Shabazz’s best chance for a comeback came undone on an unfortunate sequence of plays midway through the third quarter.

On their first possession of the second half, a big gainer from Coston to McDonald picked up 21 yards and put Shabazz inside the Panthers’ 35. There, on 4th-and-8, Coston just barely overthrew Clark, who would have picked up the first down and possibly scored a vital touchdown.

Instead, Camden took the ball and promptly marched back down the field, again with the help of crushing Shabazz penalties, including a pass interference to convert a 3rd-and-7. Later in the series, the Shabazz defense looked like it would force Camden to punt after a third-down stop, but a 15-yard face mask kept the drive alive. Camden running back Roman Duckett (16 carries for a game-high 93 yards) made the Bulldogs pay, breaking off a 24-yard run on the next snap and plunging in from three yards out a few plays later.

It's impossible to know how the game would have played out had any of those outcomes gone the other way. But it will certainly be something that motivates Gaines and his returning players as they chase the title next season.

In the fourth quarter, Camden tacked on a fourth touchdown after forcing a fumble that was recovered by Andre Robinson at the Bulldogs’ 11-yard line. Jones connected with Wasi Muhammad on a 10-yard pass to extend the lead to 27-0 with 6:43 to play.

Two minutes later, Clark picked up a consolation touchdown for Shabazz, hauling in a 24-yard pass from Hill to close out the scoring.

All five of the Central/South Jersey representatives in the NJSIAA public group finals emerged victorious this week, with Camden being joined by Washington Township (Group 5), Winslow Township (Group 4), Cedar Creek (Group 3), and Glassboro (Group 1). All five schools are members of the West Jersey Football League. This is the first clean sweep for either North or South Jersey since the playoffs were expanded to crown overall state champions in 2022; the Central/South schools are 15-5 in the 20 finals contested, including 9-1 the last two seasons.

NEWS & NOTES—Among the achievements of the 2025 Shabazz team was tying the school’s single-season record with 12 wins. That mark had previously been reached by the 2017 Bulldogs, coached by now-West Orange head coach Darnell Grant, who went a perfect 12-0 en route to the North 2, Group 1 sectional title … Despite the rough outing Wednesday, Coston finishes an outstanding junior season at QB with 1,739 passing yards and a very strong 20-to-9 TD/interception ratio … Coston’s top receiving target all season was sophomore Nosym Brown, who caught 34 passes for 538 yards and 8 TDs … Junior linebacker Zykir Best, who led all Bulldogs in tackles Wednesday night with 9 (7 unassisted), had an incredibly impactful season on defense, leading the team with 135 stops and 14 tackles for loss … McDonald made his commitment to Stanford official at a Signing Day ceremony earlier Wednesday. He is the second Shabazz player in two years to commit to the Cardinal; Class of 2025 grad Omari Gaines redshirted his freshman season in Palo Alto this fall … The five NJSIAA group championships won by North Jersey schools were won by Old Tappan (Group 3 champions in 2022 and 2024), Westwood (2023 Group 2), Mountain Lakes (2023 Group 1), and Caldwell (2022 Group 2).

NJSIAA GROUP 2 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
at Rutgers
Shabazz (12-2)        0          0          0          8          -           8
Camden (12-2)        0          14       6          7          -           27

FIRST QUARTER
No scoring

SECOND QUARTER
CAM—Talib Shakir 54 interception return (Jawan Brownlee kick), 2:46
CAM—Ibn Muhammad 21 pass from Ahmad Jones (Brownlee kick), 0:19

THIRD QUARTER
CAM—Roman Duckett 3 run (kick blocked), 2:37

FOURTH QUARTER
CAM—Wasi Muhammad 10 pass from Jones (Brownlee kick), 6:43
SHAB—Rayquan Clark 24 pass from Jaden Hill (Josiah Perez pass from Jaden Hill), 4:46

OVERALL GROUP 2 CHAMPIONSHIP GAME HISTORY
2025: Camden 27, Shabazz 8
2024: Rumson 26, Shabazz 24
2023: Westwood 21, Rumson 20
2022: Caldwell 18, Rumson 14

SHABAZZ FOOTBALL 2025
12-2 overall, 5-0 SFC-National White
Group 2 runners-up
North 2 Group 2 sectional champions (2nd in a row)
National White Division champions
Aug. 30         W, 10-7 at West Orange (Mountaineer Classic)
Sept. 5          W, 57-0 vs. Lincoln*
Sept. 12        L, 0-50 at St. Peter’s Prep
Sept. 26        W, 38-17 at Immaculata*
Oct. 2           W, 35-0 vs. Snyder*
Oct. 10         W, 27-21 at Caldwell*
Oct. 17         W, 28-14 vs. Kinnelon
Oct. 24         W, 42-7 vs. Verona
Nov. 1          W, 46-7 vs. #8 Lyndhurst (N2G2 quarterfinal)
Nov. 7          W, 47-0 vs. #4 Rutherford (N2G2 semifinal)
Nov. 14        W, 26-16 vs. #7 Madison (N2G2 final)
Nov. 21        W, 36-6 at Westwood (Group 2 semifinal)
Nov. 27        W, 20-6 at Weequahic* (Soul Bowl)
Dec. 3            L, 8-27 vs. Camden (Group 2 final at Rutgers)