We have officially reached the halfway point of the Georgia High School Football season. Many teams have already begun region play and in this edition of our Eight Greats Around the State, we feature some matchups that should go a long way in determining either region champions and perhaps a first round home playoff game.
First up, the Spalding Jaguars host the Baldwin Braves. Can Spalding quarterback Curt Clark continue his impressive season or will the Braves defense play another great game this week? Next up, the Bainbridge Bearcats host the Ware County Gators. The Bearcats will look to string together consecutive wins for the first time this season, while the Gators offense looks to stay explosive on the road.
Down in Ellaville, we could be looking at the Region 6 Class A-D II title game as Schley Co. hosts Macon Co. Will Macon figure out how to slow down this potent Schley County offense? Finally, in Warner Robins, the Demons will host Houston County. This game should be a great quarterback dual as Robins’ QB Judd Anderson squares off against Houston’s QB Antwann Hill Jr.
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
Historical records are provided by the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. (ghsfa.org)
The Skinny
The Spalding Jaguars are off to their best start since 2015. Spalding is averaging 37.7 points per game and are on pace to score more points than any other team in school history. Spalding is led offensively by dual threat quarterback Curt Clark who has thrown for 504 yards and 7-TDs and rushed for 389 yards and 4-TDs. Clark is joined in the backfield by Robert Henderson who has added 163 yards and 4-TDs of his own. Meanwhile, Cedric Evans has been the big playmaker at receiver for the Jaguars with 18 receptions for 290 yards and 4-TDs.
The Baldwin Braves got back to their winning ways with a 10-point victory over Washington County. The Braves have done most of their damage on the ground with Micah Welch as the bellcow for the offense. Welch has already rushed for well over 400 yards this season. The senior back is trying to improve on his 1,300 yard season from a year ago. Sophomore back Sadur Salahuddin has added 286 yards and a touchdown in three games this season.
This game is the first region matchup for both teams, but it’s a big one as these are the two teams that we believe could challenge Perry for a region title. Baldwin will need to make sure they limit the big plays of Curt Clark. They have an offense that might be able to keep Spalding’s explosive Clark on the sidelines. However, we believe Spalding defends home turf. Jaguars by 6.
The Skinny
The Bainbridge Bearcats got back to .500 last week with a victory over Thomasville. The Bearcats have faced a ranked opponent in each of their previous four games this season. It should come as no surprise that Bainbridge has been getting the ground game going this season as they are averaging 214.5 yards per game on the ground and 120.3 yards per game through the air. Keenan Phillips has answered the bell for the ground game, as he’s rushed for 631 yards and 8-TDs. Quarterback Cam Sanders hs completed 64.2% of his passes with 5-TDs. Antavious Murphy Leeds the team in receiving with 20 catches for 299 yards and 5-TDs.
The Ware Count Gators were off last week and we can only guess that they are smarting after a loss in their last outing. The Gators have gotten a lot of their yards through the air as quarterback Luke Hooks has thrown fir 675 yards and 5-TDs while completing 64% of his passes. Quintun Orange leads all Gator receivers with 17 catches for 287 yards, R.J. Boyd and Daw’Jeaun Dennis lead Ware in rushing with 500 yards and 5-TDs.
We believe Bainbridge will look to slow this game down and make it a slugfest, utilizing Phillips to help play a little ball control offense. We believe that plan works for the first three quarters, but we expect Ware to edge Baingridge late. Ware County by 4.
The Skinny
The Schley County Wildcats have run their record to 4-0 for the second time in three years and have continued to light up the scoreboard as the offense is averaging 45.2 points per game. They are generating 376 yards per game of total offense. Quarterback Jay Kanazawa has thrown for 794 yards and 13-TDs and his just thrown 1 interception in 96 pass attempts. Jalewis Solomon has caught 20 passes for 360 yards and 5-TDs. The Schley County defense is allowing 19 points per game. They have also forced a staggering 15 turnovers this season in just 4 games.
The Macon County Bulldogs have also run their record to 4-0 for the second time in three years. The Bulldogs offense has been rolling with the ground game, averaging 208.8 yards per game rushing and 119.3 yards per game through the air. It’s really been running back by committee by as quarterback Brian Harris, and running backs Tyler Felder, KhaiMadj Patterson and Tyler Stephens have combined to rush for 767 yards and 11-TDs. Harris has been efficient throwing the ball, completing 69.2% of his passes on the season. Dontrell Hudson and Ray Ray Mobley lead the Bulldogs defense with 22 total tackles a piece.
This game continues with our theme of potential “region title” games played in the first week of region play. We just don’t know if any other team can challenge Macon or Schley this season. While we believe Macon’s ground game can be the equalizer, Schley is playing at a higher level this season. We like the Wildcats by 10 at home.
The Skinny
The Warner Robins Demons picked up an important region win last week and now will face another Class 6A, out of region, Houston County foe. The Demons are averaging 24.7 points per game. However, in their two wins, the Demons are averaging 34 points per game. In the two, losses, the offense is averaging 15.5 points per game. Since joining the Warner Robins team a little over three weeks ago, quarterback Judd Anderson has thrown for 535 yards and 6-TDs. Defensively, the Demons are allowing 32 points per game. That’s the most in their opening four games since 2016 when they allowed 45.6 points per game through the first 4 games.
The Houston County Bears are 4-0 for the second consecutive season. They have been putting up video game like numbers and have only been really tested once this season in a 7-point victory over Perry. The offense is averaging 52.5 points per game. Going into last week, the leading passer and receiver in Class 6A both suit up for Houston County as Antwann Hill has thrown for 989 yards while Ricky Johnson has 511 receiving yards. The Houston Count defense has been pretty good, allowing just over 18 points per game.
This game will feature two of the top quarterbacks not just in middle Georgia, but in the entire state. We believe the outcome will center heavily on quarterback play. Expect for this game to be closer than last year’s 20 point Bears victory. But we do like Houston County’s air raid attack. Bears by 9.