After two weeks of football this season, Camden County stood at 1-1. The Wildcats’ win came over Class 2A’s Columbia by just 11 points. The loss was to Brunswick, which had failed to reach the 6A postseason quarterfinals in 2022. Now, three months later, Camden County is very much alive in the playoffs, just one victory away from a state championship game appearance.
When head coach Jeff Herron returned to the program at which he won three state championships, the Wildcats initially struggled. Their 2021 campaign resulted in just four wins, and the defense allowed the second-most points in school history. It was a far cry from the Camden County powerhouse that held opponents to fewer than 100 total points in seven of Herron’s 13 seasons from 2000-2012.
The 2022 campaign brought great improvement. Only Colquitt County and East Coweta managed to score more than 30 points on the Wildcats, and Herron’s trademark Wing-T offense started to achieve its true purpose: ball control. The Wildcats limited their opponents’ scoring simply by controlling time of possession via a multipronged rushing attack. Unfortunately, Camden County saw its season end in the third round of the playoffs with a quarterfinals loss to Grayson.
Entering this year, the hype surrounding Camden County was at its highest since 2015. With several returning playmakers and a five-star tight end transfer – Elyiss Williams from Charlton County – the Wildcats seemed poised to upend Class 7A with their unique style of play.
That vanished after the rough two-game start to the season. The Wildcats rolled through their next four opponents, but some flaws were exposed during region play. Still, they managed to secure the third seed in the playoffs with a road win over Lowndes.
The lower seed meant Camden County would receive no easy path through the 7A playoffs. The first-round opponent was Newton, a team that had beaten ranked Westlake and Grayson squads earlier in the season. The Wildcats’ Wing-T offense got to work and ultimately wore down a Rams team that had scored the game’s first 15 points.
The second round proved even more impressive. Against McEachern, the Wildcats forced three turnovers and rushed for four touchdowns in a shutout victory. That set up the biggest test yet, a quarterfinals matchup against top-ranked Mill Creek.
Camden County set the tone by scoring first and forcing the Hawks to defend against long, methodical drives. The Wildcats piled on a whopping 387 rushing yards and stunned the defending 7A state champions 39-20. It was just as fans imagined when Herron returned two seasons ago. Executed at the highest level of football in Georgia, the Camden Wing-T was unstoppable.
The wild ride doesn’t end yet for the Wildcats. This Friday, Camden County will again travel up north, this time to face Walton and the most explosive offense in the state. The squads’ contrasting styles of play sets up a dream matchup between two of 7A’s best teams. For Camden County, it’s just another opportunity to prove to the rest of the state that unconventional does not mean unsustainable.
