We are down to the final two weeks of the regular season of Georgia High School Football. This is part II of our Eight Greats Around the State Georgia High School Football previews. This edition features big time matchups between some of the smaller classification schools. Games featured include Oconee County-Stephens County, Fitzgerald-Cook, Swainsboro-Bleckley County and Charlton County-Clinch County. 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 Oconee County Warriors are winners of their last two games and have a chance to really make Region 8-3A interesting with a win this week. The Warriors have been consistent running the football this season, averaging over 140 yards per game on the ground. It has been running back by committee for Oconee County as Whit Weeks, C.J. Jones and quarterback Mac Ricks have combined to lead the Warriors in rushing. Oconee is averaging 22.8 points per game while the defense is allowing 16.
The Stephens County Indians have won six consecutive games and have not lost a region contest to date. The Indians only loss was to Class A-Division-I Rabun County back on 8/26. Stephens Count comes in with a balanced attack on offense, as they average 168.3 yards per game through the air and 171.4 yards per game on the ground. Senior quarterback Ben Stowe has thrown for 1,259 yards and 11-TDs. His top receivers have been Cam’ron Lacey (27 receptions, 514 yards, 6-TDs), Corey Richie (23 receptions, 330 yards, 1-TD) and Jason Smith (19 receptions 274 yards, 3-TDs).
This is perhaps one of the two toughest regions in Class 3A. Stephens County would clinch at least a share of the region crown with a win on Friday night. Don’t be surprised if Oconee takes Stephens down to the wire…We believe they will. Oconee County by 2.
The Skinny
The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes have picked up this season where they left off in 2021. The Purple Hurricanes are looking to bring home another state title this season, but first they will have to deal with the Cook Hornets. Fitzgerald has been rather dominant this season, averaging 34.5 points per game while the defense is allowing 11.2. We expect for the Canes to establish the ground game behind Sylon Davis and Diondre Paschal. Fitzgerald will look to extend their current win streak over Cook to six games.
The Cook Hornets are having one of their better seasons in recent years. The Hornets had built an impressive resume of wins, but they could not find a way to get past region foe Dodge County last Friday night. Before last week, Cook had won five straight games. The Hornets are averaging 32.8 points per game and allowing 22.3. Cook is about as balanced on offense as a team can be. Through seven games they average 135.8 yards per game through the air and 134 yards per game on the ground
The Hornets appear to be the only thing standing in between Fitzgerald an a region title. We would like Cook more if they were playing this game at home. We don’t know if they will be able to keep up with Fitzgerald’s offense. We like the Purple Hurricanes by 13.
The Skinny
The Swainsboro Tigers have won 13 consecutive regular season games. They have been absolutely dominant this season averaging 40.4 points per game while allowing just 2.7 points per game. The defense has registered five shutouts on the season. The Tigers have done most of their damage on the ground, with Quindarius Brown (860 yards, 9-TDs) and quarterback Ty Adams (439 yards, 8-TDs) leading the way. As a team the Tigers have rushed for 2,417 yards this season. Meanwhile, they are only attempting about 3 passes per game.
The Bleckley County Royals will look to cause some havoc in the region standings this week if they can find a way to defeat Swainsboro. The Royals are averaging 36.2 points per game while the defense is allowing 10.3. Speaking of defense, the Royals have intercepted 10 passes this season with Tyler Wilcox leading the way with 4-picks. Through their first eight games, Bleckley County is averaging 135.5 yards per game through the air and 218.8 yards per game on the ground. Jahvon Butler has paced the Royals offense with 840 yards rushing and 13-TDs.
Bleckley County’s secondary has been outstanding, but we believe the only way that they really come into play this week is by run support, as we don’t expect Swainsboro will throw much at all this week. We don’t believe Swainsboro’s defense can shut out Bleckley, but we do believe they can limit them this week. We like Swainsboro by 11 at home.
The Skinny
The Charlton County Indians have won their last two games and are looking to clinch their first region title since 2009. The Indians are paced on offense by running back Jaylen Lilley. He’s rushed for 901 yards and 12-TDs on the season. The Indians are averaging 188.4 yards per game on the ground and just 37.1 yards per game through the air. Charlton is averging 27.5 points per game and allowing 18.2
The Clinch County Panthers are seeking their first region title since 2016. The Panthers have won five straight games coming into Friday night and have proven they can beat teams through the air and on the ground as quarterback Keegan Clayton has had success in both phases of offense the season. While Clayton has had success passing the ball, we still believe the Charlton County will look to establish the run early and often. The Panthers are averaging 36.6 points per game on offense and allowing 16.7 points per game on defense.
We know what hangs in the balance for both teams as the winner will earn the region title. Clinch County seems to be a bit more explosive on offense. We believe that this game comes down to the wire, but we like Clinch on the road by 6.