Hot Springs alum Cam Maciejewski has paid his dues as the former Bison is having a breakout season leading Augustana Vikings’ defense

By Matt Gade 

605 Sports 

SIOUX FALLS — Cam Maciejewski knew if he put in the work, his time would come. 

Now, the third-year player from Hot Springs is having a big impact for the Augustana Vikings football team. 

The Bison alum, and member of the team’s 2023 state championship team, is the Vikings' leading tackler from his middle linebacker position. 

“Just run the work in every day, staying consistent throughout the off season. So, um, you know, “I just try to take it day-by-day,” Maciejewski said. “I just keep my head down and grind, and the results will come. You know, obviously you want to play no matter what year you are. But you know, early in my career here at Augie, I got to watch some really good players play linebacker. So just having that year to just kind of see how they play and what it takes to be at the next level and play at a high level, it was really beneficial.”  

The Vikings, 4-2, are coming off a big cross-town win over their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foe, the University of Sioux Falls, in which the Vikings rallied from down 20-17 at the half to win 37-20.  

In Saturday’s win, Maciejewski recorded 13 tackles, eight solo and five assisted, including a tackle for loss. 

“I'd say each game you just try to do your job to the best of your ability. You know, it obviously depends on the scheme that the offense runs, but if you just do your job to the best of your ability, especially me, typically it's going to be a pretty good day,” Maciejewski said. “So I trust them (the defensive line) a ton. You know, I trust everyone around me, and that just kind of comes with being the defense you want to be at.  

“I like that I could just play free. You know, that's the best part. Just be myself out there.” 

Just past the midway point of the regular season, Maciejewski has 51 total tackles, 30 solo and 21 assisted. The 6’1” linebacker also has 2 tackles for loss, including a sack. 

While Maciejewski says he knows his name sits atop the team’s tackling charts, the final outcome of the game matters most to him. 

“At the end of the day, you know, it's a team game, and I just want to do the best we can as a defense and as a team overall,” Maciejewski said. “We're just taking it week by week, just trusting each other as a team. Just knowing that as we keep getting better, our offense is gonna keep it together, and we're just gonna keep getting better as the year goes on.  

“I mean, every week presents a new challenge. So, just adjusting to it week after week, it's definitely a task.” 

Last year, Maciejewski, who is majoring in business administration at Augustana, recorded nine total tackles and saw playing time in eight of the Vikings’ 11 games as Augustana finished 9-2. 

Back at Hot Springs, Maciejewski led the Bison to their first-ever state championship in the playoff era.  

In 2023, Maciejewski finished the season with 1,588 rushing yards on 135 carries and scored 25 rushing touchdowns, while scoring three touchdown receptions. For his career, Maciejewski rushed for 2,794 yards on 321 carries and scored 40 rushing touchdowns.  

“Camron Maciejewski is a once-in-a-career football player,” Hot Springs coach Ben Kramer said in 2023. “He does everything right — leadership, football ability, offseason training, attitude, grades. There is nothing negative I can say about him. His stats speak for themselves. He is such a huge part of our success. It is a bold statement, but Camron Maciejewski is the best football player to ever put on a Hot Springs jersey and I am grateful that I have been able to coach him.”  

Maciejewski, who was also the Class 11B Joe Robbie MVP, said he sometimes misses carrying the ball into the end zone. But he’s happy in his role at middle linebacker position.  

“There are some days, once in a while, that I miss it, but now hitting people is fun,” Maciejewski said. “I do enjoy defense a lot though.” 

Other notable players from that 2023 Hot Springs Bison football team playing at the college level include twin brothers Preston Iverson (Dakota State) and Landon Iverson (Dakota Wesleyan) and Caleb Rickenbach (South Dakota Mines). 

Maciejewski said he does his best to follow his former teammates and how they’re doing at their respective schools. 

While Maciejewski said he had to earn his spot, he said it’s been worth the wait. 

“It's a lot of fun being challenged in different ways,” he said. “It’s definitely a very difficult league. But I feel like it's something you know every guy expects coming in. You know they preach to all of us that it's college football now, and we're playing at a high level. You're not going to be the guy, the biggest guy, the strongest guy, so just kind of knew it coming in, and that's just college football.” 

Maciejewski and the Vikings have five regular-season games remaining, with a trip to St. Paul, Minnesota on Saturday against Concordia-St. Paul. 

Maciejewski said that while they all have individual goals for each game, at the end of the day, he just wants that ‘W.’ 

“We have specific statistical goals week in and week out, but I feel like at the end of the day, as long as we win the game that week by even one point. I feel like that's the biggest goal,” Maciejewski said. “We come in each week fixing what we can and just trying to get better.  

“No matter what position you play in football, where you're at, what your role is, just being selfless and knowing, if I do this, it's going to help another guy, or I have to fit here. It's going to allow someone else to make a tackle. So, just really understanding that football's a selfless game. That's the important part of being on a successful team.”