We have finally made it to Week-1 of the Georgia High School Football Season. This is Part II of our weekly previews, Eight Greats Around the State which we look at eight intriguing matchups across the state of Georgia.
We pick up where we left off in Part I and stay in South Georgia as the Appling County Pirates host the Ware County Gators. The Gators will be replacing a lot of offensive production this season. Can Appling “catch Ware early”, before they get it all figured out? Our next preview takes us to Metro Atlanta where the Alpharetta Raiders host the Jefferson Dragons. The Raiders return several key players including quarterback Ben Guthrie. Will Jefferson’s two-way star, Sammy Brown have a big night on Friday?
Down in Middle Georgia, the Warner Robins Demons will host Lee County. Can the Warner Robins defense slow down a youthful and explosive Lee County offense. Finally, on Saturday in “The Benz”, Walton will face off against Mill Creek. Can the Walton passing attack have success against a secondary patrolled by Caleb Downs, one of the top safeties in the country?
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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 Appling County Pirates are coming off of their first 12 win season in ten years. If the Pirates are going to repeat the success they had last season, they’ll need to replace their top three backs that they lost to graduation. Expect for Jaylen Johnson and Jamarion Williams to help fill that void. Camden Hickox is the team’s top returning receiver. Dayson Griffis could also become a weapon in the passing game. Defensively, Dawson Griffis is the teams leading returning tackler while Darion Smith will look to duplicate an impressive sophomore, recording 11 sacks in 2021.
The Ware County Gators have a huge hole to fill at quarterback and running back with the graduation of Thomas Castellanos and Cartevious Norton. The jury may still be at at quarterback with Niko Smith and Luke Hooks in the mix. Whoever gets the nod will have two pretty good backs in Charles Johnson and Dae’Jeaun Dennis in the backfield at running back. Ware County returns top linebackers Trey Hargrove, Jemario Barkley among others. It’s a defense that allowed 21.9 points per game last season.
Playing the game in Baxley should help the Pirates a good bit. We believe Ware’s ability to run the football more effectively than Appling should be the difference. Gators by 8.
The Skinny
This game is an intriguing matchup, and while some might wonder why we picked this matchup, we believe that Alpharetta might be flying under the radar. The Raiders move down in classification this year and return a solid core of players including quarterback Ben Guthrie who threw for 1,675 yards and 14-TDs in 2021. The Raiders also return their top rusher from a year ago Jake Gil. He will run behind Parker Peterson (Memphis Tiger Commit) and Elias Cloy (Georgia Tech Commit). These two will anchor the Alpharetta offensive line and we expect big things with their leadership. The defense will return last season’s sack leader, Aven Kelley.
The Jefferson Dragons begin a new era as Coach Travis Noland moves over from North Oconee. Noland has led his previous teams to three region championships each. All eyes will be on Sammy Brown, one of the top linebackers in the state. But we’d expect Brown to get touches in the backfield as well on offense. The Dragons are doing a bit of rebuilding as last year’s starting QB Malaki Starks has graduated. Expect for Max Aldridge to take over for the Dragons under center. Meanwhile, the Jefferson offense will need to find a go to receiver to help keep teams off balance.
We have full faith the Coach Noland will keep Jefferson competing at a high level, however, this Alpharetta team has a little more experience, and they are playing at home. We like the Raiders by a touchdown.
The Skinny
The Warner Robins Demons and Lee County Trojans have been two of the most consistent teams below the “gnat line” in recent history. The Demons are coming off of their 2nd straight Class AAAAA state title and have been in the finals each of the last five yeas. They return their leading rusher from a year ago, Malcolm Brown, who rushed for 1,332 yards and 17-TDs. They will have to break in a new quarterback this season and that is a big question mark for the Demons. Warner Robins will also need to find someone to step up at receiver as their top two pass catchers from a year ago have graduated. We do expect for the Warner Robins defense to be stout again this year. They’ll be led by Victor Burley and Chayce Smith. Expect these two to set the table for the Demons this season.
Lee County has reloaded…again. Last season, then freshman running back Ousmane Kromah had a breakout season, rushing for over 1,700 yard and 22-TDs. Joining Kromah in the backfield is 2nd year starter at quarterback Chris Martin who will have one of his top receivers back in Jevell Ferguson. We talked about the impressive Warner Robins defense line, but Lee County touts some usnung, but impressive defensive linemen including Jaydon Cory, Leroy Jackson and Nehamiah McCloud. The secondary will be anchored by Temeriz Williams, Devin Collier and Jkhai Johnson.
Warner Robins will certainly have the luxury of paying at home. We expect plenty of fireworks from both teams, but do like the experience at quarterback to be the difference in this game. Lee County by six.
The Skinny
The Walton Raiders will look to make another deep run in the playoffs in 2022. Jeremy Hecklinski is a name we’ve mentioned a lot when talking about Walton. He’s received plenty of snaps with the first team the previous two season. Now the job of quarterback falls squarely on his shoulder. Hecklinski threw for 1,471 yards and 13-TDs in 2021. The Raiders return two of their top three running backs in Braylen Stokes and Austin Williams. They also added Makari Bodiford who has plenty of experience in the backfield coming over from McEachern. Walton will be looking for receivers to step up as their top five receivers from a year ago have graduated. Defensively, Ashton Woods, the team’s top tackler returns along with fellow linebacker Ryan Anderson. Woods also led the team in interceptions last season.
Meanwhile, the Mill Creek Hawks are looking to make a deep run in the playoffs behind the top recruit in the state, safety Caleb Downs. But Downs isn’t the only star on this Hawks team. Linebackers Jamal Anderson, Kevin Mitchell, Khai Green and Josh Anglin all return. Meanwhile on offense, senior quarterback Hayden Clark will look to improve on his impressive junior numbers as he threw for 2,065 yards and 19-TDs in 2021. Brendan Jenkins and Mikhail Woods return as the two top receivers for the Hawks. It will be interesting who Mill Creek turns to at running back. Jamal Anderson could see action in the backfield.
We expect both of these teams to be alive in the playoffs come late November. We like Walton to keep it close, but their inexperience at receiver might hurt them in the end. Mill Creek by 5.