Chardon vs. Camden (N.J.) football: Hilltoppers bracing for colossal showdown with loaded Panthers
Aug. 25—The Chardon football team has played some high-level programs through the years with high-level players — or "dudes" as Coach Mitch Hewitt likes to call them.
What the Hilltoppers will see at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Aug. 27 might be unlike anything he and the Chardon program have ever seen.
Chardon (1-0) will put its 29-game winning streak on the line against an ultra-loaded Camden, N.J., team that features seven or more Division I college recruits, including a receiver who just picked up an offer from the Georgia Bulldogs.
The Chardon-Camden game is the middle game of a triple-header at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in what is being billed as the "Freedom Bowl" series. Clarkson North (Canada) plays Massillon Perry at 2 p.m. on Aug. 27, followed by Chardon-Camden. The nightcap at St. Frances (Md.) Academy vs. East St. Louis (Mo.) at 8 p.m.
"This is top to bottom the most Division I (college recruits) we've faced in one game," Hewitt said. "There's like seven of them. Yeah, Lynn Bowden (Warren Harding, and now with the Miami Dolphins) is the best player we've ever played, but this Camden team has more Power Five players than we've ever faced in one game."
Defensive end James Heard (6-3, 225) has given his verbal commitment to West Virginia.
Defensive tackle Richard James (6-0, 265) has done so as well.
Junior receiver Jalan Hornsby (6-3, 200) has offers from Georgia, Michigan and Penn State, among others.
Numerous others have offers from schools such as Temple, Rutgers, Boston College, Marshall and Monmouth.
"Oh yeah, 100 percent, we're the underdogs," Hewitt said. "But our kids know that and they know they've got something to prove. Games like this are an opportunity for you to get paid yourself (in terms of college offers). The best film you can produce is against other Division I athletes. No one wants to see tape of you against bums. They want to see how you stack up against the elite. This is one of those games."
Coach Rob Hinson is in his first year as the head coach at his alma mater. The 51-year-old spent the past few years on the staff at Rutgers under Coach Greg Schiano.
The bout with Chardon is Camden's first game, one which Hinson calls "A tall task that we're not taking lightly. It's a tall freaking task."
While many, if not most, high school teams in Ohio have long abandoned Wing-T-based running schemes like Chardon runs, Hinson said many teams in New Jersey still run that. They don't, however, run it like Chardon does.
"The way Chardon runs it is on a whole other level," Hinson said. "You can't key on one person. If you chase the sweep, then that quarterback (Alex Henry) is going to murder you. We have to be perfect on every play.
"Our overall athleticism is our strength on defense. But Chardon's got that, too."
Offensively, Camden not only has a star receiver in Hornsby, sophomore quarterback Deante Ruffin (6-3, 220) is a load with a strong arm. They key for his offense, Stinson said, is on the offensive line.
"Chardon's front three is about as good you will ever see on the high school level without all the (big-time college) acclaim," he said. "That No. 9 (Cooper Felger) is a monster. An absolute tank. We better block those guys. We're gonna have to find a way to emulate and play as hard as they do. You better match Chardon's intensity, or they'll overwhelm you."
Both programs are embracing the excitement of playing at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in a national showcase. Hinson said he scheduled many out-of-state games when he was the head coach at Timber Creek, N.J., including trips to Toledo Central Catholic and Columbus Bishop Hartley.
Playing at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium is nothing new to Chardon. The Hilltoppers beat Hamilton Badin, 21-14, in the 2021 state championship game at that venue last season. But the matchup with Camden is a game on the national scale. Being asked to play in such a showcase, and doing so with the state of Ohio's longest current winning streak at 29 games, is blessing — and also a curse.
"It's really neat," Hewitt said. "Again, it's a testament to past Hilltoppers who put our name as a program back up to where it belongs. But it's also a burden (i.e. expectations) to future Hilltoppers."
Chardon vs. Camden, N.J.
What: Nonconference game
When: 5 p.m., Aug. 27
Where: Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium
Records: Chardon 1-0, Camden 0-0
Last week: Chardon def. Olmsted Falls, 14-7, Camden did not play
