Camden – The 2022 football season was an odd one for Camden High School. That’s because
the Bulldogs didn’t play for the AAA state championship.
After playing for the crown in both 2020 and 2021, CHS bowed out in the third round of the state
playoffs last season. Not this time around.
After suffering its first region loss in four years to finish second in Region 6, Camden hit its stride
in the playoffs, beating Brookland-Cayce 46-30 to win the lower state title. The Bulldogs will face their
old nemesis, Daniel, for the state championship on Saturday at 7 p.m. at South Carolina State’s Oliver
C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg.
“This is one of our goals at the start of every season, to win a lower state championship and then
win a state championship,” said CHS head coach Brian Rimpf. “We had a lot of returners from last year,
especially on offense. We felt really good about our group coming in. We had a disappointing finish to
last year. It seems like the guys had a lot of motivation to get back here.
“I’m really proud of how they’ve come together in the last five or six weeks,” he added. “After
we had our first region loss in four years, the guys have really played well in the last regular-season game
and every week in the playoffs.”
After beating Dreher 48-7 in the first round, the Bulldogs went on the road and beat Region 7
champion Dillon 35-21 and followed it with a 35-28 home win over Gilbert. They then went on the road
to beat Region 5 champion B-C.
The Bulldogs have been very efficient on offense in the playoffs. They didn’t punt against B-C
even though they did have three turnovers.
Camden is averaging 40.6 points per game and 387.6 yards of total offense per game. Senior 3-
year starting quarterback Grayson White is leading the way.
White has completed 202 of 311 passes for 3,611 yards and 36 touchdowns against just nine
interceptions. White’s also the leading rusher with 705 yards and 18 touchdowns on 126 carries.
“It comes down to quarterback play, and our quarterback is playing as one of the best
quarterbacks in the state, Rimpf said of White. “Just the efficiency, we’re completing three out of every
four passes. I think anybody in the state would take that.”
White has two 1,000-yard receivers to throw to in 3-year starter Jah Mayrant and Aidan Heriot.
Mayrant has 77 catches – many of them coming 6-inch shovel passes for jet sweeps – for 1,323 yards and
14 TDs. Heriot gets most of his yards the more conventional way with 58 catches for 1,004 yards and 10
TDs.
Senior Maxwell Ford has 35 catches for 737 yards and eight TDs. Tight end Donald Moore has
six catches for 164 yards and three scores.
Senior running back Averee Hickmon, another 3-year starter, has come on strong in the playoffs.
He’s rushed for 655 yards and 10 TDs on 130 carries.
The offensive line is led by Rimpf’s son, senior left tackle Carter Rimpf, who has been selected
to play in the Touchstone Energy Cooperative Bowl.
The remainder of the line has senior James Williams at left guard, junior Jamir Richardson at
center, junior Jacob Anderson at right guard and junior Tanner Bracey at right tackle.
“The offensive line has continued to get better,” Coach Rimpf said. “They compete really hard,
they make downfield blocks, they run well. They really have done a good job of letting our skill guys get
through the first level of the defense. It’s been a physical group.”
Defensively, Camden hasn’t been a shut-the-door type of team. The Bulldogs are allowing an
average of 18.5 points, but they have forced a school record 44 turnovers and has scored six touchdowns.
Coach Rimpf likes the versatility of his defensive unit, which is called the Black Swarm.
“What’s great about our defense is the ability to match up with whoever it is on the other side of
the ball,” he said. “It really hasn’t mattered what kind of offense our defense has played. We’ve been
successful in stopping it.”
Rimpf and Williams start on the defensive line along with sophomore Dontrell Wilson. Rimpf
has 15 tackles, one tackle for loss and one quarterback pressure. Williams has 45 tackles, 10 TFLs, two
quarterback sacks and 10 QBPs, while Wilson has 64 ½ tackles, 3 ½ sacks, 13 TFLs seven QBPs.
Senior linebacker Wilson Nash is far and away the leading tackle with 183. He has three sacks,
12 TFLs and one QBP.
The other starting linebackers are senior Emmanuel Presbot, senior Tyrin Macklin and junior
Javon Wesley. Presbot has 114 ½ tackles, 2 ½ sacks and five TFLs. Macklin has a team high 20 TFLs
among his 76 ½ tackles to go with 1 ½ sacks, six QBPs and three forced fumbles. He also has two
interceptions, returning one for a touchdown.
Wesley has 25 tackles and one QBP.
The secondary is made up of junior Jo Jo Crim, junior Lavonte Williams, junior Wyatt
Thompson and sophomore Tylin Drakeford. Crim, Drakeford and Thompson have four interceptions
apiece with Crim and Drakeford returning one apiece for scores. Williams has just one INT, but it was a
70-yard Pick 6.
Crim has 87 tackles, one TFL and 15 passes broken up. Drakeford has 93 tackles and five PBUs,
Thompson has 93 tackles and six PBUs, and Williams has 36 tackles and four PBUs.
White is seeing time at defensive end and actually leads the team with six sacks. He also returned
an interception for a score.
Ford is the placekicker, connecting on 36 of 40 extra point attempts. Heriot is averaging 35.3
yards per punt on 16 attempts.
Crim is a threat returning kickoffs, taking one back for a touchdown and averaging 28.4 yards on
seven attempts.
The Bulldogs bring an 11-3 record into the game against Daniel, which is 14-0 and has gone 50-1
in going back to 2020, when it won the first of the two title games against CHS.
Coach Rimpf likes where his team is going into the title game.
“We play with a lot of confidence,” he said. “Our quarterback is playing at the highest level in the
state, our defense has continued to play well. We’ve got a lot of guys making plays, expecting to make
plays.
“Our guys are expecting to win. Us getting here isn’t a surprise to our guys as much as it is to
everybody else.”
Offense
15 – QB – Grayson White, Sr.
8 – RB – Averee Hickmon, Sr.
2 – WR – Jah Mayrant, Sr.
7 – WR – Aidan Heriot, Sr.
14 – WR – Maxwell Ford, Sr.
18 – TE – Donald Moore, Sr.
55 – LT – Carter Rimpf, Sr.
58 – LG – James Williams, Sr.
72 – C – Jamir Richardson, Jr.
78 – RG – Jacob Anderson, Jr.
70 – RT – Tanner Bracey, Jr.
14 – PK -- Maxwell Ford, Sr.
Defense
50 – DL – Dontrell Wilson, So.
55 – DL – Carter Rimpf, Sr.
58 – DL -- James Williams, Sr.
4 – LB – Tyrin Macklin, Sr.
9 – LB – Emmanuel Presbot, Sr.
11 – LB -- Wilson Nash, Sr.
13 – LB -- Javon Wesley, Jr.
1 – DB – Jo Jo Crim, Jr.
3 – DB – Lavonte Williams, Jr.
5 – DB – Wyatt Thompson, Jr.
20 – DB – Tylin Drakeford, So.
7 – P – Aidan Heriot, Sr.
55 – LS – Carter Rimpf, Sr.
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