By: Michael Spiers

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Following the retirement of legendary Wildcats head coach Jeff Herron at the end of 2023 high school football season, which included a trip the GHSA 7A semifinals last November and a career that included three state championships at Camden, the Wildcat Way is going to have a new look for 2024.

Enter new Camden head coach, Travis Roland.

After spending a little time with him, you begin to understand that he doesn’t feel the need to fill the huge shoes left by his predecessor. Instead, the 2023 Florida High School Athletic Association 3S Coach of the Year is bringing his own pair of shoes to Kingsland.

Roland comes to Camden County after three years as the head man at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, FL where his Buccaneers finished last season as the Florida 3S state champions after a dramatic come-from-behind victory against St. Augustine.

Daytona was home for Coach Roland and he finished his time at Mainland High School, which is also his alma mater, with a 30-10 record. Prior to Mainland, he spent four years as the head coach at Flagler Palm Coast. His career record as head coach stands at an impressive 58-22.

Anyone who has followed Camden County football over the years knows that the Wildcats’ signature has been as a power running team, mostly operating in the Wing-T. Coach Roland will begin to evolve that system by including more passing concepts and spread formations.

The Wildcats also have a new offensive coordinator in Grant Alford, who comes to Kingsland after spending eight years as an assistant coach at Florida’s Lake Minneola High School.

Starting quarterback Parks Riendeau returns for his junior season and is looking to continue the momentum from last year’s deep playoff run.

Riendeau is a tough-as-nails kid with all the leadership qualities you could ask for.

In addition to the QB, the Wildcats offense will undoubtedly benefit from the play of senior athlete, Elyiss Williams. The 6-foot-7, 235-pound tight end has a 5-star rating from most major recruiting services and has committed to play for Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs beginning in 2025.

Coach Roland is known as a defensive coach, and all signs point to him being the one to call plays on that side of the ball.

The Wildcats will be looking to replace the entire defensive front as that group consisted of all seniors last season.

Big things will be expected this coming year from Jam and Jav, the Daley twins, who are rising seniors. Ja’maric Daley saw action last year at the safety position, while twin brother, Ja’varis Daley, contributed as a linebacker.

Xavier Brown should step in and fill the spot at inside linebacker for his junior year, but I expect this defense to be led by senior Wayne Austell who showed incredible improvement throughout the season last year as an outside linebacker.

The Wildcats finished last season with an overall record of 10-4, earning playoff victories against Newton, McEachern and Mill Creek before losing to Walton in the state class 7A semifinal.

After all of that, Camden will enter the 2024 season in a new classification. The Georgia High School Association has done away with class 7A in an effort to decrease the distances between schools in its highest classification for football, which will now be 6A.

In addition to Camden County, the new Region 1-6A will include Richmond Hill, Colquitt County, Lowndes, Valdosta, and the return of old region foe, Tift County.

The top four teams in the region will be eligible for the 2024 playoffs.

The Wildcats schedule for 2024 is:

8/9      at         Benedictine (Savannah)         Scrimmage

8/16    at         Brunswick HS                          Brunswick, GA

8/23    vs         East Lake HS, FL                      Kingsland, GA

8/30    vs         West Broward HS, FL              Kingsland, GA

9/6      vs         Ribault HS, FL                          Kingsland, GA

9/13    vs         Spruce Creek HS, FL                Kingsland, GA

9/27    at         Valdosta HS (Region)              Valdosta, GA

10/4    vs         Richmond Hill (Region)           Kingsland, GA

10/11  at         Lowndes HS (Region)              Valdosta, GA

10/25  vs         Colquitt HS (Region)               Kingsland, GA

11/1    vs         Tift County HS (Region)          Kingsland, GA