Welcome back to our weekly Georgia High School Football Previews where we take a look at eight of the more intriguing matchups across the State. First up this week, we go down to South Georgia as Emanuel County Institute hosts the Metter Tigers. Both of these teams run the football well, but will P.J. Farnum be enough firepower for ECI or will the duo of Coney and Jordan rule the day for Metter? In Metro Atlanta, the Westlake Lions look to bounce back after a heartbreaking week-1 loss. They’ll host the Crisp County Cougars. Does Crisp have the depth to keep up with a talented West Lake team?
Over in Dallas, the South Paulding Spartans will host former region foe, Carrollton. Is this South Paulding team ready for a statement win, or will Julian “JuJu” Lewis and Carrollton continue to put up video game like numbers? Finally, over in Snellville, the Brookwood Broncos host the Walton Raiders. Brookwood is riding high after a big week-1 victory while Walton is smarting from their heartbreaking defeat. Can Walton regroup on the road?
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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
The Skinny
The Emanuel County Institute Bulldogs are off last week and will certainly not open the season off with a cupcake. The Bulldogs will look to pick up where they left off last season with key returners P.J. Farnum at running back and Bryce Kearson at quarterback. Farnum is a back with great vision and has the ability to change speed and direction on a dime. He’s certainly an electric back and one that will make it challenging to defend. The Bulldogs will be looking to improve on their 9-3 season from a year ago that saw them advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs.
The Metter Tigers lost their first regular season game in over two seasons. Metter has been an explosive team over the last two seasons, averaging over 35 points per game, so we expect for the Tigers to bounce back this week. Look for Antwan Coney and Kaliq Jordan to have more success running the ball this week. Defensively, Metter will have their hands full trying to tackle the Bulldogs Farnum.
Metter won this game going away last season. We believe this year’s matchup will be more competitive. In the end, it’s too much Coney and Jordan for the Tigers. Metter by 11.
The Skinny
The Westlake Lions will look to bounce back this week as they host one of the top teams in Class AAA, the Crisp County Cougars. Westlake was led last week by Jai’Den Thomas with over 140 yards on the ground. What we learned about Westlake is that they can certainly compete in the State’s largest classification after moving up from Class 6-A this season. The Westlake defense showed they will be a force to be reckoned with, holding North Cobb to 21 points. That’s a number well below North Cobb’s average last season.
The Crisp County Cougars got their season off with win under first year head coach Lawrance Smith, as they defeated neighboring Dooly County. Senior running back Semaj Chatfield did most of the damage on the ground with 28 carries for 103 yards. The Cougars defense kept Dooly in check for most of the night. They will certainly need that defense to travel to Atlanta this week as they face an offense that will be more potent than the one they saw in Week-1.
Crisp County is no stranger to playing at a high level. However, Westlake is too deep this week. We like the Lions by 16 at home.
The Skinny
The South Paulding Spartans have plenty of high expectations this season, with one of the top offensive linemen in the state and an experienced backfield returning this season. Jamarion Wilcox was the workhouse for the Spartans, rushing for 236 yards including an 86 yard TD run, while quarterback Kasen Wiseman threw for 176 yards in the victory. Wiseman showed some craftiness escaping pressure and keeping his eyes down field completing passes to help keep drives alive. Weisman and Wilcox will need a similar type outing as they host former region foe Carrollton on Friday.
The Carrollton Trojans absolutely lit up the scoreboard last week, putting up 69 points last Friday night. It was a great debut for freshman quarterback Julian Lewis, who threw for 286 yards and 5-TDs. Junior running back Bryce Hicks rushed for 135 yard for the Trojans offense. Six different Carrollton receivers caught passes last week. The Carrollton defense held Gadsden City to just one touchdown, which they didn’t yield until the last two minutes of the game. The Trojans also scored four defensive touchdowns, including three interceptions returned for a touchdown.
We don’t believe Carrollton can duplicate the defensive success that they had last week. South Paulding has enough experience to make this matchup much closer than the team’s two previous meetings. Carrollton has outscored South Pualding 81-34. Spartans keep it close for three quarters, but we like the Trojans by 10.
The Skinny
The Brookwood Broncos got their season off on the right foot with a big win on a gutsy play late in the game as quarterback Dylan Lonergan showed his ability to make things happen with his feet as well as his arm. Lonergan threw for 186 yards and 2-TDs while completing passes to five different Bronco receivers. The Brookwood offense racked up 341 yards of offense on Saturday. Senior linebacker Malcolm McCain led the defense with 8 total tackles, but the Broncos allowed 326 yards to Norcross.
The Walton Raiders lost a heartbreaker in Week-1 to another very talented Gwinnett County Team. What we learned from Walton is that they do belong in the conversation as one of the top teams in the state. Quarterback Jeremy Hecklinski threw for 425 yards and 4-TDs with Cam Lloyd as his top target, catching six passes for 196 yards and 2-TDs. Makari Bodiford also had a great debut for his new team, rushing for 144 yards and 2-TDs. The Walton defense however surrendered 478 yards of total offense last week. That will have to improve this week if they want to go on the road and get a victory.
Brookwood is riding high after their victory in Week-1. We think the key however, is how Walton responds to a heart breaking loss. If they can find a way to score points like they did in Week-1, we believe they can win a shootout against Brookwood. We like Walton to pull the upset over the Brookwood. Walton by 3.