We are back from the break and all teams are in action this week in Cherokee County. All important region play begins for Region 5-7A while it continues for Region 7-6A. Here is a look at this week’s games.
The Cherokee Warriors look to stay hot as Woodstock pays them a visit on Friday. Can the Wolverines continue to find success through the air or will the Warriors continue their defensive dominance? Meanwhile, the Etowah Eagles will host the Roswell Hornets to open region play. Will Etowah get into the win column this week, or is Roswell the real deal?
The battle of East Cherokee…(or is it the battle of Hickory Flat)…will take place at Skip Pope Stadium on Friday. Will this be a defensive struggle or will the offense for either team come alive this weekend. Finally, the River Ridge Knights visit the Riverwood Raiders. The Raiders have already dropped a region game and can’t afford to fall too far behind. Do they have a formula to slow down River Ridge and Amehre Morrison?
As always, thanks for reading. Please feel free to comment and share. Best of luck to all of the teams competing on Friday night.
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The Skinny
The Cherokee Warriors are back in the warm confines of Tommy Baker Field this week as they host county rival Woodstock. Keith Adams Jr. and the Warriors offensive line have helped to churn out a team average of 148 yards per game. Adams leads the way with 648 yards and 6-TDs on the year. Braesen Parker, Tyler Goddard and Toby Thompson lead the team in total tackles. The Cherokee defense has forced 10 turnovers this season. Speaking of defense, Cherokee is only allowing 13.6 points per game.
The Woodstock Wolverines will be looking to defeat their county rival for the first time in three years. Woodstock’s Don Comeau has seemed to find comfort in Coach Budde’s offense. The sophomore has thrown for 477 yards and 5-TDs in his two starts. The Wolverines are averaging 24 points per game. However, it has been feast or famine for the Woodstock. In their two wins, they are averaging 44.5 points per game, but in their three losses, they are only averaging 11 points per game. Cherokee hasn’t exactly been lighting up the scoreboard the past three weeks either, but we think their defense can keep the Wolverines at bay this week. We like the Warriors by 11.
The Skinny
The Etowah Eagles will face a familiar foe as the Roswell Hornets visit Eagle Mountain on Friday. Etowah will look to get back on track behind their leading receiver Brock Rechsteiner (8 receptions, 133 yards) and running back Klivert Many (273 yards, 2-TDs). The Eagles certainly know the task at hand. They’ve got to stick the ball into the endzone with more consistency. Defensively, Austin Skinner is the team’s leader in sacks with 3.
The Roswell Hornets are 4-0 for the second time in three years. Junior quarterback Robbie Roper has thrown for 927 yards and 10-TDs. Junior running backs Ryan Stephens and Ryan Hill have combined for 567 yards and 7-TDs. Marquis Willis has been the primary target for Roper with 21 receptions for 401 yards and 3-TDs, while Michael Fitzgerald has caught 15 passes for 296 yards and 4-TDs. Roswell is averaging 35.7 points per game so far this season. We believe Etowah will hold Roswell under their average of 35 points per game, but we aren’t sure if they’ll be able to score enough to keep pace. We like Roswell by 11.
The Skinny
The Sequoyah Chiefs will be back home at Skip Pope Stadium this Friday night. The Chiefs have used two quarterbacks early in the season. Junior Conner Gelatt has completed 71.4% of his passes while sophomore Matthew Traynor has thrown for a team high 251 yards and 4-TDs. While the quarterback position might still be unsettled, most everyone knows that Jaden Mitchell is the workhours for the Chiefs. The senior has rushed for 337 yards and 3-TDs and has also caught a team high 9-passes; showing his versatility in multiple facets of the game. Joseph Silva, Jack Blackmon and Jonah Haney lead the team in total tackles. In their last two outings, the Chiefs defense is trending in the right direction, allowing an average of 14.5 points per game.
The Creekview Grizzlies defense has allowed a total of two offensive touchdowns all season. Last time out, they got their first shutout of the season. Grant Anderson and Isaac Hubert are among the county’s top sack leaders with 6 and 4.5 respectively. Sam Minozzi is not far behind with four sacks of his own. Offensively, Tyler Stevens and Brody Rhodes have been the big threats to opposing defenses. Rhodes has rushed for almost 250 yards and thrown for over 520 yards while Stevens has rushed for 358 yards. A lot of times we’d expect opposing teams to have trouble with Sequoyah’s Wing-T, but the Grizzlies have had an extra week to prepare. We think it will be a defensive battle early, but we like Creekview by 10.
The Skinny
The Riverwood Raiders will look to get back on track this week after dropping a region game to Johns Creek. Despite the loss last week, Riverwood is still averaging 39.5 points per game, while the defense is only giving up 15 points per game. Quarterback Avery Smith is listed as a pro-style quarterback, but the junior can beat you with both his arm and his legs. His main target this season has been Donovan Logan. Logan is tough to bring down in the open field. Expect for Riverwood’s passing attack to give River Ridge some fits on Friday.
The River Ridge Knights are 4-0 for the first time since 2011 and have now won four consecutive games for only the second time in school history. The Knights offense is powered by junior running back Amehre Morrison with 827 yards rushing and 12-TDs. Quarterback Carson Lathem has thrown for 580 yards and 7-TDs, with Jackson Head and Riley Caines as the top two receivers for the Knights. Hunter Deriso and Brian Bradley lead the team in sacks with three each. They will both be instrumental this week in getting a pass rush on the Riverwood quarterback to disrupt the passing game. We believe the Knights will pass this test. We like them by 9 this week over Riverwood.