Jason Bishop
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron
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.
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron October 25
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron October 18
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron October 4
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.
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron September 20
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron September 13
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron September 6
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron August 30
