Week-3 is quickly approaching and there is a fantastic slate of games as the landscape of high school football begins to sort itself out in the early season. This is Part-I of our weekly feature where we highlight eight of the more intriguing football matchups around the state of Georgia.
First up the Appling County Pirates continues their challenging non-region slate of games as they host a resurgent Wayne County Yellowjacket team. Both of these teams have shown a propensity to run the football. Will the Pirates be able to slow down Matthew Fuller and the Jackets? Down in Bainbridge, the Bearcats will host another South Georgia titan as the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets come calling. The Jackets will be bringing with them their high powered offense. Do the Cats have enough offense to match the Jackets score for score?
Down in LaGrange, a cross town battle is brewing as the Callaway Cavaliers will host the Troup Tigers. Callaway scored a big win over a 4A program last week, but Troup presents a different set of problems. Will the Cavaliers be able to slow down Troup’s electric quarterback Taeo Todd? Finally, Rome will host Carrollton in a matchup of two of the state’s top quarterbacks. Rome’s defense has been extremely stingy this season. Can they put the breaks on the Trojans fast break offense?
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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
Historical records are provided by the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. (ghsfa.org)
The Skinny
The Appling County Pirates got into the win column in a big way last Friday with a 41 point win over Aiken, SC. They were able to get Jamarion Williams going last week as the back posses a combination of power and speed that makes him difficult to bring down with just one defender. Junior quarterback Dayson Griffis has a couple of reliable targets at receiver in Camden Hickox and Kellen Echols that will help the Pirates keep opposing defenses off balance. The Pirates defense is allowing 16.5 points per game on the young season.
The Wayne County Yellow Jackets are 2-0 for the first time since 2019. The Jackets will look to make it back to back wins over Pirates. Expect Wayne to establish the run early and often, they are averaging over 330 yards per game on the ground. Matthew Fuller has already rushed for 552 yards and 6-TDs this season. Wayne County was able to stymie Brooks County last week defensively, as the recorded their first shutout in almost a year. The Jackets are allowing 10 points per game this season.
The Appling County offense defense will have their hands full as they have to find a way to slow down Matthew Fuller. That’s been easier said than done so far this season. We believe Appling finds a way to slow Fuller down this week. Pirates by 3.
The Skinny
The road does not get any easier for the Bainbridge Bearcats this week as they host Highway 84 rival Thomas County Central. The Bearcats offense has done most of their damage on the ground, averaging 175 yards per game rushing and 7-TDs. Keenan Phillips has racked up 290 yards and 4-TDs in the first two contests. Cam Sanders has done enough in the passing game to keep teams honest with 202 yards and 2-TDs through the air with no interceptions. Antavious Murphy has been the primary target for Sanders with 10 receptions for 157 yards. Sanders has also been active on defense, as he leads the team with 2 sacks.
Thomas County Central cruised to victory over rival Thomasville last week The offense has been powered by quarterback Jaylen Johnson who has completed 60% of his passes for 507 yards and 4-TDs. Trey Benton leads the ground game, while Tre’von Pringle is starting to emerge as a reliable receiver to go alongside Malachi Thomas, Ashton Harper and A.J. Clark out of the backfield. The Jackets have been stingy on defense this season allowing just one touchdown in 8 quarters played. Senior linebacker Tywon Christopher leads the team with 11 total tackles.
Thomas County Central broke a 5-game losing streak in the series with a win last season. Bainbridge will have to find a way to rattle Johnson at quarterback if they have any shot at knocking of a Thomas County Central team that seems poised for another region title and deep playoff run. We like the Bearcats to have have some success on offense, but not enough to outlast the Jackets. Thomas County Central by 17.
The Skinny
The Callaway Cavaliers opened their season with a big win over the Cedartown Bulldogs. Senior quarterback Deshun Coleman spearheaded the offense as he showcased his passing and scrambling abilities, accounting for 278 total yards and 3 total touchdowns. But it wasn’t just the Deshun Coleman show, as sophomore quarterback Blake Harrington showcased has passing and scrambling abilities as well. Trevon Reeves was the primary target for the quarterbacks, as he hauled in six balls for 126 yards.
The Troup Tigers offense has been on fire in the first two weeks of the season. Troup is averaging 40.5 points per game. Quarterback Taeo Todd is the straw that stirs the drink for the Tigers offense. He’s passed for 331 yards, rushed for 120 yards and has accounted for 9 of the teams touchdowns this season. Todd’s primary target has been Logan Sinkfield, who’s hauled in 7 receptions for 117 yards. Sinkfield has also rushed for 60 yards on just 4 carries. The Tigers defense has been tough early this season, allowing just 3.5 points per game. Qua Birdsong leads the team with 10 total tackles.
Troup’s offense has been explosive and conventional wisdom would say that Callaway won’t be able to keep up, but stranger things have happened in this rivalry game. The Callaway quarterbacks will make enough plays to keep this game close, but we believe Troup edges their county rival behind the explosive Taeo Todd. Tigers by 5.
The Skinny
The Rome Wolves will face their old region foe for the 10th time. The Wolves have already flexed their offensive and defensive prowess as they are averaging 45 points per game while the defense is allowing just 4 points per game. Offensively, it’s been quarterback Reece Fountain leading the way with 336 passing yards and 5-TDs on the season. He has reliable targets like D.K. Daniel, Nic Hester and B.J. Jackson. The Wolves also have a proven bruiser at running back in junior Chance Arthur who has no problem running in between the tackles and finishing runs typically falling forward. Rome’s defense has already gotten into the scoring column this young season and Justin Terrell and Trey Adams have been effective harassing opposing quarterbacks.
The Carrollton Trojans got a big win last week as they shut out South Paulding. The Trojans have turned to sophomore running back Kimauri Farmer who has rushed for 173 yards and 6-TDs in place of the injured Bryce Hicks. All eyes will be on sophomore quarterback Julian “Juju” Lewis. He’s completing 66% of his passes for 427 yards and 4-TDs in the young season. Eight different receivers have caught passes for the Trojans, but Caleb Odom will probably be Hicks’ primary target week in and week out.
We believe Rome will want to make this a physical slugfest and if they can utilize Chance Arthur and the run game, perhaps they can keep the explosive Carrollton offense on the sideline and control the time of possession. Points will be at a premium, but we like Carrollton by 3 on the road.