No. 2 seed Camden County keeps focus on East Coweta
Nov. 10—After clinching the No. 2 seed out of Region 1-7A, the Camden County Wildcats host the No. 3 seed East Coweta Indians from Region 2-7A at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Saturday game means, Camden County had to add other factors to the final few days of preparation for its first 7A State Football Playoff round.
"Well, it's been a bit unusual," said Camden head coach Jeff Herron. "Like everybody else down here we are trying to figure out how to handle the storm. We are trying to prepare for East Coweta, but also trying to make sure that we can practice and do what's best. That could be whether we are in school or out of school. There is a lot of stuff going on that isn't conducive to us trying to win a football game, but you have to deal with it, and that's part of it. Hopefully, we can get ourselves ready."
Knowing schools would be closed on Friday because of Veterans Day, school boards in the local areas decided to cancel schools for Thursday to keep people off the roads with Tropical Storm Nicole in the area.
However, this isn't the first time Coach Herron and his staff have had to juggle things thrown at them last second. Having dealt with Hurricane Ian, as well as an opponent dropping out last minute and finding a last-minute replacement, Herron jokingly said that the regular season craziness can hopefully prepare them for Saturday.
"This has been a bit unusual. We haven't had a Saturday game, and we are out of school on Thursday and Friday," Herron said. "I'm worried about the kids being able to get to practice. It's a challenge right now."
Still keeping the focus on the task at hand, Camden County comes into the game having won seven of their last eight games. Starting the season off at 0-2, Herron looked back on the season and is happy with how his team responded.
"I think as a coach you hope that you are always improving during the season," Herron said. "That's certainly a goal to always get better each and every week. I think our kids have, our coaches have and I think the team has. It's a different world right now. We are entering the playoffs where anybody can beat anybody and you have to play the very best every night.
"We have had some nights this year where we have played extremely well and we have had some nights where we have played extremely bad. We have some in the middle as well, but right now we have been playing well lately and we have to try and continue that this week."
Entering a highly anticipated game with East Coweta, the Camden County defense will have to pay extra attention to an Indians offense that has playmakers all over the field.
Scoring 32 points a game, the Indians' offense is led by the dynamic duo of Christian Langford and Brady Tillman. Langford, a sophomore quarterback, has thrown for 1,889 yards and 25 touchdowns to 15 interceptions. On the ground, he added 404 yards and three touchdowns to the team. For Tillman, the 6-foot-1 senior has caught 51 balls for 824 yards and 15 touchdowns.
"They are both very talented players," Herron said. "The crazy part is they have a couple of others that are really talented too. Receivers and running backs wise they are talented. They have scored a ton of points on everybody this year. We have to find a way to slow them down. Nobody has stopped them.
"Langford is a phenomenal player and only a sophomore. They have a good team and a good offensive line, good running backs, and receivers. They are sound on defense and the special teams play well."
Knowing the tough task at hand where anybody can beat anybody, the Wildcats will focus on the work they have put into the entire season on the field and in the weight room to get the edge on their opponents.
