Camden ousts Brookland-Cayce: Bulldogs will get another chance for state title ring
Grayson White’s name is etched throughout the Camden High School football record books.
Now, the senior quarterback and his teammates have another chance to finally get that elusive state championship ring.
White rushed for four touchdowns and running back Averee Hickmon added two scores as the Bulldogs defeated Brookland-Cayce, 46-30, on Friday in the Class 3A lower state championship game.
Camden will play Daniel in the state title game on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. at S.C. State’s Oliver Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg.
“We have a bunch of goals that Coach (Brian) Rimpf sets for us throughout the season,” White said. “The top one is a state championship. I’ve been a lower state champion, rivalry champion, but I haven’t got that championship ring yet. So that’s definitely the goal.”
It’s Camden 17th state championship appearance in school history and third in the last five years. All three of those state title games have come against Daniel.
White, a converted linebacker, has been the Bulldogs’ quarterback the past three seasons. This year, he’s accounted for more than 4,000 yards of offense and 54 touchdowns.
Against B-C, White was 21-of-27 for 309 yards and 20 carries for 69 yards. He also ran in a pair of two-point conversions.
“I hope every coach has a chance at some point in their coaching career to have a player like our No. 15 (White),” Rimpf said. “Whenever Grayson White is on the field, we feel like we are going to win the game. He set almost every record or at least tied everyone at Camden High for quarterback play. And we have a long, rich tradition.
“We’ve got one more game together. We are excited.”
Camden’s offense was hard to stop most of the night and didn’t punt once. The Bulldogs scored on their first four drives, the last touchdown coming on Hickmon’s 25-yard on fourth-and-2 to make it 30-14 with four minutes left in the second quarter.
B-C answered quickly as Will Young scored on a 25-yard run on fourth-and-3, and the Bearcats made the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 30-22. Young finished with 123 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bulldogs looked to score right before half as White hit Aidan Heriot on a long pass play, but B-C’s DeShaun Washington stripped the ball and Jvonn Edwards recovered it inside the 10-yard line.
The Bearcats’ defense came up big to start the second half as they forced two more turnovers with Camden driving inside the 20-yard line. The Bulldogs’ defense didn’t allow B-C to capitalize.
Hickmon scored his second TD of the night and a two-point conversion put Camden up 38-22. He finished with 73 yards rushing.
Heriot led Camden with six catches for 128 yards. Ja Mayrant had nine catches for 69 yards.
B-C didn’t go away and Washington scored on a 5-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut the Camden lead to 38-30. Washington rushed for 75 yards.
But the Bearcats never got the stop they needed. Camden scored on its next drive, a five-yard run by White on fourth-and-2. Camden converted on a pair of fourth downs in the drive.
The senior flexed his muscles as he crossed the goal-line to put the game away.
“I had to let them know we can run the ball too,” White said of the gesture. “We can beat them at their game.”
The loss ended Brookland-Cayce’s season at 11-3. The Bearcats were making their third state semifinal appearance under coach Rusty Charpia.
“Of course we are disappointed because we felt like we had a chance,” Charpia said. “But Camden is a good team, well-coached and you can’t take anything away from them.
“... I’m proud of my guys and the season we had.”
This story was originally published November 24, 2023 at 11:44 PM.
