Bishop Media Sports Network
Camden Resurgence
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It has been a tough road for the Camden County Wildcats over the past few years.
The Wildcats have suffered through back-to-back losing seasons in 2020 and 2021. The program has not beaten the “big dogs” in region 1-7A, the Colquitt County Packers and the Lowndes County Vikings, since 2015. The Wildcats knocked off the Vikings that year 38-19 en route to a 10-2 season.
2015 is also the last time Camden won a playoff game. The Wildcats hosted the Hillgrove Hawks and handled them 38-17.
Since 2016 Camden has amassed a record of 29-34.
Here’s my point…last season Camden hired Jeff Herron as their head coach to turn the program around and put the Wildcats back on an elite trajectory.
There has been a change in Kingsland in year two and it has been impressive to this point.
The Wildcats got off to rough start. Camden dropped their opener to the Columbia Eagles. A team most predicted they would have on a running clock by the 4th quarter. Instead, the Eagles shocked the Wildcats and won a 13-10 contest.
The following week the Wildcats went up to Brunswick and lost a hard fought 16-10 contest to the Brunswick High Pirates. That was the turning point.
It has almost been that the proverbial switch got flipped after that loss.
The next week the Wildcats hosted the Glynn Academy Red Terrors and played with a chip or edge or what ever you’d like to call it. But it felt different. The Wildcats trounced the Red Terrors 37-7.
Since that point the Wildcats have played B.E.S.T. Academy, Somerset Academy and Atlantic Coast. While none of these schools are state powers, the Wildcats did what they were supposed to do in these games, win convincingly and more importantly, get better.
Since the BHS game, Camden’s varsity has outscored their opponents 177 to 7.
The defense is flying around the field making plays, the kids seemed to have gotten comfortable with the Wing-T on offense and things are beginning to feel normal again around Camden County.
Camden has won four in a row entering region play. Richmond Hill is up first. Camden will head up I-95 to take on the other Wildcats in a couple weeks. This may end up being the most important game of the season.
After that the Wildcats travel to Moultrie to take on Colquitt County, then back at home against Valdosta and Lowndes to wrap up the regular season.
Is this team going to win a state title, probably not. Are they going to win the region, they are not expected to.
However, what this team will be is…..the team that turned the program around and got Camden moving back in the right direction and becoming a state force again.
Oh, and as far as beating Lowndes and/or Colquitt and winning a playoff game, those droughts end with this team as well.
Stetson For Heisman
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
2017 seems so long ago. The Georgia Bulldogs won the SEC Championship, Rose Bowl, and were a blown coverage away from winning the national championship.
At the time there was the walk-on QB that was giving Roquan Smith and company fits on the scout team all during that championship season. That QB was Stetson Bennett.
After a brief stint away from Athens, and a global pandemic the former walk-on led Georgia to a national title in 2021. He lit up an Alabama defense for fourteen points in the fourth quarter when the game was on the line.
Still during the lead up to the 2022 season there were doubters. The doubters said UGA won despite Bennett. They do not remember the 40-yard strike to AD Mitchell and the capping TD toss to Brock Bowers facing an Alabama blitz to end the 41-year championship drought.
Then something amazing happened and Stetson Bennett torched 11th ranked Oregon for a career high 368 yards and a 49-3 curb stomping.
Then he has backed it up with great performances against Samford and South Carolina. Now Georgia is the top ranked team in the country, and you are hearing the impossible being said and that is STETSON FOR HEISMAN!
Wait one second Kipp what are you saying? I am saying Stetson for Heisman. Why not?
As of now Bennett sits high on the list of favorites. He is playing better than the media darlings that he trails in the current odds.
If the award were given today Stetson Bennett would be your 2022 Heisman winner based on performance, and if you base it on team accomplishments who is better than Georgia right now?
Brock Bowers is in the mix as well. Who throws Brock the football?
Bennett is a dual threat for the UGA offense this season. His grasp of the Todd Monken system makes the offense look unstoppable at times.
UGA scored in their first seven possessions against Oregon. Georgia put on an offensive clinic against South Carolina. UGA rolled up almost 550 yards of total offense against an SEC defense.
If you look at the UGA schedule from now until the Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, you see the likes of Kent State, Missouri, a down Auburn team, and Vanderbilt.
Bennett should put up some substantial numbers in those contests. UGA should enter the Florida game at 7-0.
Then you have Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech. If Georgia can run the table and go 12-0, then how can Stetson not be invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony?
If UGA was to be a 13-0 SEC Champion and Bennett has played as well as he has during the first three games of the season, then he will have earned the Heisman Trophy.
Folks this thing could happen because Stetson is the leader of a complete football team in Athens, Georgia.
This story has the makings of a Hollywood movie script. The Stetson Bennett story would be an impressive movie. I know about ten million fellow Georgians who would agree.
The season still must play itself out, but Stetson Bennett is already a Georgia Legend.
The only real question that remains is, which actor would portray Stetson Bennett in a Hollywood adapted movie in the next 5 years?
Move over Rudy the Stetson Bennett story will be coming to the theaters soon.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Garrett Grady September 22
The River
By: Jeff Doke
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It has been said that you won’t get recruited to play college ball if you play at a small private school with less than 400 students.
Jordan Triplett’s texts at 12:01am on September 1st would say otherwise.
“We had been sending out stats and video clips for years, knowing that no one could reply,” says the Junior phenom running back from Frederica Academy. “At the end of last year, I was really wondering if anyone was watching. (Frederica Head Coach) Brandon Derrick just said to be patient. When midnight on Sept 1st hit, it exploded. It was such a relief.”
“Coach Derrick just said ‘told ya so.’”
Nicknamed “The River,” the Class of 2024 offensive star of the Knights has been putting up staggering numbers since his freshman year. Thrust into the starting role in the fourth game of the year, he never looked back.
In his first start against Brantley County, Triplett put up a staggering 163 yards on 26 carries. By the time the year was over, Jordan was the #1 RB in the nation for his graduating class.
“All this time, I knew I was putting up the numbers but I wondered what I was missing?”
It seems all he was missing was time. September 1st was the first day that college coaches could reach out to high school juniors in regards to recruiting. As soon as the clock hit midnight, Triplett had a good idea his work was going to pay off.
“The first message that came at midnight was from Mercer,” says his father, Mark Triplett. “Then came Princeton, then Dartmouth. Florida Atlantic invited him to Junior Day & their invite only camp. The next morning there were a dozen schools in just the first day.”
As of three weeks later, a total of 15 schools have reached out, including Georgia Southern, Vanderbilt in the SEC, Iowa State in the Big 12, UConn from the AAC, and a laundry list of Ivy League & service academy squads; Princeton, Harvard, Dartmouth, Penn, Air Force, and Army.
Of the schools that have reached out so far, Jordan, his dad, and his mom all have their favorites (although they won’t be revealed here).
“Yes, I have a preference, but honestly I don’t think past the scholarships,” according to his mom Becky, a teacher at Frederica Academy. “Jordan wants to play, and mom doesn’t want to have to pay for it if she doesn’t have to,” she said with a smile.
The Ivy League schools aren’t a stretch for Jordan. He currently has a 4.2 GPA with a full load of AP classes.
“I’ve got to give that credit to mom and dad. We knew I wasn’t going to be the fastest or the biggest, but they knew that if I was a little good at football but had the academics, I’d have a chance to go play at the next level at some of the finest schools in the country.”
His father has been not only his biggest supporter and chauffeur, but his social media hype man as well.
“I’ve been doing this for a while,” says Mark. “Frederica has a small staff, no designated recruiter like some schools. I was really excited that over the last year that we sent out all these questionnaires and film, not knowing what they think about it since they couldn’t reach out. Then on the first day to finally hear from 12-15 teams that did like it, it was confirmation.”
Jordan obviously appreciates the effort.
“It’s funny, when I heard from Iowa State, I was like ‘how did THEY hear about me?’ and Dad said ‘I filled out a recruiting questionnaire.’ I said ‘when?’ He said ‘Ninth grade.’”
Jordan does have an as-of-yet unnamed dream school. They’ve made no official contact with him, but they have spoken to Coach Derrick about coming to a game.
The final goal is, of course, setting himself up for a chance at the NFL.
“I remember sitting in my bed in Montana with my six Cam Newton FatHeads, telling mom I was going to play in the NFL while jumping into a Carolina Panthers bean bag. I’ve always had that dream. Mom and Dad have driven me to all these camps, spent all that registration money. I’m going to have to eventually mow the lawn a lot.”
If the next six years go as planned, he’ll be able to buy them a new house to go with that lawn.
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show w Brandon Derrick September 22
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron September 20
Three Amigos
By: Joe Delaney
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Man, fall is in the air! Football is all over the place. Whether it’s our local high schools, college, or the pros.
But, let’s give it up for the Atlanta Braves. The World Series Wonders are fighting for the NL East title with the Metropolitans and win or lose will be back into playoffs.
The kicker on this is that the Braves have been built the same way Kirby has built the Dawgs. And that’s for the long haul.
The Braves have a guy running the show who has been pulling all the right strings since he came to Atlanta. Alex Anthopoulos came to the Braves in 2017 and was promoted to president of baseball operations in February of 2020.
He is the mastermind behind what is happening to the Braves. Anthopoulos was the guy who reworked the Braves lineup late last season to bring in Adam Duvall, Joc Peterson and Eddie Rosario. I don’t think the Bravos win it all without those moves.
Duvall was steady as a rock. Joc Peterson had half of Truist Park wearing pearl necklaces and ole Eddie was the NLCS MVP. Yeah, Anthopoulos pulled all the right strings last year.
But what about that deal for the long haul? What have you done for us lately, Alex? Well, he has worked on the Braves from the ground up and man this dude doesn’t play around.
The Braves have three of the top overall prospects in the majors now on their roster.
How good are they? Two of them will probably finish 1 and 2 in the rookie of the year voting and the third is a consensus top 10.
We’re talking about Spencer Strider, Michael Harris II, and Vaughn Grissom. These guys all have greatness written all over them.
Spencer Strider has struck out 200 batters in 132 innings. He carries an 11-5 record as of today. He consistently hits 97-100 on the gun. One of his teammates was asked how he ranked Strider and his reply was “just under deGrom”. Jacob deGrom is a future Hall of Famer.
Spencer Strider is 23 years old. Get used to seeing ladies with black fake moustaches at Truist Park! The guy is becoming his own little cult!
Vaughn Grissom is 21 years old and was brought up by the Braves when Ozzie Albies went down with a fractured foot over the summer.
He skipped AAA ball and came up from AA. With the Braves, he has played sterling defense and is batting .302 with 5 HR and 16 RBI in 34 games. Now with Ozzie out again with a fractured pinky, Grissom will finish out the season at 2B. This guy has a chance to be a great one.
Last but not least of these three amigos is Michael Harris II. He is the odds-on favorite for NL Rookie of the Year.
The amazing thing about that is he only came up to the Braves at the end of May. Harris has solidified center field for the Braves and should be there for the foreseeable future.
He is currently hitting .305 with 18 HR and 59 RBI and 17 SB. He is 21 years old.
Anthopoulos knows his stuff and just signed the rookie Harris to an 8 year 72 million contract.
So, this is how Alex Anthopoulos is building the Braves for the future. And what a future it’s going be. These guys are loaded and now have a lineup that is as good as any in baseball. I think ole Alex is gonna keep it that way. GO BRAVES!
MCA Buccaneers Coach’s Show w Bradley Warren September 19
New Chiefs
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Here are my latest observations about the Seminoles after their 3-0 start this season.
1 — This team’s toughness is legit. Every time things begin to look bleak; these guys find a way to fight back. Whether it’s the defense making a stop or creating a turnover or the offense stepping up to make a play.
Remembering Norvell’s Memphis teams, when we learned that FSU was targeting him for their vacant head coaching job in late 2019, what stood out most was how hard Memphis competed snap by snap.
They were physical on both sides of the ball, and seemed unfazed by the score or situation. Whether ahead or behind, Memphis seemed to play with the same high level of energy and intensity.
It’s such a positive thing to see a strong program battle back after challenging years. FSU fans should be falling in love with this team.
They know there will be times this season when the offense sputters or the defense has major lapses — heck, that’s already happened in the last two games (double heck, this ain’t even pro football! Kids mess up all the time). However, toughness is something that shouldn’t come or go. You have it or you don’t. Grit is absolute.
2 —Trey Benson’s break out. Even though he had 100-plus yards in the season opener against Duquesne, I didn’t think we saw the real Trey Benson in either of Florida State’s first two games.
I don’t know if maybe it was taking a little time to get acclimated to the speed of the game against teams like LSU and Louisville. If that was the case, it would be understandable. Remember, he missed nearly all of last season due to a catastrophic knee injury when he was at Oregon.
Maybe he’s just still getting comfortable with Norvell’s offense. Whatever the case, the guy is 6-foot-1, 215 pounds and built differently than everybody else FSU has in the backfield.
FSU got game(plans). As much credit as Florida State’s players deserve, the coaching staff prepare excellent strategies.
Despite the fact that QB Tate Rodemaker struggled several times in critical situations, Norvell was convinced that he would eventually turn the corner. Rodemaker may have actually done just that.
Injuries + Recruiting. Florida State has been dealing with several injury concerns. Then the list got much longer during the trip to Louisville, with QB Jordan Travis, DE Jared Verse, DL Malcolm Ray, OT Robert Scott, LB Tatum Bethune and others either leaving the game completely or missing time.
I also see the drop off in recruiting the past three years costing the Seminoles for the remainder of this season. With injuries mounting, the lack of depth will hurt the Seminoles as they navigate the remainder of their schedule.
FSU is off to a great start. The was the last time FSU had a 10-win season was 2015.
Will Norvell lead the Seminoles back to glory or will their lack of depth have them come up short?
Hurricane Warning
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Following a humbling defeat at the hands of Appalachian State, Texas A&M dropped all the way to No. 24 in the AP Poll this week.
You won’t hear Miami Hurricanes Coach Mario Cristobal talking much about that, not before Miami makes a ‘business trip’ to College Station this weekend.
The first-year Miami head coach harped on that term repeatedly in his press conference on Monday ahead of Saturday’s big road game.
Miami, of course, has been excellent through two weeks. The Hurricanes have smashed both Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss.
Neither will present the kind of challenge Texas A&M will, but the Aggies have not been firing on all cylinders so far this season. The Hurricanes are aware of that, yet seem primarily focused on themselves this week.
Cristobal was quick to heap praise on the Aggies, even though their starting quarterback Haynes King has struggled mightily (even Jimbo Fisher stated there may be a quarterback change).
To that end, Cristobal simply needs to show players A&M’s recruiting results.
Even if the talent hasn’t gelled just yet at Texas A&M, it’s clear the Aggies have it in spades. Texas A&M’s 2022 recruiting class ranked No. 1 nationally.
Whatever happens Saturday, one thing is sure: Cristobal will learn a lot from Miami’s business trip.
The Miami Hurricanes have won 5 of their last 7 road games. Tyler Van Dyke is completing 73.9 percent of his passes for 456 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Xavier Resterpo and Michael Redding III have combined for 248 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, while Brashard Smith has 6 receptions.
The Miami Hurricanes ground game is averaging 241 yards per contest, and Henry Parrish Jr. leads the way with 217 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Defensively, Miami is allowing 10 points and 286.5 yards per game. Corey Flagg Jr. leads the Miami Hurricanes with 10 tackles, Jacob Lichtenstein has 1 sack and James Williams has 1 interception.
The Texas A&M Aggies have won 5 of their last 6 home games. Haynes King is completing 64.7 percent of his passes for 461 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Ainias Smith and Evan Stewart have combined for 290 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, while Yulkeith Brown has 4 receptions.
The Texas A&M Aggies ground game is averaging 99.5 yards per contest, and Devon Achane leads the way with 108 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Defensively, Texas A&M is allowing 8.5 points and 256.5 yards per game. Antonio Johnson leads the Texas A&M Aggies with 17 tackles, LT Overton has 1 sack and Jardin Gilbert has 1 interception.
Neither team looked great last week, but I’ll chalk some of it up to both clubs looking ahead to this game, which has playoff implications.
With that said, there’s some real concern for the Texas A&M Aggies, who haven’t gotten any offense going through 2 games. Texas A&M can’t run the ball and is 102nd in total offense and 102nd in scoring offense.
The Miami-FL Hurricanes have one of the better quarterbacks in the country, and he currently has a top-20 rushing attack supporting him.
Texas A&M is currently 86th in run defense. Miami will steal this game on the road.
Miami 27 Texas A&M 17
