Jeff Herron and his Camden County Wildcats had heard it all before: the comments from high school football fans and pundits alike who said Herron’s run-heavy, triple-option Wing-T attack would never work at the Class 7A level. Sure, Camden won numerous region titles and three state championships under Herron with this same offensive approach before, and the Wildcats are still the third-winningest team this century in the state’s largest class. (Lowndes is No. 1 with 228 wins and Grayson is No. 2 with 227. Camden is now at 226.) But hey, things were different now. If you were going to win and survive in today’s highest classification, you’d have to learn to start throwing the football.
Well, so much for the so-called experts.
When it comes to experts, Herron is one of the best at winning football games when it counts, and the 2023 Camden County team definitely won when it mattered. Following a 1-1 start to the season, Camden would win six of its final eight games, including key region matchups against Richmond Hill and, in the regular-season finale, against Lowndes, to finish 2-2 in region play. That was good enough to make the playoffs, but only as the No. 3 seed, which meant Camden County would have to play away from the friendly confines of Chris Gilman Stadium, where the Wildcats won five of seven home games in 2023.
Camden County entered the playoffs at Newton, a team that had spent much of the season in Class 7A Top-10 rankings and had impressive wins over the Grayson Rams and Westlake Lions. But the Wildcats pulled off the first of three stunning playoff wins against the home Rams, scoring 29 unanswered points after falling behind 15-0. Camden had entered the game as a 21-point underdog.
Next, it was Camden County’s defense that rose up against the McEachern Indians. The Wildcats defeated the Region 3-7A champions 26-0 in the second round of the state playoffs. As with their first-round game, the Wildcats entered the game as an underdog but proved everyone wrong once again.
Next up, in a third-round quarterfinal matchup, Camden County traveled to take on the defending state champion Mill Creek Indians. It was Camden’s first quarterfinal game since 2012, which was the final season of Herron’s first tenure at the Kingsland school. Entering the game as a double-digit underdog again, the Wildcats pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the state playoffs with a dominating 39-20 victory. The 333-mile trip was well worth it for Herron and his Wildcats.
This magical season came to an end with a semifinal loss against the Walton Indians by a 41-25 score. It concluded a successful 10-4 season and a playoff run like Camden County hadn’t seen in a long time.
“It was very enjoyable and gratifying to watch our team mature and start believing they could beat anyone again like the Camden County of old,” Herron said. “Going on the road and winning like we did in the playoffs was quite a ride.”
Quite a ride indeed. Herron said the total round-trip mileage his Camden County team covered in its final two regular-season and four playoff games was the equivalent of traveling from Kingsland to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
Whatever it takes. Never count out Jeff Herron and that triple-option Wing-T, Veer – or whatever you want to call it – ever again.
