It’s hard to think that we have reached the final week of the regular season in Georgia High School Football. This week, all six county teams are in action with only one team playing in county. Cherokee will travel to Milton to try and knock off the top dog in the region, while Etowah will travel to Alpharetta for a chance to clinch a playoff birth. Meanwhile, Woodstock will host Roswell, while Sequoyah will make the trip over to face Centennial. Also in 6-A River Ridge will look to close out the season strong as they travel to Cambridge and Creekview will look to improve their region seeding as they travel to Johns Creek.
Bundle up if you are goin out on Friday. It’s going to be a little nippy come Friday night!
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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 clinch their fourth consecutive region title this week as the Cherokee Warriors come calling. Last week the Eagles put up 62 first half points as they cruised to victory over Woodstock. It was the most points they’ve scored all season. Milton has now won seven straight games this season and has now won 22 consecutive region games. The Eagles offense is averaging 55.2 points per game in region play to this point while their defense is allowing 20.5 points per game.
The Cherokee Warriors return from the bye week after securing at least the No. 3 seed in region play. The Warriors have won three of their last four games, but have needed late game heroics in their last two games. The Warriors are averaging 193.9 points per game on the ground and 73.8 yards per ground on the ground. On defense, Cherokee will rely on Tyler Goddard, Javon Hobson, Toby Thompson and Kyan Simmons to try and contain the Eagles potent offense.
With a win this week coupled with a Roswell loss, the Warriors would claim the No. 1 seed. That is a tall task to ask of the Warriors against a Milton team that boasts several Division-I level players. We like the Eagles by 24 this week.
The Skinny
The Alpharetta Raiders almost pulled off a stunning upset over region foe Roswell last week. The Raiders will now need to turn their focus to Etowah as they hope to clinch a playoff game. The Raiders have turned to freshman quarterback Landon Walker in the wake of an injury to starter Ben Guthrie. From all accounts that we have received, the future is bright for the young quarterback. In his first start against Cherokee, Walker threw for 170 yards and a touchdown and also tossed another one last week as he now has 3-TD passes on the season.
The Etowah Eagles will look to bounce back from their heartbreaking loss last Thursday. Despite their record, the Eagles are one win away from clinching a playoff spot. Sophomore running back Elijah Williams has come alive as of late. He leads the Eagles in rushing yards and attempts. Prior to Thursday’s game, Washington had rushed for 582 yards and 3-TDs. The Eagles will mix in the pass to keep teams honest so don’t be surprised if receiver Will Curcio gets involved this week as well. The Eagles defense will need another great performance from their front line of Aldin Datis, Ryan Lee and Jadon Maddox if they are going to have a chance to win on the road.
We don’t know the status of Ben Guthrie, but as we mentioned, Landon Walker is more than capable to handle the load. Expect Etowah to try to rattle whichever quarterback takes the snaps this week. We just don’t know if Etowah can score enough this week to down the Raiders. We like Alpharetta by 10.
The Skinny
The Woodstock Wolverines will wrap up one of the more challenging schedules in Cherokee County this season as they host the Roswell Hornets. It has been a long season for the Wolverines, but they have shown improvement and character throughout. There are many reasons to believe the future is bright for Woodstock and many of them start with quarterback Dan Comeau, who has thrown for over 1,300 yards and 6-TDs on the season. Senior Brady Williams has made an impact for Woodstock on both sides of the ball as he leads the team in receptions, receiving yards and is one of the leaders in the secondary at safety.
The Roswell Hornets can wrap up the No. 2 seed and a first round home playoff game with a win this week. The Hornets will certainly need a better performance than they had lat week as they had to scratch and claw to get a victory over rival Alpharetta. Quarterback Robbie Roper has now thrown for 2,054 yards and 24-TDs on the season. We’ve talked about the many weapons that Roper has surrounding him at receiver including Ethan Nation, Zeke Moore, Shaun Spence and Ethan Crite. Roswell is averaging 33 points per game this season and allowing 19.7
We expect a bounce back performance from the Hornets this week as they visit Woodstock. Hornets by 30.
The Skinny
The Cambridge Bears have certainly made a statement this season as they remain in the mix for their first region title in school history. The Bears offense is averaging 32.1 points per game which is the second best in school history, while their defense has allowed 15.6 points per game. That’s good enough for the best scoring defense in their 10-year history. Offensively, senior quarterback Zach Harris, tuning back Christian Isabor and receiver Will Taylor lead the team in statistical categories.
The River Ridge Knights put a real scare into Johns reek this past Friday night, but could not hold off the Gladiators last charge. River Ridge has been without leading rusher Amhere Morrison the past few games, but Tyler Carter and Gabe Bolden have stepped up to take some of the load off quarterback Carson Lathem. The Knights are still formidable with the aforementioned Lathem and receivers Andrew Bingham and Jackson Head. Head made a few highlight reel catches this past Friday night, including a leap from about the 5 yard line into the end zone. Defensively, Brian Bradley continues to be a problem for opposing offenses. He spent much of last Friday in the Gladiators backfield and also blocked a PAT and got his hands on a punt as well. He has a motor that just does not quit!
It will be a tough test for River Ridge, as they have been seemingly eliminated from post season play. Don’t expect Cambridge to feel sorry for River Ridge, but it won’t be a runaway for either team. We like the Bears at home by a field goal.
The Skinny
The Johns Creek Gladiators showed their resiliency last week as they came back from a 22-point half time deficit to defeat River Ridge and keep their region title hopes alive. While we did not see Alex Cunningham on defense, Sam Oppenheimer and Thaxton Gallagher were making plays all over the field in the second half. On offense it was Kyle Durham showing off his decision making ability finding open receives and scrambling when he had to to keep drives alive. Prior to last week’s game, Durham had thrown for 1,416 yards. Durham added 4-TD passes last week to bring his total to 20 on the season. Running back Tylan Johnson found pay dirt twice last week to bring his total touchdowns to 9 on the season.
The Creekview Grizzlies will look to close out their regular season on a three game win streak and improve their playoff position. Last week, the Grizzlies defense pitched their third shutout of the season and second in as many weeks. The Creekview defense is allowing just 9.6 point per game this season. They’ve sacked opposing quarterbacks over 17 times this season and forced 15 turnovers. Quarterback Mason Hicks continues to impress with his efficiency, throwing for 1,224 yards and 18-TDs. Running back Tyler Stevens added 3 rushing TDs to his account last week, bringing his season total to 12.
The Gladiators will have their hands full trying to figure out the Grizzlies front seven. Not many teams have been successful doing that this season. But then agin, not many teams have been able to slow down the Gladiator offense. We like Johns Creek at home by 5.
The Skinny
The Centennial Knights will close out their season on Friday with a visit from Sequoyah. The Knights have been competitive in many games this season, but seem to be about a year away. There is a good nucleus on this team for coach Sean O’Sullivan. It starts up front with tackle Daniel Calhoun who has already received several Power-5 offers. But that’s not the only reason the future looks bright for Centennial. Quarterbacks Carter Wit and Tyler Laskaris have combined to throw for 1,127 yards and 10-TDs. Meanwhile, Wit and Nathaniel Webester have combined to rush for 1,024 yards and 6-TDs on the ground. All three are underclassmen. The Knights defense have forced 11-turnovers on the season.
The Sequoyah Chiefs will also look to close their season out on a high note. The Chiefs were locked in a battle with Riverwood last week, but came up short. The Chiefs defense performed well last week, but will need to dial up a similar performance to keep the Knights quarterbacks in check. We are sure that ball security will be a point of emphasis for the Chiefs this week. Excpect for quarterback Matthew Traynor to continue to lead the way for Sequoyah as he is the team’s leading rusher as well as passer. He has very capable running mates with him in the Wing-T including Peyton Lucas, Jack Piskorz and Jackson Hancock.
The Knights struggled last year against the Wing-T. If they can move the ball and force the Chiefs in to unfavorable field position, they should have chance to win this game. While both teams want to go out on a high note, we like the Chiefs by 13.