We are entering the last quarter of the regular season for Georgia High School Football. Time is getting shorter for teams to make their move for playoff positions. Some region winners across the state have already been decided. While the playoff picture is starting to take shape, there are still a lot of questions to be answered. This is Part II of our weekly feature that we call Eight Greats Around the State, where we take a look at eight intriguing matchups this week.
First up, the Schley County Wildcats will host the Manchester Blue Devils. By all of our accounts, this game will decide the region winner. Can the Blue Devils ground game run away with an upset victory or will the balanced Wildcats claim their second straight region title? Next up, the North Atlanta Warriors will take on the Marist War Eagles. Marist is in search of their fourth consecutive region title. Can the speedy Warriors dethrone Marist?
The Cedar Grove Saints have been atop the Class 3A poll for quite some time, but this week, they face the team that beat them in last year’s state title game. The Sandy Creek Patriots come calling in a matchup of two of the top teams in Class 3A. Can the Patriots ground game get the job done again? Or will E.J. Colson and Bo Walker help guide the Saints to another region title? Finally, the Vidalia Indians host the Appling County Pirates. Vidalia has looked good so far in region play but now face one of the perennial favorites. Is Vidalia a contender, or does Appling County get a big win and keep pace with Toombs and Pierce County?
As always, thanks for reading. While you’re here, don’t forget to subscribe so you won’t miss any of our coverage. Please feel free to comment and share.
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 Schley County Wildcats have taken on all comers without a hitch this season. They are seeking their second consecutive region title. We have been singing their praises all season. They have an offense averaging 45.1 points per game and a stout defense that is only allowing 13.7 points per game. It’s a defense that has forced 26 turnovers and sacked opposing quarterbacks 22 times. Hayden Walker leads the team with five sacks while Jack Clark has recorded 40 total tackles to lead the team in that category. On Offense, Jaylewis Solomon (30 receptions, 595 yards, 8-TDs) and Kendall Sims (21 receptions, 248 yards, 4-TDs) are the top receivers for quarterback Jay Kanazawa. Kanazawa has now thrown for 1,512 yards and 19-TDs.
The Manchester Blue Devils have won their last four games coming into this week and have been impressive, especially on defense. They are allowing just 7.1 points per game and have not allowed more than 20 points to any single opponent this season. Junior linebacker Bobby Ellison leads the team in total tackles with 53. They’ve sacked opposing quarterbacks 18 times with big Justus Terry recording 6 to lead the team. Offensively, the Blue Devils are a running team, as they’ll only attempt about 5 passes per game. Manchester uses running back by committee with Quavion Cooper, Darius Favors, Keenan Whitaker and Benni Kempson, all underclassmen, who have combined to rush for 1,437 yards and 11-TDs.
Manchester will need to control time off possession and convert drives into scores this week if they are going to pull off the upset. We believe this will be the toughest region opponent for Schley, but their explosiveness and experience should be enough to get past the Blue Devils. Wildcats by two touchdowns.
The Skinny
The North Atlanta Warriors have put together their best season in school history and can tie the school records for wins in a season with one more victory. The offense is on pace to break the school record for points in a season and is currently averaging 42.4 points per game. The Warriors have scored at least 30 points in all of their previous contests. Quarterback Ian Reynolds has thrown for 1,215 yards on the season with Caden Benson, Grant Thompson and Henry Debardeleben being his primary targets. Meanwhile, Demeitrus Barnes leads the team in rushing. North Atlanta’s defense is allowing 12.8 points per game and has not allowed more than 22 points in a contest this year.
The Marist War Eagles have won six straight games after dropping their season opener. Marist is in search of their fourth consecutive region title. Marist’s offense has been churning out 33 points per game while their defense is allowing just 12.2 points per game. Marist has used several different ball carriers but expect for quarterback Jack Euart and running backs Joesph Pizzo and Walker Richens to help lead the ground game. The War Eagles are averaging well over 200 yards per game on the ground this season.
It has been said that styles make fights. This week the speedy North Atlanta Warriors will face a physical Marist War Eagle team. The winner of this game is the prohibitive favorite to win the region with the season winding down. We believe Marist can control the clock and the scoreboard with their ground game. War Eagles by 11.
The Skinny
The Cedar Grove Saints have played one of the most challenging pre-region schedules across the state. The Saints won their first region game and would almost be certain to clinch their sixth region title in seven years with a win on Friday. Junior quarterback E.J. Colson has thrown for over 1,400 yards and 18-TDs. The Saints have relied on a trio of underclassmen at receiver as Boden “Bo” Walker, Andrew Leslie, and Devin Carter have combined to catch more than 20 passes each Walker is also the team’s leading rusher. Heading into last Friday’s game, Walker had rushed for 639 yards and 10-TDs. Defensively, Cedar Grove is allowing 34.2 points per game. Through the first seven games, they have sacked opposing quarterbacks 12 times and forced 8 turnovers.
The Sandy Creek Patriots survived a scare last week against Carver of Atlanta and will now look to claim their first region title in 10 years. The Patriots have relied heavily on the ground game as they are averaging 243 yards per game on the ground while they are passing for just over 117 yards per game. Amarai Latimer (985 yards, 14-TDs) and Dalen Penson (667 yards, 8-TDs) lead the Patriots rushing attack. Meanwhile, Rich Vanzant leads the receivers with 21 receptions for 293 yards and 1-TD. Not only is Amari Latimer the team’s leading rusher, but he also leads the team in total tackles with 58 as he doubles as a linebacker. The defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 21 times with Evan Harvey accountable for 9 of them. The defense has forced 12 turnovers and is allowing 17.5 points per game.
These two teams met twice last season with Cedar Grove winning the regular season game and Sandy Creek winning the rematch in the state title game. Can Sandy Creek keep an explosive Cedar Grove team in a low scoring grind it out type of game? We believe they’ll need to turn this game into a slugfest. However, the Saints have too much offense. Cedar Grove by 10.
The Skinny
The Vidalia Indians currently sit atop the region 3-AA standings. But the road to their first region title in since 2020 will be tumultuous as they face three Top-10 teams over the next three weeks. The Indians enter this week winners of their last three ball games. They‘ve won those games by almost the exact same score. They Indians are allowing 12.4 points per game and scoring 30.4 points per game. Their two losses came by a combined 9 points and both of those games were against opponents from higher classifications. The Indians will rely heavily on the legs of Antonio Barron who leads the team in rushing with well over 700 yards on the year. Barron is also a capable receiver out of the backfield.
The Appling County Pirates will look to crash the Indians homecoming party this week. The Pirates bounced back from a 3-point loss two weeks ago to get a big 61 point shutout victory last time out. They are averaging 34 points per game and allowing 13 points per game. As we mentioned a few weeks ago, quarterback Dayson Griffis will lead the Pirates offense. He’s a crafty player with a live arm. His primary receiver will be Camden Hickox. Look for Jamarion Williams aka “the truck”, to get the bulk of the carries at running back. Don’t be surprised to see Trent Griner get some carries as well as he’s shown he can also put up big rushing numbers. All of the Pirates backs benefit from running behind a line that is anchored by Jaylon Smith and Rhett Stone.
Vidalia will certainly enter their toughest stretch of the season beginning Friday night. Their offense is reliant on the ground game, so expect Appling’s Jailon Bennett and Darion Smith to be key in fitting the run on defense. Appling is a little deeper on offense and we beleive that will be the difference even on the road. Pirates by 12.