Welcome to our Week-2 Cherokee County Football previews. The 2021 GHSA Football is underway and there was some great action last week in Cherokee County. Sequoyah, Cherokee and Creekview really impressed with big wins, while River Ridge shook off a slow start to get to 1-0. This week Woodstock will look to get into the win column against River Ridge. (Etowah was scheduled to play Forsyth County, but that game has been canceled.)
Woodstock will host the River Ridge Knights in hopes of getting revenge from last years thriller against county foe River Ridge, while Etowah will host Forsyth Central in a rematch of a late season matchup from a year ago. Our third and final preview will feature the county’s second oldest rivalry as the Cherokee Warriors make the show trip over to Hickory Flat to take on the Sequoyah Chiefs. The Chiefs will be looking to establish themselves as one of the top programs in the county will Cherokee will look to make it three consecutive wins over Sequoyah.
As always, thanks for reading and please feel free to share. Make sure to get out and support these young men and these communities this weekend!
All helmet photos are courtesy of the Georgia High School Helmet Project http://www.gahelmetproject.com
Historical data is courtesy of Georgia High School Football Historians Association.
The Skinny
The Woodstock Wolverines look to bounce back this week after dropping their opening week tilt to Sequoyah. The Wolverines showed promise early in the ball game last week as quarterback Dan Comeau showed a live arm, but the Wolverines struggled to make much progress when they were able to get inside of the Sequoyah 35. Preston Lawrence and Alex Hendricks demonstrated that they were capable of handling the load at running back. While Lawrence and Carson Gray showed they can also be physical against the run when they line up on defense. Expect for Nick Rule and Brady Williams to also become bigger contributors for Woodstock on offense this week and as the season progresses.
Meanwhile, the River Ridge Knights shook off a slow start to down the Lassiter Trojans in their home opener last week. Amehre Morrison eclipsed the 100-yard mark, while quarterback Carson Lathem tossed three touchdown passes, (two to Jackson Head) in the victory. The game plan for River Ridge should be simple on paper. Get Morrison the ball and let him run behind that big offensive line and then get Jackson Head involved in the passing game. Defensively, if Brian Bradley and Hunter Coleman can get pressure on Comeau, the Knights should run their county win streak to 5 games. Conversely, if Woodstock can find some success through the air, perhaps in the short and intermediate routes, it could make for an interesting night.
We like River Ridge this week. The Knights are just too deep and too talented for this up-and-coming Woodstock squad. River Ridge by 24.
The Skinny
The Sequoyah Chiefs defense pitched their first shutout in 14 games Friday night as they downed Woodstock in week-1. The Chiefs defense was flying around the field last Friday night while the offense looked very efficient. Sequoyah will need a repeat performance from their defense if they plan to stop their two-game skid against county rival Cherokee. The Chiefs defensive front made things very uncomfortable for Woodstock’s quarterback while the secondary tallied three interceptions on the night. Meanwhile, Peyton Lucas, Jack Piskorz, Jackson Hancock and Matthew Traynor all looked very comfortable in the Wing-T offense. We believe Sequoyah can and will move the ball against Cherokee’s front, but can Plummer, Hood, Born and the rest of the Chiefs defense put pressure on the Warriors signal caller?
The Cherokee Warriors enter the game fresh off a 52-6 drubbing of the Mays Raiders. The Warriors got 4-TD passes from A.J. Swann, including two to Sequoyah transfer Aidan Moore in a 35 point-2nd quarter outburst that put the game out of reach. Cherokee’s offense did a great job capitalizing on great field position. While the Warriors didn’t need the run game last week, Zi Johnson did enough to help keep Mays honest. We believe they’ll need a little more out of the rushing attack this week to keep the Sequoyah pass rush at bay.
Cherokee cannot afford a slow start against Sequoyah. The Chiefs would love nothing more than to get a lead and grind things out on the ground. However, we don’t believe Sequoyah has an answer for receiver Adarrius Harshaw or Caleb Richardson; we like the Warriors by 9.