Camden football team puts together another strong season

Camden – When the Camden High School football team returned from Rock Hill following a

64-0 hammering at the hands of South Pointe on October 4, it was at a crossroads.

The Bulldogs were 4-3 on the season and 1-2 in Region 3-AAAA. For a program that had won at

least eight games in the previous six seasons, won in double figures three times and played for two AAA

state championships, those simply weren’t good numbers.

So what did CHS do? Only win six straight games, finish second in Region 3 and reach the

quarterfinals of the state playoffs for the sixth straight year. The fact Camden did it after moving up to

AAAA because of reclassification only added to the satisfaction.

“This season we played the toughest schedule in the history of Camden High School. In fact, we

played the toughest schedule in all of AAAA in 2024,” said head coach Brian Rimpf, referencing the fact

that

five of CHS’ 13 opponents advanced to at least the third round of the playoffs with three reaching at least

the semifinals.

“Even though we moved up in classification and were arguably in the toughest region in

AAAA (four of the last eight teams in the Upper State playoffs), this team was still able to make it to the

quarterfinals for the sixth year in a row and played on Thanksgiving weekend for the fifth time in the last

six seasons.

“This team battled through a rash of midseason injuries and was able to play to the standards of

Camden High School football by making deep playoff runs.”

Camden finished the year with a 9-4 record. It hosted a game at Zemp Stadium in the first round

of the playoffs, beating Pickens 43-17. It then went on the road and beat Wren 43-42 before falling to

then defending state champion and eventual state runner-up Westside in the quarterfinals.

There were seven Bulldogs selected to the All-Region 3 in senior cornerback JoJo Crim, senior

athlete Wyatt Thompson, senior linebacker Logan Freeman, senior offensive lineman/defensive

lineman Tanner Bracey, junior wide receiver/defensive back Tylin Drakeford, junior running

back/linebacker Navier Boykin and junior defensive lineman/offensive lineman Dontrell Wilson.

Crim had no interceptions because opponents seldom threw in his direction. The Virginia Tech

signee, who was selected to play in the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl, did have 50 tackles and

six pass breakups.

Thompson started at quarterback for a good part of the season, completing 64 of 110 passes for

880 yards and 11 touchdowns while leading in rushing with 1,052 yards and eight touchdowns on 161

carries. When Greyson Rimpf started seeing more time behind center, Thompson was a wide receiver

and had 13 catches for 174 yards.

Sharing time at quarterback freed Thompson up to play more safety on defense. He finished with

30 tackles, one quarterback sack, five tackles for loss and one interception.

Drakeford caught 58 passes for 920 yards and 13 touchdowns while carrying the ball 21 times for

149 yards and two scores. Defensively, he had 56 tackles, six pass breakups and one interception.

Bracey, who has signed with The Citadel, had 40 tackles, 3 ½ sacks, a team high 12 quarterback

pressures, 7 ½ tackles for loss and two caused fumbles. Wilson had 70 ½ tackles, team highs in sacks with

six and tackles for loss with 19 and 11 pressures.

Freeman was the leading tackler with 131 ½ to go with two sacks, five tackles for loss and an

interception he returned for a touchdown. Boykin rushed for 579 yards and 11 touchdowns on 134 carries

while coming up with 35 tackles on defense.

Coach Rimpf said the Bulldogs’ offensive and defensive units meshed well together.

“I would have to say that one side of the ball being able to complement the other side led us to

success this season,” he said. “Some games we had to score 40 to win and other games we had to hold the

opponent under 20. Whatever that specific game called for we were able to do what was needed to win

nine games this season.”