Camden, Gilbert carry small-town pride into state football semifinal game
Small-town South Carolina community pride will be on full display Friday night in the Midlands.
Gilbert and Camden high schools, located almost 60 miles from each other on the outskirts of Columbia, meet for the first time on the football field Friday at Camden’s Zemp Stadium.
The winner will advance to next week’s Class 3A championship game at Spring Valley High School and send one community into a frenzy, beaming with civic pride more than it already does.
“This is what is all about. One town, one school. Football Friday night, shut it down and let’s play,” Gilbert football coach Chad Leaphart said.
One team, one town, one dream
The game likely would feature an overflow crowd if not for the COVID-19 restrictions in place. Kershaw County School District is allowing about 50% capacity at the 5,800-seat Zemp Stadium. Tickets went on sale for the game Tuesday morning and sold out by the afternoon.
“If this was a non-COVID year, this would have been rocking. There is no atmosphere like it,” said Chronicle Independent sports editor Tom Didato, who has been covering Camden sports for 33 years.
Didato remembers being at Camden’s 1990 and 2001 state semifinal games at Zemp Stadium. “People were all over” and arrived as early as 4 p.m. to tailgate, something that’s not allowed at games this year.
Camden football coach Brian Rimpf has heard stories about those games and helped get the program back into title-game contention. The Bulldogs made it to the Class 3A Upper State championship last year before losing to Chapman.
Camden, located in Kershaw County, has a population of 7,196 people, according to the latest Census. The town has a storied football tradition.
The Bulldogs are playing in their 17th state semifinal game on Friday. They’ve made it to 11 state championship games, winning seven. The program has produced NFL players Vonnie Holliday and Bobby Engram, and its motto of “one, team, one town, one dream” is plastered at Zemp Stadium.
The city’s football and sports traditions are passed on through generations. Didato said it’s common for two and three generations of fans showing up on Fridays at Zemp Stadium to watch football.
Louis Clyburn and his family know all about Camden’s tradition. Clyburn’s grandfather worked for the town and was part of Zemp Stadium’s building crew. Clyburn’s father, Louis Jr., played for Camden in the 1960s, and he played for the Bulldogs in 1986-89 before playing at Duke.
After stints coaching in college at Appalachian State and Duke, Clyburn returned to his hometown and is Camden’s offensive line coach. Clyburn’s son Luke is a sophomore on this year’s team.
“If you have never been to a football game in Camden, it is an event and really special,” Louis Clyburn said. “Zemp Stadium is tucked next to historic Camden district and Cornwallis House.
“It gets crazy in there Friday night. And if you talk to coaches from around the state, they will tell you it is a pretty special environment. What makes it special is the tradition and the people of Camden that make football important.”
Gilbert, America
“Welcome to Gilbert, America” is a common phrase heard over the public address system that greets fans on Friday nights at Gilbert High’s Tomahawk Stadium.
The saying was started more than a decade ago by PA announcer Don Bell, according to Leaphart. It’s been the catch phrase for the town and shows the pride the small farming community has for its sports teams. A Gilbert, America banner is displayed in Tomahawk Stadium. T-shirts and other merchandise have been made with the slogan on it.
The community has grown since he was playing football in the early 1990s, Leaphart said. It has a population of 635 people, according to the latest Census, and is known for its summertime Peach Festival.
The school doesn’t have the football history that Camden does, but the community is known for supporting its high school teams. The Indians have won three baseball state championships since 2006; advanced to wrestling and volleyball championship matches in the last few years; and won the first girls golf state title earlier this month.
The COVID-19 restrictions have limited fans attendance on Friday night but not their love of the program. Any remaining tickets for games are scooped up in minutes. The last two weeks, Leaphart said people have been in line three hours at the school before tickets go on sale.
“We don’t have the fast food restaurants, the strip malls that many 3A schools have. There is no movie theater or mall to go to on Friday night, so that is why football and other sports is the big deal for us around here,” Leaphart said. “Our folks do support us and are passionate about them. The older folks that don’t have kids that go here still want to come out and support us on Friday night. You don’t get that at a lot of places.”
Leaphart has built Gilbert football back into a must-see attraction on Friday nights ever since being named coach of his alma mater in 2016. The Indians are 48-9 since he took over, including a 12-win season in 2017 and 11 wins in 2019.
Leaphart’s 48 wins are second most in school history behind Marty Woolbright, who was Leaphart’s head coach at Gilbert.
“When I came here in 2016, we wanted to get the football program to where it was when I played. We had so much fun here,” he said. “That’s one thing I wanted for the kids here, and they are getting to experience it.”
Leaphart was part of the 1990-91 teams that played in the state semifinals. Gilbert’s last state semifinal appearance was 1992.
Many thought last year’s team, which set offensive records, would have been the one to be a game away from a state championship appearance. But this year’s group gets that honor after knocking off powerhouse Dillon, 37-6, last week.
“It has been something that has been coming for a while for Gilbert, and I feel like we really deserve it this year,” running back Colton Mason said. “We are excited to go play and have fun Friday.”
Smash-mouth, blue collar football
Both teams are representative of the two blue-collar towns on the field with their smash-mouth running attacks.
Rimpf on Tuesday joked after practice that Friday’s game might be one of the quickest of the year with both teams liking to run the ball. The teams’ running games are different, with Mason getting the bulk of the Indians’ carries. Last week against Dillon, the converted linebacker carried it 36 times for 230 yards. For the year, he has rushed for 1,686 yards in just eight games.
Camden spreads its carries between Mr. Football finalist Willis Lane (990 yards), Leroy Bracey (546) and quarterback Jaffari Pearson (330). The Bulldogs average 319.8 yards per game on the ground.
“We are a run-the-ball-first team and got a couple guys we like with the ball in their hands. But so is Gilbert,” Rimpf said. “They got a big, bruising running back that can take a workload. He has done a good job getting yards every time they hand him the ball.”
SC football playoff schedule
All games at 7:30 p.m. Friday Winners advance to next week’s state championship games in Columbia
——Class 5A: Upper State——
TL Hanna at Northwestern
——Class 5A: Lower State——
Sumter at Dutch Fork
——Class 4A: Upper State——
Catawba Ridge at AC Flora (Memorial Stadium)
——Class 4A: Lower State——
Myrtle Beach at North Myrtle Beach
——Class 3A: Upper State——
Wren at Daniel
——Class 3A: Lower State——
Gilbert at Camden
——Class 2A: Upper State——
Gray Collegiate at Abbeville
——Class 2A: Lower State——
Andrews at Marion
——Class A: Upper State——
Lamar at Southside Christian
——Class A: Lower State——
Bamberg-Ehrhardt at Lake View
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 12:00 AM.
