High school football AAAAA championship preview: Camden County vs. Northside-WR

“I remember him telling me in the interview, ‘We’ve had success at Camden County, but we haven’t had a lot of playoff success,’” Herron said. “He said, ‘Make no mistake about it, we want our next coach to be successful in the playoffs.’ After those first two years when we weren’t [successful, losing in the first-round], I was worried about that for sure.”

Herron’s worries are long gone. Camden County is 120-13 this decade with five trips to the semifinals and two state championships (2003 and 2008).

Camden’s opponent on Saturday, Northside-Warner Robins, has almost identical numbers. The Eagles are 121-13 with state titles in 2006 and 2007.

The winner of this game can make a claim that it is Georgia’s top program of the decade — 2000-09. The only school with more victories since 2000 is Buford, a Class AA school, with 137.

“It’s probably unfortunate that we don’t reflect on it enough or have the time to absorb it,” said Conrad Nix, who got his 300th victory as a head coach in the semifinals. “It’s something we’ll give more appreciation and consideration as time goes by. We’re so busy for the next day, the next practice. It’s just a great blessing from God who has allowed us to enjoy this.’’

— Todd Holcomb

CAMDEN COUNTY (12-2)

The skinny

Lowndes coach Randy McPherson, whose team lost to Camden County 10-7 in the second round, breaks down the Wildcats’ offense and defense:

• Offense: “Everybody knows they run the Wing T. They’ve got several good running backs. No. 32 [Ean Days] is big, strong and fast. He’s their top back. The quarterback doesn’t do much running. They made some plays against us throwing. They make you play sound defense. If you don’t, they’re going to find what’s not sound and gash it.”

• Defense: “They play a 3-5. It’s a defense that doesn’t really have superstars. There’s not a lot of size, but they’re quick and strong. They’re good tacklers. If you don’t block them, they’re going to make the tackle. You’ve got to run it and throw it. If they think you can’t throw, they’re going to get up on you, now.”

AJC rating: 39

• Run [10]: (282 yards per game) Camden has two 1,000-yard rushers — Ean Days (1,367) and Aundre Johnson (1,130).

• Pass [4]: (36 yards per game) QB Joel Ruiz (22-of-53, 336 yards) has thrown six touchdown passes with one interception.

• Vs. run [8]: (85 yards per game) Strength of the defense is the three down linemen.

• Vs. pass [8]: (90 yards per game) All defensive backs and ponies are first-year starters.

• Special teams [9]: Matt Ehasz has made nine of 10 field-goal attempts with a long of 45 yards. Days has two kick-return touchdowns.

Need to know basis

• The history: Camden County is the southeastern most county in Georgia and home to Cumberland Island and the Kings Bay Naval Marine Base. The football program is 120-13 this decade with state titles in 2003 and 2008.

• Last year: Defeated Peachtree Ridge 21-14 in the Class AAAAA championship game.

Starting lineups

OFFENSE

QB – 4 Joel Ruiz, 6-3, 181, Jr.

HB – 32 *Ean Days, 6-0, 195, Sr.

FB – 15 Aundre Johnson, 5-10, 185, Sr.

HB – 2 Darius Sullivan, 5-6, 145, Sr.

WR – 10 Jalen Simmons, 6-2, 173, Jr.

WR – 9 Steven Murphy, 6-1, 164, Sr.

TE - 81 Zach Griffis, 6-0, 203, Sr.

C – 76 Thomas Martin, 6-1, 243, Sr.

LG – 73 Robert Gabriel, 6-0, 229, Sr.

LT – 59 Johnny Keller, 6-3, 247, Sr.

RT – 77 Luke Mercier, 6-0, 246, Sr.

RG – 60 Nick Altiser, 5-10, 183, So.

PK – 97 Matt Ehasz, 5-8, 143, Jr.

DEFENSE

LE – 40 *Matt Jackson, 6-2, 215, Sr.

NG – 56 *Jeremiah Booth, 6-1, 302, Sr.

RE – 90 *Derrick Saulsberry, 6-2, 215, Sr.

LLB – 38 Willie Thacker, 5-10, 177, Sr.

MLB – 32 *Ean Days, 6-0, 195, Sr.

RLB – 21 Glen Mack, 5-10, 186, Sr.

Pony – 20 Nate Haymon, 5-7, 170, Sr.

Pony – 24 D.J. Williams-Reed, 5-8, 144, Jr.

CB – 5 J.J. Green, 5-6, 145, Fr.

CB – 9 Steven Murphy, 6-1, 164, Sr.

FS – 39 Zack Marx, 5-10, 157, Sr.

P – 14 Brice Ramsey, 6-1, 178, Fr.

* Division I-A recruit

Results

8/22 Grayson L 14-10

9/4 First Coast, Fla. W 30-24

9/11 Hoover, Ala. L 30-27

9/25 Windsor Forest W 39-6

10/2 Beach W 56-0

10/9 Groves W 76-0

10/16 Johnson 51-0

10/23 Jenkins 50-0

10/30 Savannah 41-0

11/6 Bradwell Institute 56-9

11/13 Newton 43-19

11/20 Lowndes 10-7

11/27 North Gwinnett 35-0

12/4 Colquitt County 19-10

— Todd Holcomb

NORTHSIDE (13-1)

The skinny

Lowndes coach Randy McPherson, whose team lost to Northside 10-7 on Oct. 2, breaks down the Eagles’ offense and defense:

• Offense: “They use a lot of different formations and motion. You don’t see that a lot. They’ve got a good back in Shaquille O’Neill, and the quarterback [Briar Van Brunt] is a very deceiving, good runner. If you stop the quarterback and running back, they’ve got a couple of receivers that are tough. If you’ve got a hole somewhere, Conrad [Nix, the head coach] is going to figure that out.”

• Defense: “They run a 4-3 but have their own twist to it. They’ll move their linebackers around and blitz a little bit. Their defensive linemen play good technique. They’ve got 11 solid high school football players. You’ve got No. 12 back there [Brison Williams]. He’s the best player on the team. We’ve seen him on film on the best receiver, but he’ll play safety against Camden to help stop the run.”

AJC rating: 39

• Run [7]: (165 yards per game) Expect 90 percent of the carries to go to QB Briar Van Brunt (885 yards, 13 TDs) and Shaquille O’Neille (1,124, 15 TDs).

• Pass [6]: (122 yards per game) Top target is Quin Greene (25 catches, 333 yards).

• Vs. run [9]: (105 yards per game) No opponent has averaged 3.0 yards per rush since Lowndes in the fifth game.

• Vs. pass [8]: (96 yards per game) Top defender is safety Williams, who has committed to South Carolina.

• Special teams [9]: Devon Pike, the punter and kicker, is a college prospect. Watch for Williams returning kicks.

Need to know basis

• The history: Northside is one of three high schools in Houston County. The others are Warner Robins and Houston County. Northside is 121-13 this decade with state titles in 2006 and 2007.

• Last year: Lost to Camden County 28-20 in the second round.

Starting lineups

OFFENSE

QB – 13 Briar Van Brunt, 6-3, 185, Jr.

RB – 6 Shaquille O’Neill, 6-0, 190, Jr.

WR – 10 Quin Greene, 5-11, 180, Sr.

WR – 85 Cartell Brooks, 6-3, 180, So.

WR – 83 Quin Lester, 6-0, 175, Sr.

TE – 26 Stephon Cross, 5-10, 185, Sr.

C – 66 Donnie Werden, 6-0, 225, Sr.

LG – 65 Sam Cherney, 6-0, 250, Sr.

LT – 70 Branden Stephens, 6-3, 265, Sr.

RT – 76 D.J. Williams, 6-4, 275, So.

RG – 57 Gus Del Rio, 6-1, 260, Sr.

PK – 80 *Devon Pike, 5-10, 170, Sr.

DEFENSE

DT – 56 Ian Cunningham, 5-11, 255, Sr.

DT – 99 Troy Williams, 6-0, 270, Jr.

DE – 98 *Greg Clark, 6-4, 280, Sr.

DE – 94 Josh Chester, 6-3, 275, So.

LB - 9 Phillip Jones, 5-9, 210, Sr.

LB – 34 Brock Livatt, 6-2, 205, So.

LB - 22 Deilouse Jackson, 6-0, 210, Jr.

CB - 27 Rashad Wright, 5-11, 175, Sr.

CB - 28 Dontavious Anderson, 5-10, 175, Sr.

FS - 7 *Brandon Brown, 5-11, 180, Sr.

SS - 12 *Brison Williams,5-11, 180, Sr.

P – 80 *Devon Pike, 5-10, 170, Sr.

* Division I-A recruit

Results

8/27 Perry W 42-10

9/11 Carver-Columbus W 21-12

9/18 Valdosta W 16-13

9/25 Houston County W 42-7

10/2 Lowndes W 10-7

10/9 Coffee W 35-3

10/17 Grovetown W 47-7

10/23 Tift County W 27-13

10/30 Warner Robins L 21-20

11/6 Colquitt County W 20-17

11/13 Chapel Hill W 35-14

11/20 Union Grove W 21-10

11/27 Peachtree Ridge 20-17

12/4 Newnan W 29-24

— Todd Holcomb