Wilson's Cam Jones was a formidable force on and off the field

Jun. 23—Doug Dahms has seen a lot in his time coaching the Wilson football team. Since beginning as an assistant coach in 1976 and taking over as the head coach in 2006, Dahms has been a part of the Bulldogs' renowned success for almost 50 years.

And yet in all of that time he has never seen a player as explosive as Wilson's Cam Jones.

"As a player, his punt and kickoff return abilities are off the charts," Dahms said. "He sees the field, he's patient and follows his blocks. Believe me, we've had some very good return people over the years.

"I've been here 47 years and never saw anybody like him."

Jones, a two-time All-State selection as a defensive back and kick returner, was named the 2022 Lancaster-Lebanon League Offensive and Defensive Back of the Year after leading the Bulldogs to an 8-3 record — their 58th straight winning season — and an appearance in the District 3 Class 6A championship.

"To be a part of the winning-season streak, to have that Wilson Bulldog on your helmet or your jersey, it's unbelievable," said Jones, a Holy Cross commit. "The kids who get to be a part of it are the only kids who will understand, and everyone else is watching on the outside wishing they could join in."

Jones scored 26 touchdowns and ran for 999 yards on 113 attempts as a senior. He returned just six punts, but took five of them for touchdowns, with a long of 94 yards. He averaged a 59.7 yards per return. He also returned six kickoffs for 107 yards (17.8 average).

A dominating presence on both sides of the ball, he made 24 tackles, including 16 solo stops, and had six pass breakups.

For those performances, Jones has been selected as one of five finalists for the Reading Eagle's male Athlete of the Year, which will be announced June 29.

Dahms said that Jones' reputation was consistently evident in the way other team's game-planned around him.

To put it simply, avoiding Jones' remarkable strength and agility by any means necessary was the opposition's only chance of stopping him.

"He's fast, he's physical, people realize how strong he is," Dahms said. "He has that knack of being able to break that first arm tackle. He got smart and learned how to get through a wall and follow his blockers. Nobody would kick to him, the whole year.

"He set up a lot of good field position. He was a receiver for us up until this year and the guy that we thought was going to be our main running back got injured early on and we just moved Cam to running back and he had the same attributes that he used as a returner."

"Defensively, nobody went after him. He started three years and after last year I guess they realized there's just no sense. I think they went at him like only seven or eight times all year in the secondary. So he's special."

Jones' athletic talents are complemented by an extraordinary ability to lead while embodying the values that represent a historically prestigious program. For Jones, lessons about accountability and learning to elevate those around him stand out as some of the most meaningful aspects of his career.

"My best trait was my ability to bring up, not only the guys who were already playing but also the guys who were trying to learn the program and learn the tradition," Jones said, "and then kind of bring everyone together to make them successful."

Fittingly for a player who seems to enjoy the coaching side of the game just as much playing, one of Jones' fondest memories from his high school career occurred during a scrimmage where he believed the best qualities of his program's winning tradition were on display.

"My senior year in our scrimmage for Coatesville, we had come out and we weren't really opening up our offense and kind of being limited to the plays we were running," Jones said. "I remember the third group going in, and the guys that know about this will laugh, one of our tackles had slid right on a block when he was supposed to slide left. Our quarterback ended up getting sacked.

"I will never forget our offensive line coach ended up yelling at him (the offensive tackle) and holding him accountable for his actions, letting him know that what he did was wrong. That just shows you the type of program we have, that coaches are still yelling at the third team when they could easily let them go.

"It shows you how the coaches hold everyone accountable, no matter what group or position you're in. They're going to hold you accountable every day, day in and day out. That's what helps keep the Wilson tradition going."

Dahms echoed Jones' sentiments about the importance of the little moments as he shared that one his favorite memories also occurred during a non-game situation. Indeed, perhaps an example of Jones' drive for excellence was also an embodiment of the Bulldogs' relentless culture.

"I remember very specifically a practice where we were going to be playing a team that probably shouldn't have given us any problems whatsoever and teams have a tendency to be a little lackadaisical," Dahms said.

"I remember him jumping on one of our starters about not giving enough effort and that you can't sit back and rest on the laurels; you gotta get out there and you gotta play hard and practice harder. And that stands out. He was forceful, but he was encouraging, and that just embodied Cam."

Jones brought his coaching mindset to the basketball court, as well, where he contributed as a team leader despite missing much of this past season due to injury. A four-year starter and team captain, Jones played 13 games during the 2022-23 season and averaged 8.6 points. He was also named an all-division honorable mention selection in Berks I.

"I don't think I've ever coached a born leader like he is," Wilson basketball coach Matt Coldren said prior to this season. "In eighth grade, I had a conversation with he and his parents about Cam skipping freshmen basketball and coming right to the high school. And that summer in the gym, he would lead everybody and it didn't matter that he was only going into ninth grade.

"You could see he was special. Whatever it is, he has it as a leader. And I think he's going to be a fantastic human being when he's older. He knows how to pull people in and make them feel wanted and be a part of something."

The experience of taking on more of sideline role in basketball was special for Jones as it gave him a newfound perspective on learning the game rather than being in the spotlight.

"I was battling injuries, so not being able to be on the court hurt me; obviously, you want to be playing," Jones said. "Having the ability to kind of take a step back and learn and watch the game instead of playing it is a whole different aspect that I opened my mind to.

"And it made me build my relationship better with the guys on the team because I wasn't the point guard who was constantly on people. I was more like a coach in a way; coaching guys through different situations.

"The biggest thing for me was inspiring the guys who were on the court to want to be playing, to want to come to practice and just have fun."

Jones carried on his ability to inspire off the field as well as a member of several extracurricular organizations. As a member of the National Honor Society, a volunteer for Special Olympics and in special education classrooms, a volunteer for youth basketball and football and a member of the Kingsman Club, Jones was always looking to inspire others.

"This year I was asked to join a club called the Kingsman Club and that was a club started by the ninth-grade principal, Mr. (Ramon) Marquez," Jones said. "He came and asked me to help be a part of something that he can help grow and bring African-Americans together. And there was one kid who really helped us out a lot; he was Caucasian and we did a lot by joining the group and it was one of the best decisions we made.

"This group is kids who came together to grow their leadership skills, their discipline and accountability. I was asked to join and to inspire other kids to join as well.

"It means the world because you can't be somewhere forever, but you can inspire people that are coming up. Then that kind of creates a domino effect and may inspire other kids to keep doing the same thing and it just keeps trickling down. Now you've built a group of kids that have love for each other and want to grow, not only themselves, but the people around them."

With natural abilities and a seamless captaincy in a school district that personifies a winning mentality, Jones handled his talents and the expectations laid before by making a resounding impact.

"He was always team first; it was never about him," Dahms said. "He was always the first person to promote his teammates, make sure they got things done. At the same time, if they weren't working, he was the first person to get on them. That takes a lot of leadership skills to be able to do that and to have that confidence to do that.

"Off the field, he worked as a volunteer in our special education department, getting real close with them all the time. (He has a) real great family life; just a very popular kid who has a really good head on his shoulders in terms of understanding and handling all the notoriety that came with what he did."