Eight Greats Around the State – Part I

Two of the state’s top powers will lock horns in the early Friday Corky Kell matchup down at Georgia State. These teams have not met in 63 years. We generally associate both of these schools with talented players on both sides of the ball. This matchup shouldn’t be any different. Travon Ford returns at QB for the Tucker Tigers . He passed for over 1,600 yards last season with 18 TDs. David Daniels Jr. returns and looks to be poised to take over as Ford’s top receiver.  Buford’s offensive front will look to keep Derrick McLendon and the Tiger defense at bay. Aaron McLaughlin looks to be poised to take the reins under center for the Wolves. If the Tucker defense can rattle the sophomore signal caller, we like them to take the victory. Either way, we expect this one to be close. We like the Wolves by a field goal.

Barron Stadium should be electrifying on Thursday night as the Marietta Blue Devils roll into town to take on the two-time Class 5-A defending champion, Rome Wolves. If you haven’t heard of Harrison Bailey, Ramel Keyton and Arik Gilbert, you may have been living under a rock over the past year. Bailey has plenty of weapons at his disposal. While Bailey might be one of the most notable names at quarterback in the state of Georgia this season, Knox Kadum is no slouch himself. Kadum enters his senior season looking to lead Rome to a third straight state title. Jamious Griffin returns to the backfield and Xavier Roberts should be a go to target for Kadum. In a game with countless offensive stars, we think this game will come down to defense. This is probably an unpopular take, but we like the home team, Rome, to win this one by less than one score in a tight game.

The very first game to kick off the high school season will feature Northwest Georgia perennial powers Ridgeland and Calhoun. Calhoun is the defending state champion in Class 3A. The return several key skill position players from last seasons team including QB Gavin Gray, RB Zach Fuller and receivers Luke Moseley, Bralin Barton and Brannon Spector. The Ridgeland defense backs will have their hands full trying to contain the Yellow Jackets through the air. The Panthers return a pretty good quarterback themselves with Tanner Hill. Ridgeland will be replacing their two-top rushers from last season. Look for Cyron Burse and Jordan Blackwell to carry the load for Ridgeland. Stephon Walker, Ridgeland’s leading receiver from last year could give the Jackets secondary some issues. But we think there is just too much experience coming back for Calhoun at the skill position. We like the Jackets by a touchdown.

Cedartown and Rockmart meet for the 73rd time on Friday night. This game will feature four of the top running backs in northwest Georgia. Cedartown will feature the combination of Tony Mathis and Kobe Pryor while Rockmart will counter with Markus Smith and Z.J. Whatley. Dylan Bailey returns as the starter for Rockmart, while Cedartown might give the Jackets a couple of different looks under center, (well, out of the shotgun) with Jadin Johnson and Taji Hudson. No surprise here, but the winner of this game will probably be the team that’s able to control the clock. We think this will be a game that’s decided by less than one score. We give the nod to the visiting Cedartown Bulldogs.