It’s hard to believe that we are already approaching the midpoint of the high school football season here in Georgia. This is Part II of our Eight Greats Around the State where we preview 8 intriguing matchups this week. We went heavy on Middle Georgia with this edition, as Region 4-4A has two big matchups between four teams that we feel have a chance to take home the region crown.
First up in Warner Robins, the Demons of Warner Robins will host the Dutchtown Bulldogs. We know it’s early in the season, but this could be the defacto region title game and it’s just the first game of the season. The big question is whether the Demons will get back on track offensively or will Dutchtown outlast Warner Robins? A little further down the road in Perry, the Perry Panthers will host the Peach County Trojans. Peach is flying under the radar a bit this season, They’ve also really owned this rivalry. But the Perry Panthers look like they are poised to be a contender in Class 4A. Can Peach and Armar Gordon get past the upstart Trojans?
Our next two previews take us down to LaGrange, GA where we have two big matchups in Region 4-4A. The LaGrange Grangers will host the Starr’s Mill Panthers. The Panthers drop down a classification this season and bring with them a pretty impressive rushing attack. Can the LaGrange defense slow down the Greigh Joseph express? Finally, the Troup Tigers will host the Whitewater Wildcats. It will be interesting to see if Troup’s Tao Todd have another big game throwing and passing or while Popo Aguirre and the Wildcat’s defense have the remedy this week?
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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 Warner Robins Demons will be looking to bounce back from last weeks outing as they were shutout for the first times since the 2017 state championship game and the first time in the regular season since August of 2014. To be fair to the Demons, they have not shied away from tough competition as their losses have come against ranked teams from Class 7A and Class 6A. Warner Robins is averaging 9 points per game this season while allowing 20.3 points per game.
The Dutchtown Bulldogs are 4-0 for the second time since 2019. The Bulldogs are averaging 30.2 points per game while allowing 10.5 points per game. They are averaging 285 yards per game of offense. Quarterback Josiah Jarrett has thrown for 405 yards and 4-TDs but has also thrown 5 interceptions. Meanwhile, Jamal Bing has rushed for 485 yards and 5-TDs and is averaging 6.8 yards per carry.
We believe this game might decide the region title. We know that’s a bold statement considering this is the first week of region play in Region 2-5A. While we know Warner Robins has struggled a bit offensively, we believe they will do just enough to edge out Dutchtown this week. We like the Demons by 3 at home.
The Skinny
The Perry Panthers scored a big win last week over Veterans High and will now face perennial Class 3A power Peach County. The offense is led by quarterback Armar Gordon who has thrown for 855 yards and 11-TDs. Gordon has not thrown an interception this season. His top receiver has been Dakarai Anderson. Through the first three games, Anderson had caught 17 passes for 391 yards and 5-TDs. Running back Demetrius Carter has rushed for 611 yards and 7-TDs. Defensively, De’Untae Kendrick has already intercepted three passes. He leads the defense that has intercepted seven passes on the year.
The Peach County Trojans did it with defense last week as they held Jones County to just three points and forcing four interceptions. On the season, the Trojans are averaging 30.6 points per game while the defense is allowing 19.3. Peach might not be as highly ranked as they have been in years past, but they certainly have some players capable of making big plays including quarterback Colton Ginn and wide receiver Isaiah Mitchell. Peyton Joseph is a Power-5 type offensive lineman for the Trojans.
The Trojans have dominated this series, but this Perry team is a little different this season. While we believe Peach can hang in there for the first half, we believe the Panthers pull away in the second half. Perry by 11.
The Skinny
The LaGrange Grangers will look to go 4-0 for the second consecutive season. The LaGrange offense has put up impressive numbers through the first three games of the season, averaging 49 points per game, while the defense looks to be right on par with last season’s performance, allowing 20.6 points per game. LaGrange have a few different options at running back including, Jaylen Brown, A.J. Tucker and Malachi Fannin-Render. They have the benefit of running behind an offensive line anchored by Jycel “Maple” Mosley, an All-State preseason selection.
The Starr’s Mill Panthers are 3-0 for the first time since 2017. While the Panthers offense has been pretty good this year, they have really been outstanding on defense, allowing just 9.6 points per game, including one shutout. Offensively, the Panthers are still a run first team, this year it’s been Greigh Joseph doing most of the damage on the ground with over 300 yards on the ground through three games. While we don’t spend a whole lot of time talking special teams, it’s certainly worth mentioning that Starr’s Mill kicker Max Prozny is one of the top place kickers in the nation.
We expect for Starr’s Mill to use their run game to keep the explosive Lagrange offense on the sideline. The Grangers are a really good football team, but something tells us the Starr’s Mill defense will be up to the task this week. We like the Panthers by 4 on the road.
The Skinny
The Troup Tigers are 3-0 for the second time in four years and will look to get to 4-0 for the first time since 2018. This might be as talented of a Troup team there has been in the past few years. Quarterback Tae Todd is an electric dual threat player. He has rushed for 449 yards and 8-TDs and passed for 461 yards and 5-TDs. Troup is averaging 35 points per game on the young season. Defensively, Qua Birdsong, Qua Moss and Noah Dixon lead the Tigers as they are allowing just 11.6 points per game.
The Whitewater Wildcats are 3-0 for the first time since 2016. The Wildcats have leaned heavily on the run this season, averaging 195 yards per game on the ground. Running Backs Xavier Clay-Turner and Braxton Mueller have combined to rush for 290 yards and 5-TDs. Defensively, the Wildcats are led by Popo Aguirre, Will Snellings and Blake Elsenpeter. The trio leads the team in total tackles and paces a defense allowing 16.6 points per game.
This Whitewater defense might be the best that Troup his seen to date. Conversely, we don’t believe that Whitewater has faced a player of Tao Todd’s caliber to this point in the season. We don’t anticipate a high scoring affair, but we do like Troup and Todd Thursday night. Tigers by 6.