We are down to the final two weeks of the regular season of Georgia High School Football. This is part I of our Eight Greats Around the State Georgia High School Football previews. This edition features matchups between Valdosta-Colquitt County, South Paulding-Langston Hughes, Troup-Trinity Christian and Pace Academy-Stockbridge. Each one of these games will have major implications on home playoff positioning as we move closer towards the playoffs.
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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 Colquitt County Packers are closing in on their sixth region title in eight years. Colquitt County has been dominant this season, averaging 39.3 points per game while the defense is allowing 12.3 points per game. The Packers have a balanced attack this season, averaging 175.4 yards per game through the air and 175.9 yards per game on the ground. Quarterback Neko Fann has thrown for 1,440 yards and 16-TDs on the season, while Charlie Pace has rushed for 877 yards and 11-TDs. Receivers Ny Carr, Landen Thomas and Za’Mari Williams have combined to catch 79 passes for 1,173 yards and 12-TDs. The Packers defense have sacked opposing quarterbacks 25 times this season.
The Valdosta Wildcats might have been caught looking ahead to this week’s game as they were upset by the Camden County Wildcats. The loss halts the Wildcats 8-game win streak. Valdosta has done a fantastic job, turning things around from the 2021 season. The Cats have been doing most of their damage on the ground, rushing for twice as many passing yards as they’ve accumulated. Quarterback Todd Robinson has thrown for 793 yards and has also rushed for a team leading 485 yards. Ahmad Denson is second on the team in rushing with 456 yards and 3-TDs. The Cats are averaging 29.7 points per game while the defense is allowing just 5.7.
Colquitt Count has won eight of the last nine matchups in this series. While Valdosta has certainly been tough on defense, this Colquitt County team has already seen the likes of Cedar Grove and Lee County. Valdosta will present another difficult challenge for their opponent. We believe the Colquitt offense is flying too high for Valdosta to challenge them for region supremacy this season. We like Colquitt by 9.
The Skinny
The South Paulding Spartans have won five consecutive games as they enter this week’s tilt against Langston Hughes. The Spartans are averaging 137.8 yards per game through the air and 175.8 yards per game on the ground. Quarterback Kasen Wiseman has thrown for 1,329 yards and 10-TDs, while Jamarion Wilcox has rushed for 1,705 yards and 24…yes 24 TDs. As a team the Spartans are averaging 41 points per game while the defense is allowing 26.7.
The Langston Hughes Panthers have won 17 consecutive regular season games dating back to last season. Hughes has been dominant on both sides of the balls as the offense is averaging 51.1 points per game while the defense is allowing just 7.3 points per game. The Panthers have a relatively balanced attack, averaging 256 yards per game through the air and 212.3 on the ground. Quarterback Prentiss “Air” Noland has thrown for 2,048 yards and 28-TDs. Six different receivers have caught at least 10 passes this season for the Panthers.
This game will go a long away in helping determine the Region title. A win by Langston will assure them a home playoff game. The same could be said for the Spartans, however, they have yet to play Douglas County. At the end of the day, we believe Langston is more explosive offensively. We like the Panthers by 13.
The Skinny
The Pace Academy Knights are winners of their last four games. While the Knights have won a state title, they have yet to win a region football title. They can force a three way tie with a win on Friday night. Pace is averaging 29.1 points per game while the defense is allowing 16.7. Speaking of defense, Pace Academy boasts some very talented defensive prospects including Hevin Brown-Shuler, Frank Caldwell, Jordan Burns and Davis Rice to name a few.
The Stockbridge Tigers are winners of their last five games. Overall, the Tigers are averaging 33.1 points per game while the defense is allowing 10.1. However, in their last five games, the Tigers are averaging 44.4 points per game while allowing 3.8. Defensively, Stockbridge has sacked opposing quarterbacks 24 times and intercepted 5 passes. Offensively, the Tigers will lean heavily on the run, as they are averaging 183.3 yards per game on the ground while passing for just 72.3 yards per game.
Stockbridge has been riding high these last five games, but we believe this Pace defense might be the best they’ve seen. Although, we believe we could say the same thing about Stockbridge’s defense lining up against Pace’s offense. We think this game might be low scoring and don’t be surprised to see Pace put a scare into Stockbridge, but we like the Tigers by 4.
The Skinny
The Troup Tigers are on the cusp of winning their first region title since 1987. They are winners of 8 straight this season, and 10 straight regular season games going back to 2021. The Tigers are averaging 162 yards per game through the air and 255.6 yards per game on the ground. By now, we know that Taeo Todd really makes Troup go. The junior dual threat quarterback has thrown for 1,232 yards and 14-TDs and rushed for 1,104 yards and 16-TDs. Quay Moss is Todd’s top receiving target with 20 receptions for 572 yards and 7-TDs.
The Trinity Christian Lions dropped a game last week to LaGrange, but are still in contention for the region title and a home playoff berth. The Lions had won five straight games before last week. They are averaging 229.4 yards per game through the air and 138.8 yards per game on the ground. Quarterback Henry Brodnax has now thrown for 1,708 yards and 11-TDs. He has been spreading the ball around this season as eight different receivers have caught at least 10 passes this year. The Lions are averaging 22.7 points per game while allowing 19.2
We haven’t talked about defense a lot in this preview, but the pressure will be on Trinity Christian to find a way to slow down the Tiger Express. We don’t believe that Troup will get to their season average in points per game this week (44.5), but we do like the Tigers by a touchdown at home.