We have reached Week-4 in the Georgia High School Football season. We’ve had some great matchups all across the state early in the season. This week, we take a look at eight of the matchups that we found intriguing. First up we check in with the Lumpkin County Indians as they host the Temple Tigers. Both these teams look like they have already turned things around from last season. Are the Indians for real or will Temple’s Cam Vaughn run wild this Friday? Next, we stay in the northern part of the state as the Calhoun Yellow Jackets host the Cedartown Bulldogs. Will the passing attack of Calhoun be the difference or will at be the Cedartown ground game run wild?
Down in Ellaville, the Schley County Wildcats will look to bounce back after last week’s loss as they host the Bleckley County Royals. Can the Wildcats passing game get back on track on Friday or does Bleckley have enough on defense to control the skies? Finally the Oconee County Warriors will host the Jefferson Dragons. This game features two of the top linebackers in the state, who also double as running backs. Which one of these young men, (Whit Weeks – Oconee Co; Sammy Brown – Jefferson), will lead their team to victory in Northeast Georgia?
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
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 Lumpkin County Indians are 3-0 for the first time since 2003 and are looking to go to 4-0 for the first time since 1988. Head Coach Heath Webb has had an immediate impact on the Indians. Quarterback Cooper Scott is completing 80% of his passes for 405 yards and 2-TDs, while rushing for 126 yards and 4-TDs. Scott is joined in the backfield by junior running back Mason Sullens who leads the team with 274 yards and 7-TDs. Thirteen separate receivers have caught passes for the Indians. Lumpkin is averaging 45.6 points per game, but more impressively, the defense is allowing just 4.3 points per game and last week, recorded their first shutout since 2018.
The Temple Tigers have already exceeded their win total from 2021. We know that Temple will be looking for more this week as they travel to Dahlonega. The Tigers will lean heavily on their do everything quarterback, Cam Vaughn. Vaughn has thrown for 202 yards and a touchdown and leads the team in rushing 637 yards and 10-TDs. That’s an average 212.3 yards per game. When Vaughn does pass, look for him to target McClann Meteyar who has caught 5 passes for 105 yards.
Both Temple and Lumpkkn have already reversed their fortunes from the 2021 season. Is Lumpkin County up to the task to shut down Temple’s Vauhgn? We don’t think Lumpkin can shut him down, but we do believe Lumpkin can outscore Temple. We like the Indians by 5.
The Skinny
The Calhoun Yellow Jackets will be back at home this week as they scored a big win over Class 6A Creekview. The Jackets got a big performance from quarterback Trey Townsend who passed for 262 yards and two touchdowns last week. On the season Townsend has thrown for 612 yards and six TDs. He has an array of targets at receiver including Jax Bishop, Kaleb Ray, Bryant Arnold, Cam Curtis, Dustin Kerns, and sophomore tight end Emaree Winston. Running back Caden Williams has gained 216 yards on the ground and has also been a great option catching balls out of the backfield.
The Cedartown Bulldogs also got a win over a Class 6A opponents well, as they shut out Sequoyah last week. The Cedartown ground machine keeps churning out yardage as they’ve already gained 908 rushing yards this season. They are led by Harlem Diamond (284 yards, 4-TDs) and Patrick Gardner (280 yards, 5-TDs). The Bulldogs have only attempted 20 passes this season, but with rushing stats like they currently have, why bother passing? Defensively, Eli Barrow has been stout with 33 solo tackles and a sack.
This game features contrasting styles of offense. Calhoun might be a little more versatile, but we don’t know if that will matter. Calhoun is a really good team, but we aren’t sure the Jackets can contain the Cedartown rushing attack. We like the Bulldogs by 6 on the road.
The Skinny
The Schley County Wildcats will look to bounce back after falling to Early County last week. The Wildcats rushing attack was stymied a bit last week as they were only able to muster 35 yards on the ground last week. The Wildcats were without Zayden Walker again who was out with an injury. Quarterback Jay Kanazawa has thrown for 456 yards and 4-TDs with Jalewis Solomon as his primary receiving target. Solomon has caught 17 passes for 216 yards. Malachi Banks has stepped in at running back and has tallied 136 yards and 2-TDs on the season.
The Bleckely County Royals are back in action this week, looking to stay undefeated. The Royals have done a good job of mixing up the run and the pass, averaging 174 yards through the air and 200 yards on the ground this season Senior quarterback Eli Mullis has thrown for 348 yards and 4-TDs while Jahvon Butler and T.J. Mays have combined to rush for 266 yards and 5-TDs. The Royals defense is allowing just 10 points per game while their offense has put up 79 points in two games.
Schley County is a dangerous team even without Zayden Walker, but he adds something special to this young group of Wildcats. We believe Bleckley County can really give Schley fits through the air this week. If Walker is back, this game will be closer, otherwise, we like Bleckley by 16.
The Skinny
Oconee County will look to extend their winning streak to three games as they host the Jefferson Dragons. In the two games since their opening week loss, Oconee County has found their rhythm on offense. Whit Weeks has joined C.J. Jones in the backfield and they’ve made for an impressive tandem at running back. In the last two weeks, the duo has combined for over 360 yards on the ground. Weeks, an LSU Commit, has also impacted the game on defense and on special teams as a kickoff returner. The Oconee County defense is only allowing 8.3 points per game this season.
The Jefferson Dragons are also winners of their last two games, looking to run their streak to three. Jefferson also sports one of the top linebackers in the state in Sammy Brown, who doubles as the team’s leading rusher. Jefferson averages 296.7 yards on the ground and 158 yards per game through the air. The aforementioned Brown leads the team with 486 yards and 8-TDs on the ground while Elijah DeWitt has caught 10 passes for 294 yards.
This game features two of the top linebackers in the state, who also happen to double as running backs, If you needed any more drama, Jefferson’s coach, Travis Noland, is the former Oconee County head coach, while Ben Hall coaches at Jefferson from 2013-2016. Our guess is that this will be a back and forth ball game. We like Sammy Brown and Jefferson this week by 4 on the road.