We have made it to end of the GHSA Football Season. It has been an interesting ride, but hats off to all of the teams in every classification around the state of Georgia who made high school football possible this season. Our 7A Finals preview is all about Collins Hill and Grayson. Collins Hill will be in search of their first state title while Grayson is looking for their third.
Last week in our picks, we went 2-0 in Class 7A.
Best of luck to both teams competing on Friday night. As always, thanks for reading. Please feel free to comment and share.
All helmet images are courtesy of the Georgia High School Helmet Project. To see all of their work, please visit: http://www.gahelmetproject.com
The Skinny
The Collins Hill Eagles advanced to the state finals for the first time in school history. The Eagles got another big performance from quarterback Sam Horn and receiver/DB Travis Hunter in the victory. Horn has now passed for 3,659 yards and 39-TDs while Hunter has caught 126 passes for 1,640 yards and 23-TDs. Defensively James Smith, Logan Birdsong and Rich Dorset are tops on the teams in tackles with Smith leading the way in sacks as well. Hunter also leads the secondary with 7 interceptions on the season. Collins Hill enters the game winners of their last eight games and on the year, they are averaging 30.5 points per game while allowing 15.5. During their four-game playoff run, the Eagles are averaging 27.7 points per game while allowing 10.2 points per game. Eleven of Collins Hill’s wins this season have come against teams that qualified for the playoffs.
The Grayson Rams advanced to the finals for the first time since 2016 and the third time in school history. Quarterback Jake Garcia stepped in midway through the year and has now thrown for 1,106 yards and 13-TDs for the Rams. Meanwhile, Sean Downer has filled in at running back for Phil Mafah and the Rams continue to roll week after week. Grayson recorded their third shutout in the playoffs and fourth overall on the season. On the year, the Rams are averaging 38.3 points per game while allowing 7.5. In the playoffs, their offense is down a little at 33.5 points per game, but their defense has gotten stronger, allowing a mere 1.5 points per game. (That’s ridiculous!) Twelve of their thirteen wins have come against opponents that qualified for the playoffs this year. A win for the Rams would be their third state title in school history. The biggest question is whether Grayson can disrupt the Collins Hill passing attack or will Travis Hunter make throwing deep difficult for Grayson’s Garcia. We believe the rematch will be closer than the first meeting, but still like the Grayson by 10.