Class 3A State Championship Preview

Chris Dearing December 1, 2021 @ 04:46 PM

Daniel (13-0) vs Camden (11-2) The Class 3A state championship is a rematch of the 2020 title game. Daniel is obviously hoping for a repeat of the 52-31 victory over Camden while the Bulldogs would like to forget that chilly day in early December a season ago. The one thing Camden likely remembers most is the performance of Daniel QB [player_tooltip player_id="153264" first="Trent" last="Pearman"]. In that victory, Pearman threw for 472 yards and six touchdowns and his top target, [player_tooltip player_id="91140" first="Eli" last="Merck"] caught 7 passes for 183 yards and 2 TDs. Those two return for the Lions but the cast of players for Camden has changed greatly for the Friday, December 3, 2 pm tilt at Benedict’s Charles W. Johnson Stadium in Columbia. Pearman has thrown for 3,497 yards and 41 touchdowns and rushed for 301 yards and eight more scores. Chris Edge is the leading rusher with 929 yards and 14 touchdowns. Five players have 34 receptions or more on the season. Merck is the leader with 70 catches for 1,007 yards and 15 touchdowns. [player_tooltip player_id="204866" first="Jaylen" last="Brown-Wallace"] is next with 50 for 847 and nine touchdowns. Misun Kelly (43-604, 8 touchdowns) Clay Swinney (34-400, six touchdowns) and Edge (34-255, two scores) round out the talented receiving corp. Daniel has not scored less than 35 points in any game this season and will come into the title game averaging 48.5 points in the playoffs. Defensively, the Lions are allowing just over 11 points a game. LB Carson Chasteen has 109 tackles and 14 tackles for loss on the year. LB [player_tooltip player_id="91238" first="Griffin" last="Batt"] is next with 101 overall tackles and 12 tackles for loss. DE [player_tooltip player_id="89302" first="Jahiem" last="Lawson"] has 24 tackles for loss and 73 stops on the season. LB [player_tooltip player_id="91228" first="Logan" last="Lasher"] has contributed 67 tackles and 15 tackles for loss. Camden is back in the title game with a young, highly touted defense and an offense that has recovered from a rash of injuries. Camden is led on offense by a couple of sophomores in QB [player_tooltip player_id="139311" first="Grayson" last="White"] and RB Averee Hickmon. They have helped Camden make its 16th championship game appearance as they are searching for title No. 8. The last time they won a state championship was in 2001. White has thrown for 1,073 yards and rushed for 564 yards and accounted for 23 total touchdowns since moving from the defensive line to QB early in the year. Hickmon moved over from linebacker and is second on the team in rushing with 391 yards. [player_tooltip player_id="153231" first="Anthony" last="Lyles"] is the big-play target at WR with 58 catches for 746 yards. The defense features college prospects at nearly every spot. Defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id="89338" first="Xzavier" last="McLeod"] has 56 tackles, five sacks, 21 tackles for loss and 21 quarterback hurries. DE [player_tooltip player_id="91233" first="Jonathan" last="Chavis"] is the team-leader with 7.5 sacks and has 63 tackles, 21 quarterback pressure and 17 tackles for loss. SS Dorian Ferguson has three interceptions and 77 tackles. LB [player_tooltip player_id="61078" first="Tevin" last="Eley"] is the leader with 87 tackles. Defensive backs Deamonte Halley and [player_tooltip player_id="153232" first="Jaylen" last="Pate"] along with linebackers [player_tooltip player_id="91155" first="David" last="Copley"] and Wilson Nash all have over 45 tackles on the season. In the last five games, the Bulldogs have allowed 31 points with three shutouts.