Part-II of our Eight Greats Around the State is highlighted by the Grayson-Tucker matchup. This will be a nationally televised game. Tucker took one on the chin last week and will be looking to bounce back…Mercer University will host an interesting match-up between two middle Georgia traditional powers when Peach County and Northside, Warner Robins meet at Five Star stadium. Our other two previews will feature matchups between some of Metro-Atlanta’s best private school football as Westminster visits GAC and Lovett visits Marist. As always, please feel free to comment and share. We love to hear your thoughts.
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Westminster Wildcats bring their high scoring attack to Norcross as they take on the Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans in a match-up of two class 3A powers. The Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans are highlighted by brothers Chris and Myles Hinton. These two are certainly a matchup problem for any defensive line. Last week the Spartans were led on offense by quarterback Josh Rose who used his legs and rushed for 2 TDs including the game winner from 5 yards out in the closing minutes of the game.
Westminster showed that they can put points on the board as they outscored a highly rated Woodward Academy team 31-0 after the first quarter. Parks Harber led the way with 196 yards through the air and 5-TDs. All 5 TDs went to different receivers. Last year, GAC ran away with this game. We believe that Westminster has closed the gap a lot. However, we like the Spartans by a field-goal at home.
The Skinny
The Tucker Tigers face another of the state’s top programs as they visit the Grayson Rams on Saturday night. Tucker is coming off of a tough game last week against Buford and things don’t get any easier as they face a Grayson team that is full of players who will be playing football at the next level. The Tigers did have some bright spots on offense as they were led by quarterback Travon Ford, running back Tyler Hughey and receiver Isaiah Dunson.
The Grayson Rams were off last week, but the big story coming out of Grayson was some player discontentment with head coach Christian Hunnicutt. Perhaps the best thing for Grayson is that they will be on the football field this Friday. While we expect the Tucker Tigers to be competitive, we think even with the unrest in the Grayson locker room, the Rams will be able to overcome the distractions and beat the Tucker Tigers. We like Grayson by three scores in this one.
The Skinny
The Northside Eagles got 2018 off to a great start as they travelled up to Roswell and had an impressive showing against Centennial. Running Back Eric Smith had a big night for the Eagles as he rushed for 185 yards and 2 TDs. Quarterback Jadin Daniels also had a good game in his first start under center for the Eagles, rushing for 51 yards and 1 TD.
The Peach County Trojans were was off last week, but as they come into this season they will be looking to find production from the WR and RB positions as they graduated Kearis Jackson, Trevon Woolfolk and Chris Gibson. Receivers Millard Thomas and Terkel Jefferson appear ready to step in and fill some of the void left by Jackson. This game should certainly prepare the Trojans for Region play, which starts on September 21st. But Northside is a tough matchup for anyone in the state, especially this early in the season. We like Northside by two touchdowns.
The Skinny
The Marist War Eagles will take the field for the first time since falling to Blessed Trinity in the 2017 state title game in 4-A. The Ware Eagles won’t ease into the season as the Lovett Lions visit Hughes-Spalding Stadium on Friday night. Lovett battled a very talented Greater Atlanta Christian team till the end last week, falling 24-21, so it’s safe to say they will bring that same fight with them on Friday. Much of Lovett’s success will depend on how well quarterback Blaine McAllister controls the offense.
The strength for Marist will be upfront on the defensive line as they return three starters from last season. WR/DB Kyle Hamilton is also an electric player for the War Eagles. The Notre Dame commit should be a playmaker for a team that lost a lot of production on offense. Marist has been a model of consistency over Coach Alan Chadwick’s career. That’s probably the reason that we like Marist by less than a field goal this week.