It’s tough to win at Colquitt for a reason.
October 21: Valdosta @ Camden: Another Wildcats v Wildcats matchup. Camden kicked a Field goal to take a 17-14 advantage.
Valdosta marched down the field to attempt their own field goal to tie the game, which Camden blocked and then ran out the clock on the folks from Winnersville.
When it was all said and done Camden had knocked off the #3 ranked team in the state, 17-14.
November 4: Lowndes @ Camden: The Lowndes Vikings were hoping take the #2 seed away from Camden by beating them at home. Instead, the Vikings were run out of Chris Gilman, 48-21 and the game was not that close.
November 12: East Coweta @ Camden: The East Coweta Indians made the long drive from Atlanta to Kingsland. The first half ended with East Coweta up 21-14.
In the second half the Wildcats outscored East Coweta 30-12 and ended their season with a 44-33 win.
November 18: Camden @ Grayson: Jeff Herron returned to place where he won his last state title in 2016. The Rams were a solid team and the Wildcats couldn’t quite find that one big play to get them going.
The Rams eliminated Camden 28-10.
See you next Spring.
Florida Cup
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
For the first time in series history, the Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles will play on Black Friday.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving has been the traditional date for the Sunshine Showdown but Mike Norvell had a different vision for this year. The Noles (8-3) opened as an 8.5-point favorite.
“It’s always important and we’re on Friday night. Friday night lights,” senior linebacker Amari Burney said. “It’s very important any time you play Florida State. It’s a rivalry and everybody knows that so we have to strap up and come ready to play.”
It will be the first time that Mike Norvell will be the favorite in the rivalry game. Norvel’s first season at the helm was in 2020, so his introduction to the rivalry was in 2021. The Gators, despite having fired Dan Mullen just six days before playing the Noles, edged out a 24-21 win at home.
After starting the season unranked, Florida State University broke into the Top 25 in September following a 4-0 start, however they quickly fell back out after their fair share of losses.
The Noles have been on a tear of late, winning their last four games. If FSU wins this Friday, it would be the program’s first nine-win season since Jimbo Fisher was Head Coach in 2016.
The Florida Gators are just 1-3 on the road at this point of the season, and Florida State is 4-2 at Doak Campbell.
The line sits at 8.5, home teams typically get three points on a betting line as home-field advantage, meaning Vegas views this as a one-score nail-biter.
This will be the 66th all-time matchup between the Gators and Seminoles. Florida owns a 37-26-2 lead and an active three-game winning streak.
Florida State’s Mike Norvell is well aware that anything can happen in the world of college football, and that his team is far from unbeatable. Any coach on the planet is well aware of what this game means to either of these programs.
FSU has already taken out Miami, and in a humiliating fashion. Now, the Gators are gearing up for a prime-time showdown against the hot-handed Seminoles.
From the looks of things, Norvell has Florida State on the right track. They’re playing week to week hammering potential bowl teams like they’re Cumberland College.
The Seminoles’ first-team defense has only given up one touchdown in a month, and their offense puts up yards and points like it’s 1993. But losing to this rivalry is different; and there is a sour taste in the losing team’s mouth
Forget that it’s Year 1 under Billy Napier, who was tasked not only to replenish UF’s thin roster, but also with rebuilding the entire culture Dan Mullen left behind, let’s not talk about the new “Gator standard” on and off the field.
Florida has one regular-season game to play under their new head coach, and best of all- it’s at their bitter rival Florida State on Black Friday.
Make no mistake, this game matters immensely to the Gators. It’s the rare game that impacts recruiting directly (especially in state); the last thing Florida wants to do is lose convincingly and allow FSU to sell their program as on the rise and the top option in the state.
After embarrassing Miami, could you convince a recruit toward Miami over Florida State?
Win, and Napier cools the heat of his defeats (almost instantly) and gives the Gators a bit of juice heading into the final stretch of recruiting.
Lose, and, well, the Gators are 6-6, off to a low-tier bowl game, and paying lip service to the importance of bowl practices while keeping one foot, if not both feet, on the recruiting trail for a top-level SEC program.
It won’t be played on Saturday, but it’ll be special like always, no matter the final score.
My prediction: Billy Napier will be the first Florida coach not to beat a single rival in a season since 1979. FSU 42 Florida 20
Resurrected Terrors
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Glynn Academy Red Terrors went through a 6-5 season in Coach Rocky Hidalgo’s 9th season as the head man at the school.
It was another winning season for Coach Rock and the Terrors, who have made the state playoffs every year during his tenure. However, it was not what the Red Terrors wanted in the form of a region title and deep run in the playoffs.
In my conversation with Coach Rock, it was apparent how very proud of this team he was. Especially how they fought like hell in the first-round loss on the road 18-13 to the second seeded Northside Eagles.
The Brunswick Pirates were bounced out by a fourth seed and the Effingham Rebels were hammered by the three seed from 1-6A. The Red Terrors acquitted themselves well on the road against the Eagles.
They had real chances and only a missed field goal kept them from potentially taking control of the game late in the fourth quarter.
Coach Hidalgo said the game showcased how far this edition of the Terrors had come and how it bodes well for the 2023 season.
While the Terrors will say goodbye to a small core group of seniors led by Tyler Devlin, Hank Noonan and others, they will return a large group of seasoned sophomores and juniors led by the electric Greg Peacock. They all played major roles in the teams’ 2022 success.
Let’s take a quick look back at the 2022 season.
8/19 Glynn at Statesboro. The Red Terrors squeak out an exciting 43-42 win on the road against the Blue Devils to start the season.
8/25 McIntosh Co Academy at Glynn. The Red Terrors make it two in a row, pulling away with a win over the tough Buccaneers; 22-13 at Glynn County Stadium.
9/2 Glynn at Camden County. The Red Terrors take their first loss of the season with an away loss at Chris Gilman Stadium to the 7A Wildcats.
9/8 Creekside (FL) at Glynn. In a pouring monsoon the Red Terrors lose a heartbreaker 21-20 to fall to 2-2.
9/23 Brunswick High at Glynn. The powerful Pirates drop the Terrors to 2-3 on the season with a dominating 55-21 win.
9/28 Effingham County at Glynn. The Terrors fail to bounce back and drop a fourth straight game. The Rebels take it by a 31-14 score. The second loss in the region puts the Terrors in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time under Coach Hidalgo.
10/7 Glynn at South Effingham. The Terrors taste victory again with a 13-9 victory over South Effingham
10/14 Grovetown at Glynn. The Terrors turn it around and level their record at 4-4 with a 46-13 pounding of the Warriors between the bricks.
10/21 Evans at Glynn. In a pivotal region game, the Red Terrors come from behind to take a thrilling 25-22 win over the visiting Knights. Its Senior Night and the Terror Nation shows its appreciation with a great crowd.
11/4 Glynn at Lakeside Evans. The Terrors win their fourth in a row as the Panthers are declawed 42-20. The Terrors finish out the regular season at 6-4 and head into the playoffs again.
11/11 Glynn at Northside. The Terrors go on the road and put up a great fight against the second seeded Eagles. They have real chances to win the game going tooth and nail with Northside.
In the end a missed field goal and an interception hurt the Terrors and they lose late 18-13. It’s another tough loss that the Terrors couldn’t quite pull out. The Terrors end the year at 6-5.
As I mentioned above, when I talked to Coach Rock you could see how proud he was of this outfit and how they came back and played hard after being 2-4.
They could have folded up and headed home but didn’t. He was very proud of what they had accomplished. They were winners!
Rocky Hidalgo is one of Glynn’s winningest coaches ever. He has region championships and a state championship appearance under his belt.
He has averaged over 8 wins per season in his nine years with the Red Terrors. So, when he says he is looking forward to this sophomore and junior dominated team coming up big next year. I’m all in. Let’s do it Rock!
Pirates’ Journey
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Year one of the Garrett Grady tenure at Brunswick ended in heartbreaking fashion with a gut wrenching 29-28 loss to Houston County in the first round of GHSA 6A state playoffs.
The Pirates finished the 2022 season with a 10-1 record. The Pirates were crowned Region 2-AAAAAA champions with a 30-27 win over Effingham County.
Let’s look at the 2022 season:
August 19, 2022: The Pirates hosted Andrew Jackson from Jacksonville at Glynn County Stadium. The Tigers finished 7-4 in 2021 earning a playoff berth.
Jayden returned a punt for a touchdown and the Brunswick Black Flag defense held the Tigers to 200 yards of total offense on the night in a 23-13 opening night win. The win was Grady’s first win as a head coach. Andrew Jackson finished the 2022 season with an 8-3 record and playoff berth in Florida.
August 26, 2022: The Pirates hosted Camden County at Glynn County Stadium. Most pundits picked BHS to lose this game, but a strong defensive effort and second half power run game propelled BHS to a 16-10 win.
Lionel Twitty made the play of his BHS career by deflecting a Wildcat pass inside the Pirate 10-yard line to preserve the win. Camden was the #2 seed in Region 1-7A.
September 9, 2022: BHS played in the inaugural Georgia/Florida High School Football Classic at Glynn County Stadium. The Pirate defense completely shut down Bolles in a 20-3 win. This was another game the experts predicted BHS to lose.
September 16, 2022: BHS beat Islands High School 49-0 in a very lopsided contest. Outcome was never in doubt.
September 23, 2022: BHS hammered Glynn Academy 55-21 to win its third consecutive City Championship.
The Pirate offense was clicking throughout the contest and Glynn’s only scores came on trick plays and a fluke pass deflection.
The 55 points scored by BHS were the most ever for the Pirates in the long and storied history of the City Championship Series. BHS leads the all-time series 40-37-2.
September 28, 2022: BHS traveled to Grovetown in Augusta for a Wednesday contest that was moved up due to Hurricane Ian.
Touchdown Terry Mitchell scored 4 TDs on his birthday and the Pirates won a 56-39 shootout to stay undefeated on the season.
October 7, 2022: BHS hosted Lakeside Evans at Glynn County Stadium. The Pirates took control of the game early and cruised to a 44-10 win.
The Pirate defense dominated the contest.
October 21, 2022: BHS traveled to Guyton and hammered South Effingham 42-3.
BHS scored 6 touchdowns in their first 19 offensive plays. Mitchell caught a 54-yard TD pass from JR Elkins on the first offensive play of the game.
The Mustangs kicked a 42-yard field goal with under two minutes remaining on a running clock to avoid the shutout.
October 27, 2022: BHS traveled to Evans and lost LB Devin Smith for the remainder of the season with a broken ankle just two minutes into the contest.
The Pirates turned it over 6 times on the night in an ugly 28-7 win to stay unbeaten.
November 4. 2022: The Pirates held on late to beat Effingham 30-27 for the region championship in possibly the worst officiated game I have ever witnessed in person.
The story of the contest was yellow flags that wiped out two Pirate scores in the contest.
November 11, 2022: First round playoff game with Houston County.
The Bears rolled up 600 yards of total offense and led 21-7 in the fourth quarter.
The Pirates put on a furious rally and tied the game with 48 seconds left, and HOCO missed a 32 yards FG to win it with one second left on the clock to win it in regulation.
BHS scored to lead 28-21 in OT and Houston scored to cut it to 28-27 and went for two points and converted to end the BHS season with a 29-28 win.
This senior class won 35 games and three city and region championships. That ranks this group as one of the best in BHS history.
Garrett Grady should be region coach of the year.
Ka‘Shawn Thomas should be your defensive player of the year in the region.
Terry Mitchell should be your offensive player of the year in the region.
Things are looking pretty good right now on Altama Avenue.
The Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch November 18
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show w Brandon Derrick November 16
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Garrett Grady November 16
Return To Chief-Hood?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
What a difference a year makes, FSU football statistically has made huge changes.
The Seminoles are trending on both sides of the ball in elite company.
First, the ‘Noles average nearly 100 more total yards per game than last year, jumping up from 379 to 477 yards per game due to a deeper set of skill players, a better offensive line, and stronger quarterback play.
Let’s start with QBs, redshirt junior quarterback Jordan Travis and his co-starter McKenzie Milton have already eclipsed the production in 2021 with 2,300 yards and 18 passing touchdowns. FSU’s passing offense, while effective at times later in the season, ranked in the bottom half of the ACC last season.
This year, on the other hand- Travis is ranked third in the ACC in passing yards (2,414) and touchdowns (24). A noteworthy turnaround for a team pointed downhill for almost 5 years.
FSU scores about seven more points per game than last season, jumping from 27.6 to 34 in 2022, aided by 41-point, 45-point, and 38-point outbursts in the current three-game win streak.
It’s also worth noting the FSU offense took its foot off the gas while comfortably ahead during stretches of the third and fourth quarters in four ACC games this season — those three wins and against Boston College.
The Seminoles’ rushing offense lost 2021 starter Jashaun Corbin, and has gone stretches without this year’s starter Treshaun Ward. Yet, FSU only continues to skyrocket the stat book on the ground.
FSU improved from 177 rushing yards per game (No. 6 ACC) and 4.8 yards per carry last season, up to 5.5 per attempt and a dominant 213 yards per game. Aided by backs Trey Benson, Lawrance Toafilli, and along with Ward, those totals rank No. 1 in the ACC and No. 16 in the nation.
Of course, all those yards and offensive production wouldn’t be possible without a much-improved offensive line, even if the personnel stays the same.
Offensive fronts may not always have stats to back up their performance, but pass-protection wise, the returns are crystal clear: FSU gave up 36 sacks last year (2 per game) and only 16 this year (second-best in ACC).
Defensively, Florida State is in position of shaving off 8.4 points per game from its season average.
Last year, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller’s bunch gave up a respectable 26.5 points per outing, but this year they’re knocking that number down to 18.1 (tied for best in ACC).
The Seminoles also rose to best in the ACC in total defense (293 yards allowed), which is over an 80-yard improvement from last season’s 377.8 mark (No. 6 in ACC).
In many of these areas, FSU rose from the middle of the pack.
Special teams return yardage, the ‘Noles emerged from the doldrums of the conference.
Instead of ranking No. 12 in yards per kick return and No. 13 in yards per punt return, FSU now ranks third in the ACC in both categories.
Florida State is currently ranked No. 11 in the country in total defense and No. 16 in the country in total offense.
The only other teams to be in the Top 20 in both categories? Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State.
I don’t know if Norvell will ever get this program back to an elite level, but man, after these last three weeks, and considering how far they’ve come in the last three years, it’s not exactly far-fetched, is it?
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch November 11
Sharing Is Caring
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The SEC is the premier college football brand in the United States.
It has been this way for quite a while now. The SEC has crowned three straight national champions in football.
As the premier brand in football, I believe the time has come to start rotating the SEC Championship game to different locations throughout the conference region.
The time is now to begin the rotation. Personally, I think Atlanta is a good place to host the game, but other locations have a lot to offer as well.
I’m thinking now that the SEC is expanding with the addition of Oklahoma and Texas it is time to start a six-city rotation that give more fans the opportunity to experience the SEC brand.
Listed below is the suggested rotation from my perspective with comments promoting each city:
Atlanta: Atlanta is pretty much the geographical center of the south. Atlanta has hosted the SEC Championship game since 1994.
The geographical blueprint of the SEC is now expanding outside of the traditional south.
Why not rotate the game to various points to the expanded blueprint?
If the decision is ultimately made to keep game in a central location like Atlanta, then so be it. Atlanta is a great host city, and the city has great facilities, hotels, airport, and overall infrastructure for continued success. Atlanta is the 8th largest metro area in the United States with around 6 million people.
New Orleans: SEC championship in New Orleans would be an amazing experience.
Food, culture, French Quarter, that party type atmosphere in New Orleans is second to none.
The NFL has hosted numerous Super Bowls in the city. Plenty of hotel rooms. If New Orleans is good enough for the NFL, then it is more than good enough for the SEC.
Smaller metro area, but things listed above make this a must stop on the rotation. NO would be the most fun stop on the rotation.
Arlington: the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas encompassing 11 counties and anchored by the major cities of Dallas and Fort Worth.
It is the economic and cultural hub of North Texas. The area has a population of around 8 million people making it the 4th largest metro area in the US and largest in the SEC.
AT&T Stadium or Jerry’s World would be a perfect venue.
Miami: SEC Championship in South Beach. Sign me up.
9th largest metro area in US. Weather is always great and Hard Rock Stadium is awesome.
ACC would fight to keep SEC out of Miami through.
Can you see the SEC coming into Miami and selling out everything when the ACC cannot even sell out their own conference championship game?
Nashville: SEC Title game in the Music City.
Nashville just approved a new domed stadium in downtown Nashville, just a few blocks away from Broadway Street.
Two million people in Nashville metro area. Perfect city and new venue make Nashville a perfect host.
Nashville is a fun city that would quickly be one of the favorite stops in the rotation.
Imagine your favorite team winning the SEC and running into Kid Rock playing an unannounced set at his restaurant on Broadway during your postgame drunk fest.
Houston: Fifth largest metro area in US. Home of the Texans, Astros, and Rockets.
Houston is a world class city that has hosted multiple Super Bowls.
Houston is a must on any SEC rotation even if nearby Texas A&M is a dumpster fire currently in football.
It is time to share the wealth SEC and expand the SEC experience to outside of Atlanta.
