It’s hard to believe, but the first quarter of the high school football season is complete in the state of Georgia. As we do each week, we take a look at eight of the more intriguing matchups across the state. This is Part-II of our feature we call Eight Greats Around the State.
Our first matchup features the top team in Class 4A hosting the top team in Class 5A as Ware County travels to Savannah to square off against Benedictine. Contrasting styles of play have been a theme this week and it doesn’t change with this game. Will Benedictine have success through the air against the Gators? Down in Moultrie, the Colquitt County Packers will host the Lee County Trojans. The Trojans are looking for the first win of the series. Can they slow down the Packer express?
Over in Roswell, the Hornets will face off against long time rival, the Milton Eagles. The Eagles have owned this rivalry as of late but the explosive Hornets will be looking to pick off the Eagles at home this week. Finally, down in Homerville, Clinch County will host the Cook Hornets as Cooks makes the short drive over on U.S. 129. Can the balanced Cook attack slow down the Clinch County ground attack?
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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
Historical records are provided by the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. (ghsfa.org)
The Skinny
The Benedictine Cadets have won 14 consecutive games dating back to last season. The last time they lost was to this week’s opponent, Ware County, in 2022. The Cadets are led by Florida State commit Luke Kromenhoek. The Senior quarterback has thrown for 339 yards on the season. La’Don Bryant and Micah Williams have been two of Kromenhoek’s top receiving targets on the year. The Cadets are averaging 37 points per game while the defense is allowing just 7.6 points per game.
The Ware County Gators have won 17 consecutive games dating back to the beginning of last season. Junior quarterback Luke Hooks has led the Gators with 408 yards passing and 3-TDs while completing 63% of his passes. Quintin Orange has been the top receiver for the Gators with 11 receptions for 190 yards and a touchdown. Dae’Jeaun Dennis and R.J. Boyd have combined for 432 yards and 4-TDs on the ground. The Gators are averaging 32 points per game offensively while the defense is allowing 14.6
We expect for Benedictine to keep this game close, similar to last season. Kromenhoek should continue to impress this week, but we like Ware’s ability to run the football and believe that will be the difference this week. Gators by 7.
The Skinny
The Colquitt County Packers have won 14 consecutive regular season games and they look like they are approaching mid season form. The Packers are averaging 257.3 yards per game through the air and 218.7 yards per game of the ground. Quarterback Neko Fann has thrown for 737 yards and 13 TDs while completing 62% of his passes. Ny Carr has been the Packers primary target with 23 receptions for 376 yards and 8-TDs. Zay Williams and Landen Thomas have combined for 23 receptions for 293 yards and 4-TDs. Meanwhile Day’Shawn Brown leads the team in rushing with 249 yards and 2-TDs.
The Lee County Trojans will be looking for their first win ever against Colquitt this Friday. The Trojans are 3-0 for the third straight season. Expect for Lee to lean on the legs of junior running back Ousmane Kromah. Kromah has rushed for 321 yards and 6-TDs. But he’s not the only threat on the ground for the Trojans. Devin Collier and Braxton Honer have combined to rush for 306 yards and 4-TDs. Honer also leads the receiving unit with 12 receptions. Twelve separate receivers have caught passes for the Trojans. They are averaging 45.3 points per game on offense, while the defense is allowing 15.
The Trojans will have their hands full as they visit Mack Tharpe Stadium. If they are going to pull the upset this week, they will need to have that run game working and find a way to force a few turnovers. We believe Lee can keep it close for a half with their ability to run the football, but we believe Colquitt’s aerial attack will be too much for the Trojans. Packers by two touchdowns.
The Skinny
The Roswell Hornets have been steamrolling the opposition in the early going this season. Roswell is averaging 54.3 points per game while allowing just 7 points per game. Senior quarterback K.J. Smith has thrown for 628 yards and 13-TDs while completing 78.6% of his passes. His top receivers have been Synkwan Smith (12 receptions, 225 yards, 5-TDs) and Dylan Williams (9 receptions, 194 yards, 6-TDs). Meanwhile it has been Nykahi Davenport leading the team in rushing with 218 yards and 4-TDs. The Hornets defense has intercepted 3 passes and recorded 5 sacks on the season.
The Milton Eagles come off the bye week looking to run their streak of victories over rival Roswell to 5 consecutive games. The Eagles have been primarily pass oriented in the early going with Luke Nickel throwing for 372 yards and 3-TDs with no interceptions. Nickel has three proven targets in Debron Gattling (7 receptions, 57 yards), Marc Easley II (6 receptions, 103 yards, 1-TD) and C.J. Wiley, (8 receptions, 109 yards, 1-TD). In two games, Milton is averaging 18.5 points per game while the defense is allowing 13.5
The last five games in this series have been decided by 10 points or less and we believe this edition will be just as competitive. Don’t expect for Roswell’s scorching start to be replicated this week against a higher level of competition. However we do like the Hornets to upset the Eagles at home by the slimmest of margins. Hornets by 1.
The Skinny
The Clinch County Panthers bounced back from a three point loss two weeks ago by securing their first shutout of the season last week. The Panthers do most of their damage on the ground offensively. They are averaging just over 3 pass attempts per game this season. Quarterback Aaron Bryant leads the team in rushing with 427 yards and 2-TDs while Jeremy Bell has added 288 yards and 5-TDs. The Panthers are averaging 27.3 points per game while the defense is allowing 12.
The Cook Hornets were off last week and look to get back into the win column after falling to Class 7A Valdosta two weeks ago. Cook has a relatively balanced attack. Expect for Drew Folsom at quarterback and Keshun McKever to continue to lead the Hornets offense. The Cook defense has already intercepted three passes this season. Meanwhile, Aiden Lester has already recorded 32 total tackles while Ja’Kori Jones leads the team with 6 tackles for loss.
Clinch is again stepping up in classification this week. Expect for Cook to load the box and force the Panthers into 2nd and 3rd and long situations and forcing them to throw the ball. We believe Clinch will get on the board, but we like Cook by 20.