Camden County had its chance late in the fourth quarter to ice the game and win its second state title in six years. But that went south when quarterback Christian Milstead threw an interception to Peachtree Ridge’s cornerback Brian Williams at the Lions’ 1-yard line with three minutes left in the game. But the Camden defense came up with a big play as linebacker Ty Booth intercepted a Nick Lombardo pass with a minute and a half left, and the Wildcats went on to win 21-14.
“We should fire the guy that called that play,” joked Camden County head coach Jeff Herron about the pass play he called on which Milstead was intercepted. “I can’t tell the defense ‘please bail me out’ because that was the stupidest play call in my life, probably.”
As for the Lions, they got on the board first in the game with a Ronnie Smith 3-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. They were able to score due to an Aundre’ Johnson fumble at midfield.
“We told our kids at halftime, ‘men, we got them right where we want them,’ and they all looked at me like I was crazy,” Herron added. “But I did feel like we controlled the whole half and we were behind. At the same time, I felt like we were going to do everything great in the second half.”
That great second half started with an interception by Josh Johnson, which was returned to the Lions’ 1-yard line. Darryl Williams was able to punch it in for the 1-yard score on the Wildcats’ ensuing possession. The Lions answered back with a Ronnie Smith 93-yard touchdown score to go back up by seven. But the Wildcats would strike back, Milstead threw an 85-yard touchdown strike to DeAngelo Williams to tie the game at 14. When Camden got the ball minutes later, Darryl Williams was able to find the end zone again for another 1-yard touchdown run to give the Wildcats the lead and the win.
“It’s been a special year,” Herron said. “We had our share of problems, don’t get me wrong. The injuries and things like that … but, golly, this group here has overcome adversity time and again. My hat’s off to them.”
Camden finishes the year 15-0 for second undefeated season all-time (the other was in 2003, the year of the Wildcats’ only other title). Camden had to do some traveling this year, as the Wildcats made the trek to the Georgia Dome at the beginning of the year for the Corky Kell Classic and then made the trip to Hoover, Ala., in the third game of the year. Camden had to travel to Newnan in the semifinals and then returned to the Dome to end the year.
As for the Lions, they finish the year at 12-3 and their championship game appearance is the second in three years for the school. With head coach Bill Ballard at the helm and a lot of returning talent, they have all the tools to go deep in the playoffs for many years to come. In 2008, however, Camden County proved it had the best football team in the state, and the town of Kingsland will no doubt cherish this hard-fought championship.
Jones can be reached at bjones@scoreatl.com.
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