We have reached Week-4 in the Georgia High School Football season. We have some great matchups all across the state in the first three weeks. This is part of our look at eight of the matchups that we found intriguing. First up, the Ware County Gators will host the Benedictine Cadets. This game was a shootout last year, but both teams have new quarterbacks this season. Will these teams light up the scoreboard again on Friday? Up in Milton, the Milton Eagles will host rival Roswell on Friday. Milton is looking for their first win of the season, while Roswell is looking to stay undefeated. Can Roswell, break Milton’s recent string of victories over the Hornets?
Down in Moultrie, the Colquitt County Packers will host the Lee County Trojans. The Packers have never lost to the Trojans. Is this the year Lee County gets over the hump against Colquitt? Finally, the resurgent Valdosta Wildcats will host the Warner Robins Demons. The Demons certainly have the defense, but can their offense get going this week against a stout Valdosta defense?
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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 Ware County Gators have outscored their opponents 61-10 in their first two games of the season. Offensively, first year starter Nikao Smith has thrown for 449 yards and 4-TDs while Dae’Jeaun Dennis has rushed for 210 yards on the season. R.J. Boyd has provided a change of pace for the Gators as he scored twice in last week’s game against Baldwin. Meanwhile, Jarvis Hayes has been the go to receiver for the Gators, catching eleven passes for 255 yards and 3-TDs.
The Benedictine Cadets will make the drive over to “the Swamp” on Friday hoping to duplicate their defensive success from a week ago as they shutout Westminster. It was the second shutout of the season for Benedictine. They have not allowed a touchdown to an opponent from Georgia. They have also not played a full four quarter game against a team from Georgia yet this season. First year starter Luke Krohmenhoek has tossed 6-TD passes thus far this season.
Last season’s contest was a high scoring affair. This season we don’t expect to see a combined 91 points between the two team’s. Ware’s Smith and Benedictine’s Kromenhoek will certainly test the opposing secondaries. We like the Cadets on the road this week. Benedictine by 7.
The Skinny
It has been eight seasons since the Milton Eagles started off the season with two losses. They are replacing a lot of talent from their 2021 roster. Milton has also had matchups against two highly ranked out of state teams. The Eagles come into the game averaging a healthy 225 yards through the air, with just 56.5 yards per game on the ground. It’s no shock that Eagles receiver Debron Gatling has been the primary target for quarterback Luke Nickel. Gatling has caught 18 passes for 209 yards and 2-TDs. Marc Anthony Essley has also caught 15 passes for 118 yards and 1-TD. Defensively, the Eagles sport a pair of Power-5 commit safeties in Robert Billings and Bryce Thornton.
The Roswell Hornets are 3-0 for the third straight season. The Hornets enter Week-4 with a balanced attack on offense, averaging 177.7 yards per game through the air and 181 yards per game on the ground. First year starter at quarterback K.J. Smith has completed 64% of his passes for 445 yards and 5-TDs while Nykahi Davenport has gone over the century mark in each of the first three games with a total of 365 yards and 2-TDs. The Hornets have a very experienced receiving group including Dylan Williams, Chris Elko, two-way star Ethan Nation and tight end Zeke Moore.
There are some intriguing matchups in this game. Namely each teams respective secondaries and how they will matchup against the opposing receivers. Will Ethan Nation match up against Debron Gattling? Will we see Robert billings or Bryce Thornton defend Roswell’s Williams? We believe Roswell’s balanced attack will be the difference this week. Hornets by 4.
The Skinny
The Lee County Trojans have also been dominant on defense this far this season. The Trojans are allowing just 5.67 points per game and have recorded one shutout this season. Early in the season, Sophomore standout Ousmane Kromah has rushed for 366 yards in just two games as he and J.D. Ferguson did not play last week. Even without Kromah last week, the Trojans racked up over 230 yards in the first half of play last week.
The Colquitt County Packers will get their toughest challenge to date as they host Lee County. Colquitt’s defense has been impressive to start the season allowing just 4.3 points per game while recording two shutouts. Colquitt has already recorded 13 sacks on the season. Meanwhile, the offense has been in sync as well, averaging 35.6 points per game with a lot of that coming by way of the ground. Charlie Pace leads the team with 299 yards rushing and 2-TDs. Quarterback Neko Fann has proven to be a reliable passer in his second season as a starter. Fann has thrown for 398 yards and 7-TDs. He has a talented duo of receivers in Ny Carr and Za’ Mari Williams.
While Lee County showed their resiliency last week without two of their stars, they will definitely need them this week with against a battle tested Colquitt County team. We believe Lee keeps it close, but we like the Colquitt at home by a touchdown.
The Skinny
The Warner Robins Demons got into the win column with an overtime victory of rival Northside Warner Robins last week. The Demons offense may not be as prolific as we have seen over the last few seasons, but a lot of that has to do with the caliber of their first two opponents. Warner Robins is averaging 13.5 points per game. Quarterback Chase Reese has proved to be an elusive runner for the Demons early on and paired with Malcolm Brown should really make for an effective running attack the rest of the season. The biggest question mark is whether or not the Demons can find consistency through the air.
The Valdosta Wildcats will look to stay undefeated this week as the Warner Robins Demons come to town. Valdosta has bullied their competition in their first three games. Allowing just 15 total points or 5 points per game. The Wildcats defense is led by JaRius Curry with 18 total tackles and Eric Brantley with two sacks on the season. The Valdosta secondary has also intercepted 4 passes this season. Meanwhile, the offense is churning out 195 yards per game behind running backs Charles Williams Jr. (210 yards, 3-TDs) and Ahmad Denson (139 yards, 1-TD). The aforementioned Brantley leads the team with 5 rushing TDs, with only 6 carries to his credit.
We expect a slugfest this week as both defenses represent the strength of their respective team. Is this the week that Malcolm Brown gets going? We believe so. We like the Demons by 2.