PISCATAWAY—Shabazz made big strides in 2025 under first-year head coach Nasir Gaines. The Bulldogs upped their win total from 10 to 12, captured a third straight sectional title, and ended a six-game Soul Bowl losing streak on Thanksgiving. But the very last step – an overall NJSIAA state championship – is the toughest, and one that proved too much for the young Bulldogs to overcome Wednesday night.
Camden took control with two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the first half before pulling away for a 27-8 win in the NJSIAA Group 2 championship game on a frigid night at Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium.
It was a disappointing end to a stellar season for Shabazz (12-2), which was playing in its second straight Group 2 title game. The Bulldogs did themselves no favors, committing 5 critical turnovers – four interceptions and one fumble – and committing 11 penalties, including a pair of back-breaking third-down infractions that led to a Camden touchdown early in the second half.
“Obviously it hurts,” Gaines said. “You just want to win. But those guys [at Camden] deserved it. Coach Rob [Hinson] has been at it a long time, those players have experience, they’ve been to the promised land. Tonight was their time. God don’t make mistakes. We’ve gotta get better, I’ve gotta get better as a coach and a leader of men, and do a better job leading our kids. But I’m proud of my guys. I’m proud of my coaches, defensive coordinator AJ Dobson and Matt Hewitt our offensive coordinator. I love all these guys.”
Perhaps some of those miscues can be chalked up to a bit of inexperience. The 2025 Bulldogs arrived ahead of schedule, their roster containing just six seniors and only a handful of major contributors from the run to the 2024 Group 2 final. Aside from standouts like Stanford-bound RB/LB Zaiden McDonald (3 receptions for 44 yards, plus 6 tackles) and receiver Rayquan Clark, who scored Shabazz’s lone touchdown late in the fourth quarter, the core of this team should be quite formidable again in 2026.
“We set the bar high, and we expected to be here,” Gaines said. “The way we feel is, if you didn’t get us now, there’s gonna be trouble in the years to come. We have a great sophomore class, we have lots of juniors who will be our leaders next year, and we have a freshman class that’s going to be real special. We’re gonna regroup, get back to the drawing board, and work, because it’s time for us to make Shabazz a public powerhouse. That’s what we’re here to do.”
There were certainly flashes Wednesday night of a team poised to take the next step, but not quite enough to dethrone an outstanding Camden team (12-2) that won its eighth consecutive game since falling to Group 4 champion Winslow on Oct. 4.
The Shabazz defense looked the part of a champion in the first half, coming up with stops on the Panthers’ first three possessions. Junior linebacker Zykir Best (9 tackles) recovered a fumble near midfield to halt Camden’s first drive, and sophomore DB Thomas Isa batted away a fourth-down pass on the next possession just outside of the red zone. On the Panthers’ third drive, junior defensive end Adekunbi Adetayo’s sack of quarterback Ahmad Jones was recovered by sophomore Jaden Hill, giving the Bulldogs excellent field position with four minutes left in the first half.
But two plays, later disaster struck. Shabazz’s excellent junior QB Karriem Coston tried to throw a screen pass to McDonald, but defensive back Talib Shakir made a terrific read to step in front, intercept the pass, and race 54 yards untouched with 2:46 to go in the half.
Shabazz’s offense sputtered throughout the first half, and the Bulldogs punted after a quick 3-and-out following the TD. Camden then launched their most impressive drive of the night, with Jones orchestrating a perfect 2-minute drill – aided by an untimely Shabazz personal foul penalty – before hitting Ibn Muhammad on a slant for 21 yards and the touchdown. Despite a fairly even half, the Bulldogs faced a 14-0 deficit and a big mountain to climb.
“We just made too many big mistakes tonight,” Gaines said. “You can’t give them a pick-six when we’re playing strong football. We needed to protect the football a lot better than we did, and we had to make plays in the spots where we had to convert. I think us having a young team, you saw that inexperience show a little bit. We just didn’t execute well enough tonight.”
