After 12 consecutive winning seasons, two of which Camden County went undefeated (2003 and 2008), Coach Jeff Herron made the executive decision to leave Camden County for a head coaching position at Prince Ave Christian in Athens, Georgia. Herron is gone, however his legacy 

Sonny Kennedy

legacy will live on at Camden County High School. The new head coach, Welton Coffey, is a great fit for position that Herron left behind.

Trying to fill the shoes of Herron, while adjusting to becoming Camden County's head coach, will hopefully be easy process for Coffey with the help of the returning players and coaches.

"We're getting it done. There's no question about that," said Coffey. "The biggest thing here at Camden County High School is the size of the program, we're just getting used to the numbers. We have about 180 kids between 9th grade and seniors. That's probably the biggest adjustment but the kids have done an outstanding job as well as the coaching staff."

The 2013 Corky Kell Classic on August 24th will have some of the best matchups in the state of Georgia.  This will include Camden County vs. North Gwinnett. This 6A matchup will aid in Coffey's evaluation of his team's strengths and weaknesses against one of the best teams in Georgia.

For Coffey, a game is a game no matter what the stakes may be.

"It's hard to explain how important it is, it's a football game," said Coffey. "We go out there to compete and to win. The most important thing is because it's a non-region game; we want to see where we are like a scrimmage against great competition. North Gwinnett has done an outstanding job for the past couple of years under Coach Spire. This will be a quick measuring stick to show us where we are in order to be successful in the region."

North Gwinnett was 11-2 last season and remains a huge football powerhouse in the state.

"You prepare the same way [for a non-region game]. It's a competition; we get our team together to establish how we want to approach things," said Coffey. "We look at film and everything else. We want a good showing in state, it's on television, so want to make the community proud."

Coffey has 5 starters returning on offense and 5 returning on the defense. Last season under Herron, the wing-t offense scored an average of 39 points and the defense allowed just 10 points per game. Coffey has no plans to change the offensive and defensive regimes from what Herron has done in the past.

"It's [the style of Herron's schemes] been pretty good all these years there's no question about that," said Coffey. "It may be a little bit different but the crust, the core and the foundation of what we're doing will remain a wing t offense and a 3-3 staked team or a 3-5 team, on defense, those things won't change."

In addition to the two defensive backs, Kalvaraz Bessent and Chris Williams, who have both already committed to play at Alabama next year, there are a few other college recruits for the Wildcats. OL Trayvon Williams has received between several offers but has yet to commit to a school, Anthony Johnson is an FIU commit, and lastly, Chris Bahr has still not made a decision as to where he will play football next year.

The Wildcats were no match for Gwinnett County's Peachtree Ridge last year in the Metro PCS Corky Kell Classic, and rolled past the Lions 42-0.

Coach Bob Sphire has taken North Gwinnett football to new heights. When he arrived at the Suwanee school in 2006, the Bulldogs had never won 10 games and rarely made the playoffs.

North Gwinnett Bulldogs Football

Since arriving, Sphire has was won at least 10 games every season and, in the process, has turned the Bulldogs into a perennial state title contender.

Sphire is quick to credit the people who have helped make his program a winner.

"You can have all the processes and plans you want, but if you don't have kids who will come in and work and try to develop within the plan, you won't have success," said Sphire. "If you don't have quality coaches that will come in and execute the plan, it won't get done. I've been blessed most of my career to have players and coaches who will come in and work to try to develop within the plan."

Under Sphire, North Gwinnett has been known for its prolific offenses and stout lines of scrimmage. This year's edition is no different. Defensive end Dante Sawyer, with offers from Alabama, Georgia and Southern California, among many others, leads the defense while one of the state's top wide receiver corps headlines the offense. Daniel Imatorbhebhe, Caleb Scott and Nate Brown dominated 7-on-7's this summer and will be the main targets of Sphire's son, Hayden, the Bulldogs' starting quarterback. Scott had 38 catches for 684 yards and 11 touchdowns last year, while Brown totaled 41 catches for 491 yards and nine touchdowns.

At running back, C.J. Leggett arrived at North Gwinnett in the offseason after transferring from Chattahoochee. Leggett holds offers from Pittsburgh, UCLA and Vanderbilt. Offensive lineman Mitch Hyatt enters his junior year as one of the top offensive line recruits in the nation with offers from many top programs.

In the Bulldogs' way is one of the toughest schedules in the state with non-region games against Camden County (in the Metro PCS Corky Kell Classic) and Grayson in addition to a rough region slate that includes teams like Mill Creek, Peachtree Ridge and defending state champion Norcross.

Tough schedules are something Sphire swears by.

"To be successful in the kind of region we're in and to be successful on the playoffs, you've got to be battle-tested," said Sphire. "So I've always been a firm believer that (a tough schedule) helps your team (become) battled-tested."