In what might have been a preview of a playoff game, the No. 2 Grayson Rams won a slugfest with the No. 4-ranked defending state champion Camden County Wildcats 14-10 on Saturday at the Georgia Dome after cashing in on a fourth-quarter turnover.
“It was a statement game,” declared Grayson head coach Mickey Conn. “Any time you can beat a heavyweight like Camden County, they’re the defending state champs…they’ve got a great program and a great football team.”
Ean Pemberton starred for the Rams, as the diminutive senior tailback rushed for both Grayson touchdowns on the night. Pemberton accounted for all 42 yards of the decisive scoring drive including the final three yards when he scored on a three-yard touchdown with 6:16 left in the game.
“It was a big win, stated Pemberton. “We wanted to show how our offense had (improved) from last year. Our linemen did a good job of blocking and our backs did a good job running and we were successful running the ball. And that’s what we do.”
The game-winning drive came after the Grayson defense recovered a Wildcat fumble on the 42-yard line.
“You’re always looking for those breaks, explained Conn. “They got them in the third quarter and they took advantage of them.”
“I’m proud of our guys that they took advantage of the mishaps. It showed a lot of poise from our kids.”
The Rams struck first when diminutive star tailback Ean Pemberton plunged in from the one to end the first drive of the second quarter.
Camden County would even things up when Michael Hamilton blocked an Andy Edwards punt teammate DJ Williams-Reed returned it for a touchdown.
On their next drive, the Wildcats would take the lead on a 35-yard field goal.
But Pemberton would not let his team stay behind for long.
Both teams will have next week off. Grayson will then host Warner Robins on Sept. 4 while Camden County will host First Coast (FL) in the Georgia/Florida Border War.
Black can be reached at sblack@scoreatl.com.
In the marquee game of the night, the Ean Pemberton-led Grayson Rams showed some impressive poise in holding off a Camden County comeback. The Rams, ranked second in Class 5A and a State Semifinalist last year, looked sluggish in the first half against a Camden County defense that still ranks among the best in the state.
But, at the start of the second, Grayson quarterback Patrick Santy found receiver Jake Hannon for a 45-yard gain. Pemberton later gained 19 yards on third and 11 before Santry plunged in from a yard out. Pemberton, all 5-feet-4 of him, was impressive in the Rams’ triple option attack, flashing some of the best acceleration you’ll see and came up with big runs when needed. With seven minutes left in the fourth, Grayson was able to recover a Camden County fumble at the Wildcat 42, and Pemberton again broke loose for a vital 24-yard gain. The diminutive back scored a play later to help Grayson regain the lead. Pemberton is the life of this offense and truly is a special player.
As impressive as Pemberton was, though, the Grayson defense should be a force to be reckoned with. Defensive tackle Shawn Green, a Georgia Tech commit, drew double teams all night, freeing up Ram linebackers to make numerous stops in the backfield. One of those linebackers, senior Terry Williams, absolutely flew to the ball and seemingly was involved in every tackle. Safety Kori Gaines will play at BYU next year and showed nice range to deflect several of Camden County’s few pass attempts. This Ram defense will keep Grayson in every ballgame.
Camden County, on the other hand, proved that there’s still work left to be done in Kingsland in order to replace 15 starters off last years’ State Champion team. Quarterback play will be an issue for the Wildcats, but more importantly, running backs Aundre Johnson and Ean Days must step up in order for Jeff Herron’s bunch to continue running the Wing-T effectively.
At the very least for Camden, though, a solid defense will help to make up for an offense that may take several games to get all the pieces sorted out. For the most part, the Wildcats did a nice job of containing Pemberton and Santry—but as they showed tonight, a great defense can’t cover all your flaws.
Foster Lander can be reached at flander@scoreatl.com.
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