By: Michael Spiers

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

We are now a month into the Tucker Pruitt era at Camden County and I think we are beginning to get a pretty good idea of what this new version of Wildcat football might look like.

It certainly hasn’t been perfect. There have been mistakes, some defensive breakdowns and one tough loss. Most importantly, the Wildcats have already shown they can win in several different ways.

The season began with a strange two-day victory at Brunswick. Lightning stopped the game Friday night and forced Camden to return Saturday morning to finish it. The Wildcats handled the disruption, leaned heavily on the running game and came away with a 35-21 victory.

A week later, Camden looked much more comfortable offensively in a 42-13 win over Glynn Academy. Xavier Collins threw four touchdown passes, Sean Green caught three of them and the Wildcats rolled up more than 400 yards of offense.

Then came the first real punch in the mouth. Camden went to Savannah and lost 27-23 to a very good Benedictine team. The frustrating part was that the Wildcats had a 23-17 lead entering the fourth quarter and couldn’t finish it.

That’s why I think what happened against Godby might tell us more about this team than either of the first two wins.

This time Camden was the team trailing entering the fourth quarter, 21-18. Godby quarterback Landon Dougherty threw for 416 yards and 5 touchdowns, and there were plenty of moments when it looked like the Wildcats might suffer a second straight close loss.

Instead, Camden scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and found a way to win 39-36. Collins completed 17 of 20 passes for 214 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Green caught 8 passes for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns. Just as importantly, the defense came up with two interceptions at critical moments.

A week after failing to protect a fourth-quarter lead, Camden found a way to erase a fourth-quarter deficit. That’s progress.

Pruitt inherited a program with plenty of talent, but changing coaches always means changing expectations, terminology, schemes and culture. Four games isn’t nearly enough time to judge where the program ultimately goes under Pruitt, but a 3-1 start gives Camden something solid to build on.

The Wildcats still have Ed White and West Broward before an open week gives them a chance to prepare for what really matters, and that’s Region 1-7A play.

Anyone that knows about Region 1-7A knows it’s not a friendly walk in the park. Lowndes and Valdosta are both 4-0 and ranked among the top teams in Class 7A.

Lowndes has been especially impressive defensively, allowing only 14 points through four games, including shutouts of Harris County and Blanche Ely.

Valdosta has gone the opposite direction and simply overwhelmed people offensively. The Wildcats have scored at least 52 points in every game and have piled up 222 points in four weeks.

Richmond Hill is also 4-0, including a 13-7 road win over Ware County last Friday. Then there is Colquitt County, which may be 2-2 but has played a much different schedule, with losses to unbeaten Thomas County Central and unbeaten Lee County.

Nobody has played a region game yet, so all of this is simply setting the stage. Camden begins region play October 9 at Lowndes, followed by Richmond Hill at home, Valdosta on the road and Colquitt County at home. There won’t be an easy Friday night anywhere in that stretch.

But that’s still a few weeks away. For now, Pruitt’s first Camden team is 3-1. They’ve won on the road, won comfortably at home, lost a close one and responded by winning a shootout.

There is plenty left to clean up. But through four games, these Wildcats have also given us plenty of reasons to keep watching.