We are down to the final two weeks of high school football in Cherokee County as teams continue to vie for playoff seeding. The Cherokee Warriors are off this week but all of the other five teams are in action this week. This week’s slate of games includes Woodstock traveling to Milton, Etowah hosting Forsyth Central, Sequoyah hosting Riverwood, Creekview hosting Centennial, and River Ridge hosting Johns Creek.
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Special thanks to the Georgia Helmet Project for providing each team’s helmet. You can find all of their work here: http://gahelmetproject.com
Special thanks to the Georgia Helmet Project for providing each team’s helmet. You can find all of their work here: http://gahelmetproject.com
Historical records are provided by the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. (ghsfa.org)
The Skinny
The Milton Eagles will look to solidify their hold on first place in the region as they host the Woodstock Wolverines. Last week, the Eagles held off Roswell to win their 6th consecutive game. During that streak, Milton is averaging 42.8 points per game. Quarterback Devin Farrell has thrown for 1,273 and 16-TDs and has completed 68% of his passes. Jordan McDonald leads the team in rushing with 658 yards and 8-TDs. The Eagles are averaging 171.8 yards per game through the air and 220.5 yards per game on the ground. Defensively, A.J. Crawford leads the team in tackles for loss with 18 tackles for loss, including 7.5 sacks. Junior safety Robert Billings leads the secondary with 4 interception. Milton has forced 17 turnovers this season.
The Woodstock Wolverines will have to have a short memory after an emotional loss to rival Etowah last week. Woodstock did find some success on the ground with sophomore running back C.J. London. The Wolverines have had most of their success through the air and on the arm of quarterback Dan Comeau, who’s thrown for over 1,300 yards and 6-TDs. Woodstock’s defense has struggled a bit this season, but they were able to come up with two big turnovers last week. On the season, they’ve forced 7 turnovers.
Woodstock looked much improved last week, showing an ability to establish a bit of a run game. However, Milton looks is too talented this week. We like the Eagles by 38.
The Skinny
The Etowah Eagles will look to build off of the momentum from their victory on Friday night. Etowah is steadily developing more of an identity on offense behind a gritty offensive line and a budding star at running back. Elijah Washington has been a workhorse over the past few weeks. The sophomore has rushed for 590 yards and 3-TDs on the season. The Eagles will still be reliant on their defense to wreak havoc all over the field. We also can’t forget about kicker Carson Allen who has an explosive leg.
The Forsyth Central Bulldogs have not had much success since walloping Northview back in Week-1. The Bulldogs recorded 42 first half points in route to their biggest win since beating Clarkston by 64 back in 2018. Central has a stable of running backs led by Patrick Haertel and Malachi McElroy who have combined to rush for 761 yards and 5-TDs. They will feature an offense run out of a traditional I-formation and the running backs are physical, tough runners. Defensively, expect for the Bulldogs to use three down lineman and bring in an edge rusher or two to try to put pressure on Bohannon and try to stymie the run game.
Points have been hard to come by for the Bulldogs this season. They will be facing another stout defense. If Central can force a few turnovers, they could be in position to win their second game this season. However, we believe Elijah Washington and the Eagles are in a groove. Etowah by 6.
The Skinny
The Sequoyah Chiefs will look to bounce break from a heartbreaking loss against county rival River Ridge last week. While the Chiefs have been eliminated from post season contention, they can play the role of spoiler this week. Matthew Traynor continues to lead the way for Sequoyah on offense. Last week, he went over the 100-yard mark in rushing. And while we believe that the Sequoyah offense can move the ball again this week, the defense will be under a lot of pressure. They are allowing 21.5 points per game. Carter Sandt, Jackson Hancock and Avery Born will need to have big games in the Chiefs are going to have success on Friday.
The Riverwood Raiders are locked up in a three-way tie for first place and can win the region if they win out and Johns Creek loses another game. But rest assured all of their attention will be on the task at hand as they visit Skip Pope stadium. Quarterback Avery Smith makes the Raiders go. He’s thrown for over 2,400 yards and has 24-TD passes. Smith has also rushed for over 650 yards on the season. The Raiders are averaging just over 300 yards per game through the air and around 190 yards per game on the ground. On defense, they are allowing a respectable 17.5 points per game.
The key to victory for Sequoyah will certainly depend on if they can keep Smith in check. Playing at home should help, but Smith is the best player in Region-7 this season. We like the Raiders by 20.
The Skinny
The Creekview Grizzlies kept their playoff hopes intact last week as they shutout Chattahoochee. The Grizzlies 52 point outburst was the 6th highest point output for the Grizzlies all time. Creekview is averaging 32.5 points per game while their defense is allowing 10.8 points per game with two shutouts to their credit this season. Quarterback Mason Hicks has continued to impress, now with over 1,100 yards passing and 17-TDs on the season completing 60% of his passes. He’s had the benefit of having Tyler Stevens in the backfield. Stevens has rushed for 627 yards and 9-TDs and also added 23 receptions for 251 yards and 4-TDs as a receiver. Perhaps the biggest surprise for the Grizzlies this season has been Tristan Summers who leads the team in receiving with 26 receptions for 315 yards and 4-TDs.
The Centennial Knights continue to be competitive, but are perhaps a year away from making some real noise in the region. The Knights have put up 27 points in consecutive weeks, but have only been able to hold two teams under 27 points this season. Centennial will do most of their damage on the ground as they are averaging 157 yards per game rushing while just 99 yards per game passing. They have used a couple of quarterbacks, Tyler Laskaris and Carter Wit. Wit is more of a run threat and is second on the team in rushing behind Nathaniel Webster. Expect for the Knights to run behind big Daniel Calhoun to try to shorten the game this week.
This could turn into a real smash mouth battle. Creekview cannot afford to take Centennial lightly. They have the ability to knock off the Grizzlies if they can control the clock. However, Creekview’s defense has been one of the best in the region; and we like them again this week. Grizzlies by 18.
The Skinny
The River Ridge Knights kept their playoff hopes alive with a thrilling win over Sequoyah last Friday. The Knights were again without their star running back Amhere Morrison, but found a way to win. River Ridge has used a few backs to help in the run game including Andrew Bingham, Gabe Bolden, Tyler Carter and quarterback Carson Lathem among others. But in Morrison’s absence, Jackson Head has been the primary receiver, scoring two touchdowns last week to bring his season total to 8. Head leads the Knights in receptions and receiving yards as well.
The Johns Creek Gladiators find themselves tied atop the region standings with Cambridge and Riverwood. Currently, the Gladiators hold the tie-breaker, but really need to win out and need a Cambridge loss to clinch first place. Johns Creek is averaging 36.2 points per game and is doing it with a balanced attack with 185.9 yards through the air and 187.9 yards on the ground. Quarterback Kyle Durham has thrown for 1,416 yards and 16-TDs while Tylan Johnson has rushed for 1,104 yards and 7-TDs. The Gladiators are allowing 22.6 points per game and have sacked opposing quarterbacks 15 times this season while also forcing 15 turnovers.
The Knights were able to get by without Morrison last week, but if he doesn’t play this week, we believe they will have a hard time against a pretty good Johns Creek defense. We believe this will be a little closer than some might thing…with or without Morrison playing for River Ridge. We like the Gladiators by a touchdown.