Week 3 – Georgia High School Football Previews – Part 2 of 2

Posted on September 16, 2020 by admin

While we typically bill this post as ‘Eight Greats Around the State’, one of the games we were set to preview (Blessed Trinity/St. Pius), has been cancelled due to COVID concerns. In any event, this preview will feature three of the other great matchups around the state of Georgia on Friday night. 

First up, in a battle of the War Eagles, Woodward Academy will host Marist. Woodward will look to get back on track after their week off. Woodward was able to move the ball in Week-1 but failed to find paydirt. They’ll have their hands full with a very talented Marist team that boasts one of the best offensive lines in the state. Will Marist be as dominant as they were last week against a Class 5A opponent?

Meanwhile, down in McDonough, The Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy Chargers (E.L.C.A.) host Pace Academy. Pace had their hands full with Holy Innocents’ last week. Can they find a way to derail Josh Rogers and the E.L.C.A. ground game?

And finally, we go back to Tiger this week to preview Rabun County as they host the Jefferson Dragons. Rabun County outdueled Prince Avenue Christian in a game that highlighted two of the nation’s best quarterbacks. Jefferson will bring in a pretty good quarterback of their own as well as a very strong rushing attack. Does Gunner Stockton and Rabun County have enough for an encore performance to knock off the Dragons?

As always, please feel free to share and comment. Thank you for reading. 

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 Woodward Academy War Eagles will host the Marist War Eagles for the 53rd time at Graham Hixon Field on Friday night. Woodward will be looking to get back on track after being shut out in their first game. The War Eagles were able to get Damari Alston on track, as he rushed for 164 yards, but he could not find paydirt in Week-1. Senior quarterback Banks Snellings was efficient completing 70% of his passes, but was also picked off a couple of times as well. Eight different receivers caught passes for Woodward in Week-1.  The Woodward defense did hold E.L.C.A. to just 165 total yards in the loss with two sacks and an interception. All that to say, we think Woodward will be just fine going forward. But the War Eagles will need to clean up some penalties from game one. 

Meanwhile, the Marist War Eagles got their season started with a win over Holy Innocents. (A game that was put together on relatively short notice.) The strength of this Marist team looks to be upfront behind linemen Steven Nahmias, Davis McKenna and Ian Erickson. (Nahmias is a power-5 recruit while McKenna has committed to Harvard.) The War Eagles will also have versatile tight end and Syracuse commit Derek McDonald up front as well. Quarterback Hayden Richardson spearheads the Marist offense and also has a compliment of backs with him including Lincoln Parker (Army commit) and Andrew Mannelly. Joshua Moore (Stanford commit) leads the Marist secondary and should also see time at receiver on offense. The aforementioned Parker will also line up at linebacker for Marist. This might be one of the most star-studded Marist teams that Coach Chadwick has had in recent memory. But they will be tested by Alston and Woodward. We think the Marist offensive line will eventually wear down Woodward Academy. We like Marist by 11.

The Skinny

The Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy Chargers are off to another fast start this season. The defense has posted back to back shutouts, and last week Josh Rogers broke the school rushing record with 410 yards and 7-touchdowns. Rogers, who was bottled up in Week-1 with nine carries for only 1-yard, had his breakout game in just over 3 quarters of work. Rogers has the luxury of running behind an offensive line anchored by Florida State commit Bryson Estes and Zechariah Owens. The Chargers have only attempted 13 passes on the year but they’ve also amassed 653 team rushing yards. Defensively, Charis Spence has already recorded seven sacks in two games, while Colton Hardeman has chipped in with 4 sacks. 

The Pace Academy Knights got a late fourth quarter touchdown to get past Holy Innocents in Week-1 14-7. The Knights got 215 passing yards and 2-TDs from quarterback Evan Smith-Rooks. Jordan Sloan caught four passes for 107 yards and was the recipient of both of Rooks’ TD passes. Justin Johnson, Hevin Brown-Shuler and Frank Caldwell led the team in tackles with 12, 11 and 10 respectively. Caldwell also recorded two tackles for loss. Pace Academy will need another big game receiving from Sloan and a big effort from their defensive front to slow down E.L.C.A. We believe E.L.C.A. will have success running the ball again this week and defeat Pace. Chargers by 15. 

The Skinny

The Rabun County Wildcats will have another tough test as the Jefferson Dragons come to town this week. As many know, the Wildcats are led by South Carolina commit Gunner Stockton at quarterback. Stockton has thrown for 340 yards, rushed for 270 yards and accounted for 9 total TDs. He is joined in the backfield by speedy sophomore Lang Windham. Windham has rushed for 261 yards and a touchdown in two games this season. Adriel Clark leads the Wildcats with 12 receptions for 145 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Defensively, Hoff Windham, Turner Grimmett and Will Turpin lead the team in total tackles. The Tigers defense has also intercepted 5 passes on the season. 

The Jefferson Dragons had a big night last Friday as they put up 61 points in a victory over Central Gwinnett. The Dragons steamrolled their way to 576 rushing yards in the victory last week. Quarterback Malaki Starks had 177 yards on seven carries and 3-TDs to help lead the dominating offensive performance. While Starks and the likes of Reese Johnson, Colton Jones, Carter Stephenson and the rest of the Jefferson ground machine were churning out yards, the defense was just as outstanding last week, limiting the Black Knights to 156 total yards and also intercepted two passes. We expect for linebackers Kadin Bailey, Paxton Corkery and Lineman Jahiem Hardy to make things a little uncomfortable for Gunner Stockton and the Wildcats offense. This game has the potential to be an absolute track meet. We don’t believe Jefferson will put up 61 points on Rabun County, but we do think the Dragons will outlast the Tigers on the road. Jefferson by 6.

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Week 3 – Georgia High School Football Previews – Part 1 of 2

Posted on September 16, 2020 by admin

Our Week-3 Georgia High School Football preview showcases some of the top games in the state. This is part one of our Eight Greats around the state. First up in our preview are the Grayson Rams as they host the Collins Hill Eagles. Both teams enter the game undefeated. The Rams will look to ground the Eagles arial assault this week, while the Eagles will have their hands full slowing down Phil Mafah and the Grayson offense…In Douglasville, the Douglas County Tigers will host the Dutchtown Bulldogs on senior night. This game should be all about defense. Is there enough on offense for the Bulldogs to knock of the Tigers?

Next up is Athens as two of the top Class-A schools lock horns when Commerce visits Athens Academy. The Commerce Tigers have a talented crop of young players, but will it be enough to slow down Deion Colzie, Palmer Bush and the rest of the Spartans? Finally, the North Gwinnett Bulldogs Host the Parkview Panthers. Believe it or not, these two Gwinnett County football titans have not faced off in 15 years. Both teams look to be poised for deep runs into the playoffs. Will Norht Gwinnett be able to hold Parkview’s talented backfield of Cody Brown and Tyler Curtis at bay?

As always, please feel free to share and comment. Thank you for reading. 

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

Two weeks into the season and the Grayson Rams have already scored 106 points. Clemson commit Phil Mafah has rushed for 296 yards and 5-TDs while quarterback De’yon Cannon has thrown for 354 yards and 4-TDs. Jamal Haynes and Jaden Smith lead the receiving corps with 14 catches, 294 yards and 4-TDs between the two of them. Coach Carter’s defense is extremely talented again this year with bookends Noah Collins and Victoine Brown on the defensive line. In two games, the Rams defense has surrendered 34 points.

The resurgent Collins Hill Eagles are off to their first 2-0 start since 2013. The Eagles have one of the top junior quarterbacks in the state in Sam Horn. Horn has passed for 566 yards and 6-TDs in this season. His leading receiver is Florida State commit Travis Hunter. Hunter, a junior, has caught 18 passes for 293 yards and 5-TDs. He will also look to wreak havoc in the secondary at cornerback; he’s already intercepted two passes this season. Rich Dorsey and Jonathan Martin lead the Eagles in tackles. The biggest question is whether or not the Grayson defense can get enough pressure on Horn to disrupt the passing game. We like the strides that Collins Hill has made this season but believe that Grayson has the edge on defense. We like the Rams by 8.

The Skinny

The Douglas County Tigers are off to a fast start but will face a tough test as Dutchtown visits on Friday night. The Tigers are led offensively by running back Kobe Harris (185 yards, 3-TDs) and quarterback Jimmy Inman (276 yards, 3-TDs). Meanwhile, 10 Douglas County receivers have caught a pass in the opening two weeks with Justin Franklin leading the team with 5 receptions for 83 yards. The Douglas County defense has wreaked havoc early in the season with linemen Jonathan Jefferson (UGA commit) and Kyren Thomas both recorded two sacks and a secondary that has intercepted 5 passes. Sophomore Shakai Woods leads the team with 18 total tackles and Georgia Tech commit Joshua Robinson is also a force along the defensive front.

The Dutchtown Bulldogs got their first victory as they defeated Wheeler last week. The Bulldogs were powered on the ground last week by Khalid Cramer, Seneca Daniel, Jamal Bing and quarterback Arendez Fedd. Fedd scored on two rushing TDs and Cramer added another rushing TD. Defense has been a calling card of the Bulldogs over the past few seasons and this year doesn’t look to be much different. They have held the first two opponents to a combined 12 points. In week one, they limited Lanier to 182 total yards of offense. The Bulldogs will need to get the ground game established early this week if they want to spoil Senior night for the Tigers. This could be a defensive battle all-night, but we give the edge to Douglas County. Tigers by 8.

The Skinny

The Athens Academy Spartans will be back in action this week as they host Commerce. The Spartans will have the luxury of returning senior quarterback Palmer Bush back to run the show. Senior receiver Deion Colzie is a big target at 6’4” and should definitely create matchup problems for Commerce as well as all other opponents this season. Additionally, the Spartans have other weapons including Virginia commit Hugh Laughlin and John Ferguson along the offensive line, while the defensive line will be anchored by Johnerio Holt. 

The Commerce Tigers come into town after impressive victories over Banks County and Union County. The Tigers are led by running backs Dreylan Martin, Tyelon Brock and Sammy Brown. Brown who is just a freshman, had 77 yards rushing on 4 carries and a 72 yard-TD reception in last week’s victory. He also recorded 7-tackles from his linebacker position on defense. It should also be mentioned that the Commerce backs are pretty good receivers as well. Along with the running backs, Commerce sports two big receivers in Creed Dunbar and Jakob Frates, both standing at 6’4”. They are also imposing on defense in the secondary and at linebacker respectively. Tigers Lineman Bo Childers anchors the offensive line and also plays up front on the defensive line. Stopping the run will be imperative for a Spartans victory. We like the visiting Tigers in a mild upset to edge the Spartans by 2.

 

The Skinny

After a come from behind victory last Friday, the North Gwinnett Bulldogs will face another big challenge as the highly rated Parkview Panthers pay them a visit Friday night. The Bulldogs are off to another fast start this season. They’ve outscored their first two opponents 79-28. Quarterback Ashton Wood has thrown for 264 yards and2-TDs while Marcus McFarlane and Brinston Williams have combined to rush for 304 yards and 4-TDs. Receivers Bobby Ezzard and Seth Anderson have combined to catch 17 passes for 198 yards and 2-TDs. The Bulldogs defense has already recorded 13 sacks and 5 interceptions this season.

The Parkview Panthers finally got their season underway last week with a victory over Mountain View. The Panthers did most of their damage on the ground as Tennessee commit Cody Brown rushed for 245 yards and 2-TDs while fellow running back Tyler Curtis rushed for 166 yards and 3-TDs. The Panthers are breaking in a new quarterback this season in sophomore Colin Houck. Having Brewer and Curtis in the backfield should help take some of the pressure off the young quarterback. We have to believe that the North Gwinnett defense will be focused on stopping the run and forcing Parkview and their young quarterback into passing situations. That’s easier said than done. North Gwinnett can’t afford to fall behind early this week. We don’t anticipate they will. We will take North Gwinnet in a small upset at home by 4.     

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Cherokee County Football Previews – Week 3

Posted on September 15, 2020 by admin

All of the Cherokee County Football teams will be in action in Week-3, with four teams hosting games on Friday night. First up, Woodstock hosts Creekview as the Wolverines look to bounce back from last week’s game. The Grizzlies lead the series and will probably be looking to establish the ground game on Friday night, but can Grant Anderson, Isaac Hubert and the rest of the front seven be able to get pressure on the Wolverines quarterback?

Staying in Woodstock, River Ridge will host Etowah as the Knights look to start the season with three straight wins for the third time in school history. Etowah will no doubt be eager to get back on the field, but can the slow down Amehre Morrison and company.

Over in Hickory Flat, Sequoyah will host the Cass Colonels on Friday. The Chiefs will face another talented young quarterback in Devin Henderson. Can the Chiefs slow down the red hot Colonels, and move the ball against a fairly stout Colonels defense?

Finally, in Canton, the Cherokee Warriors will host the Rome Wolves for the first time in school history. (Although Cherokee’s predecessor, the Canton Greenies did play the old Rome High School in 1924. A game won by Rome 24-0.) The Warriors will need to slow down veteran quarterback Caleb Ellard and running back E.J. Burks. Meanwhile, Keith Adams, Jr. and A.J. Swann are sure to create some problems for Rome’s defense.

As always, thanks for reading. Please feel free to comment and share. Best of luck to all teams competing on Friday night.

The Skinny

The Woodstock Wolverines will be looking to bounce back this week after falling to county foe River Ridge last Friday. The Wolverines defense found its stride after falling behind by two scores and even held on to allow the offense to take the lead. Preston Lawrence looks to have settled in and found his stride at quarterback. He threw two touchdown passes last Friday. Several Woodstock receivers got involved in the passing game including David Daniel, OJ Dupree, Sebastian Moss and Wes Bruno. 

Creekview is coming off of a bye week after a Week-1 victory. Coach Williams’ Grizzlies got a 100-yard game from running back Tyler Stephens in Week-1 running behind Anthony Dorr, Sam Hartley and the rest of the Grizzlies offensive line. We’d expect Creekview to come out and establish the run game on Friday night with Stevens and A.J. Vaccaro. Meanwhile, Brody Rhodes will look to get the Grizzlies passing attack going this week as they were limited in Week-1. Look for the Grizzlies secondary to be active defending against the Woodstock passing game. Can they limit Woodstock’s big plays in the passing game? Woodstock has allowed back to back 100-yard rushers in the opening two weeks. We can almost assure that Woodstock will be locked in on stopping the run this week. This one will be much closer than last year’s contest. We like Creekview by a touchdown.

The Skinny

The River Ridge Knights are coming off of their first win over a county opponent in school history. The Knights were able to come up with a defensive stand on fourth and short to secure the victory. Amehre Morrison was up to his old tricks as he rushed for 164 yards and 2-TDs, but it was quarterback Carson Lathem who scored the game winning touchdown late in the game. Coach Collins has been telling us about Lathem’s ability to beat you with his legs as well as his arm. Perhaps the unsung heroes for River Ridge was its defense. They held Woodstock to 17 points a week after the Wolverines put up 41 points. 

The Etowah Eagles had last week’s game with Forsyth Central cancelled due to COVID concerns. The Eagles will look to get back on track this week as they travel to River Ridge. Etowah is known for their hard-nosed defense and they held the Creekview passing game in check in Week-1. They will face perhaps the best running back in the county this week. Slowing down Morrison will be key. But the Eagles also must get the offense on track this week. With talented players such as Rechsteiner, Many, Moss and Adams, we don’t think it will be too long before Etowah finds their groove. We are putting River Ridge on watch for letdown alert this week after a big win last week…but we still like the Knights by 4.

The Skinny

The Sequoyah Chiefs return home to face the undefeated Cass Colonels on Friday night. The Chiefs were very impressive in the first half against Cherokee last week, mixing up the run and the pass to keep the Warriors off balance. Jaden Mitchell will again be a big factor of the Chiefs primary running back has shown his versatility both as a rusher and receiver out of the backfield. Meanwhile, Aiden Moore and Jack Piskorz have helped to provide balance in the backfield. The Chiefs defense was stingy in the first half of last week’s game, but will need to put together two pretty good halves of football this Friday.   

The Cass Colonels are off to their first 2-0 start since 2007 under first year head coach Steve Gates. The Colonels got another big performance from Devin Henderson as he threw for 262 yards and 3-TDs in last week’s win. Henderson, who is only a freshman, has thrown for 416 yards and 4-TDs on the young season. The Colonels defense has only surrendered 24 points in two games. They will need another sound defensive effort to bottle up the Chiefs rushing attach this week. Cass has never beaten the Sequoyah in eight tries. When the former region rivals face off on Friday, expect a game that is much closer than the 19-point average margin of victory in the previous meetings. We like the Chiefs at home this week, in a nail-biter. Sequoyah by a field goal.

The Skinny

The Cherokee Warriors found themselves in a dogfight early last week before running off 27 unanswered points, pulling away late over rival Sequoyah to notch their second win of the season. Quarterback A.J. Swann has now thrown for 521 yards and 5-TDs on the young season. Keith Adams, Jr. crossed the century mark again and now has 309 yards and 3-TDs this year. Meanwhile, Adarrius Harshaw had the breakout game that we expected, catching 6 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. The Cherokee defense buckled down in the second half and shut out Sequoyah in the final two quarters of play. 

The Rome Wolves will make the hour and fifteen-minute trip across Highway 20 this Friday. The Wolves are coming of a bye week. In Week-1 their defense recorded four total turnovers including three interceptions. Those turnovers helped propel the Wolves to victory over Rockmart. Rome returns starting quarterback Caleb Ellard and running back E.J. Lackey. Jay Wise led Rome in receiving in week one with 4 catches for 70-yards and 2-TDs. Don’t be surprised if we see the talented freshman running back Caden Williams as well on Friday night. This Rome team might not have the star power that we have come accustomed to seeing over the past few years but expect them to be just as physical and competitive this week. Cherokee will get their money’s worth from Rome this week in what we believe will be a physical match-up. We like the Warriors at home by 6.

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Georgia High School Football Top-10 Week-2

Posted on September 13, 2020 by admin

Our Week-2 Georgia High School Football poll has been published. Here is a brief rundown of each classification.

In 7A, North Cobb finds themselves in the top-10 this week after beating Class 6A No. 1 Buford. The top-9 remained unchanged. Meanwhile, in 6A, Valdosta claimed the top spot after the Buford loss. Richmond Hill tumbles to No. 10 while Douglas County checks in to the top-10 for the first time this season at No. 8.

Ware County got a big win over Richmond Hill. This week the Gators enter the 5A poll at No. 9. Griffen fell to Lowndes and dropped to No. 8 while Jones County remains at No. 10 despite losing to Class 7A North Gwinnett. In Class 4A the Flowery Branch Falcons and Baldwin Braves enter the poll at No. 9 and 10 respectively. (This might be the toughest class to rank at this point of the season.)

In Class 3A, the White County Warriors downed Hart County in a thrilling victory Friday night. The Warriors come in at No. 8 this week. Pierce County also got a big win as they blanked Wayne County. Pierce is at No. 10 this week. There was not too much movement in Class 2A. Bremen does come in at No. 9 this week. Bleckley County fell to No. 10 after a loss to Wilcox County while Lovett fell to No. 8 after losing to Greater Atlanta Christian.

In Class A-Public, Macon County was off, but does enter the poll at No. 10. Both Dublin and Pelham dropped two spots after losses this past Friday night. Meanwhile, in Class A-Private, North Cobb Christian outlasted Hebron Christian and comes in at No. 8 this week.

As we mentioned last week, there are still several teams that have not yet begun play at this point in the season. We are still doing out best to provide rankings, which can provide for spirited and healthy conversations and debates. (As well as bulletin board material…) We welcome any and all poll feedback.

All helmet images are courtesy of the Georgia High School Helmet Project. To see all of their work, please visit: http://www.gahelmetproject.com

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Football Fridays at the Tavern – Episode 4

Posted on September 11, 2020 by admin

Von and Art are back to discuss our thoughts on Week-1 of high school football in Cherokee County. We are joined by Coach Trevor Williams, head coach of Creekview to talk about their big win last week. Coach Buddy of Woodstock and Coach Collins of River Ridge also call in to talk about their matchup this week. Von and Art also preview their game, the Etowah-Forsyth Central game and the Cherokee-Sequoyah Game.

You can follow us on Twitter: @Cedarwoodtavern (Von) and @turdfurgesonrpt (Art) to keep up with everything Cherokee County High School Football. For any historical Georgia High School Football date, please visit http://ghsfha.org

Podcast Index

1:00 – Week-1 Recap Sequoyah/Woodstock; River Ridge Lassiter

9:00 – Coach Trevor Williams Interview

16:26 – Etowah-Forsyth Central Preview

20:34 – Coach Brent Budde Interview

25:55 – Coach Mike Collins Interview

32:00 – Woodstock-River Ridge Preview

38:21 – Sequoyah-Cherokee Preview

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Week 2 – Eight Greats Around the State (Georgia High School Football Previews) – Part 2 of 2

Posted on September 9, 2020 by admin

This is Part-2 of our Eight Greats Around the State, as we preview eight intriguing Georgia High School Football games throughout the state. Down in Rochelle, Wilcox will host Bleckley County. This game features one of the state’s top linebackers (Martez Thrower – Wilcox County), against one of the nation’s top offensive linemen (Amarius Mims – Bleckley County). Greater Atlanta Christian is coming off a shutout victory last week and will host the Lovett Lions. Can Lovett replace the offensive production at quarterback from a season ago and knock off the rival Spartans?

The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes host the defending Class-A Public Champions, Irwin County. Irwin got the best of Fitzgerald last season; will the Indians return enough firepower to top the Purple Hurricanes again? Finally, the Rabun County Wildcats host the Prince Avenue Christian Wolverines in Tiger on Friday. This game will be nationally televised as it features two of the top quarterback prospects in the country in Gunner Stockton of Rabun County (South Carolina commit) and Brock Vandagriff of Prince Avenue (Georgia commit). This should be a dandy.

As always, thank you for reading. Please feel free to comment and share! Best of luck to all of the teams around the state competing this weekend.

The Skinny

Coach Rob Stowe and the Wilcox County Patriots will kick off their season as they host Bleckley County. Wilcox County is coming of one of their best seasons since 2012. A year ago, the Patriots averaged 35.5 points per game while their defense allowed 13 points per game. They will be replacing some key starters including Desmond Tisdol and Noah Hollingsworth. While The Patriots are breaking in a new quarterback, they do return running back Justin Moore and hard hitting linebacker and Kentucky commit Martez Thrower. We expect to see Thrower line up on both sides of the ball on Friday night. 

Meanwhile, Bleckley County knocked off West Laurens last Friday as they scored 27 unanswered pointes to come from behind and earn the victory. Jahvon Butler and Chuckie Stephens combined for 163 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns for the Royals. Bleckley County sports a pair of D-1 prospects along the offensive and defensive line in Amarius Moms and Willie Harris. Both appeared on preseason All-State teams and Mims was also named to the USA Today 2020 All-USA  preseason team as well as a member of the AJC Super 11. As with most games, we suspect this one will be won at the line of scrimmage. We give a slight edge to the Royals there. We expect for the Patriots to be competitive this week and expect them to be playing football well into December, but we like Bleckley County this week by a touchdown. 

The Skinny

The Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans beat 7A Denmark in the Corky Kell Classic last week to open the season. The Spartans offense was sparked by quarterback Deymon Fleming’s two touchdown passes. He completed passes to six different receivers, with Brooks Miller catching 7 passes for 70 yards. The Spartan defense intercepted six passes last week including 3 from Saiku White. They also forced three fumbles and recovered two for a total of eight takeaways. Greater Atlanta Christian held Denmark to 190 yards of total offense.

The Lovett Lions enter the season needing to replace a lot of experience in the backfield. The Lions graduated their starting quarterback and leading running back from a year ago. The Lions return three of their top four receivers from a year ago in Logan Givens, Collin Goldberg and Charlie Hoke. Lovett also has a future star at offensive line in sophomore Grant Ewing. On defense, the Lions return their top tackler from a year ago, Stevie Bracey. The secondary will be anchored by Collin Goldberg who led the team with 5 interceptions last season. Last year, the Lions averaged 25 passing attempts per game. Not that we expect to see them throw the ball 25 times, but Lovett must be wary of the Spartan secondary. We like Greater Atlanta Christian by 8.

The Skinny

Last week, the Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes got their first win over Cairo since 1980. (The two teams have only played five times since the 1980 game.) Chance Gamble made plays all over the field. He lined up on offense at quarterback and scored on a rushing TD, at receiver he caught a touchdown pass. If that wasn’t enough, he returned punts and also blocked a field goal. The Purple Hurricanes defense tightened up in the second half of last week’s game. Limiting Cairo to just a fourth quarter field goal as they hung on for the win.

Meanwhile, the Irwin County Indians are coming off of a state title victory in 2019. A familiar face will be missing from the Irwin County sideline as Coach Buddy Nobles lost his battle with cancer in the offseason. The Indians will also be looking to replace the production of D.J. Lundy, (now playing at Florida State). There should be plenty of offensive weapons for Coach Casey Soliday as Gabriel and Garland Benyard return along with Kam Ward. The Indians will be breaking in a new quarterback and will need to find answers at wide receiver, but there are still reasons for the fans in Ocilla to feel optimistic about this season. Last season, Irwin County blew out Fitzgerald. We expect this game to be closer. We believe Fitzgerald has a slight edge because they do have a game under their belt, but we believe Irwin still have enough talent to compete at a high level. Irwin County by 4.

The Skinny

The Rabun County Wildcats got off to a fast start last week shutting out Ridgeland last week. South Carolina commit Gunner Stockton threw for 153 yards, rushed for 81 and accounted for 4 total TDs in the victory. Lang Windham also added 148 yards and a rushing TD. Stockton completed passes to six different Wildcat receivers with junior Tate Ramey catching two TD passes. The Rabun County defense tallied four sacks and two interceptions as they kept Ridgeland in check. 

The Prince Avenue Christian Wolverines also sport a top ranked quarterback, Brock Vandagriff. He led the way for the Wolverines last week in a win over Calvary Day, passing for 246 yards and 4-TDs while rushing for another 93 yards. Vandagriff also completed passes to six different receivers, with Landon Owens catching a team high 5 passes while Logan Johnson recorded a team high 82 yards. Four different Wolverine receivers found paydirt. Defensively, linebacker Davis Ridings lead the team in total tackles and also recorded a sack and an interception. The Wolverines defense intercepted Calvary Day three times in last Friday’s contest. This nationally televised game will feature two of the top quarterbacks in the state. We expect this to be a great duel between both programs. No disrespect to either defense, but we believe the scoreboard operator will be busy up in Tiger on Friday night. This game should be a classic, but we like the home team in a thriller by 3. (Perhaps on a game winning drive with time winding down.)

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Week 2 – Eight Greats Around The State (Georgia High School Football Previews) – Part 1 of 2

Posted on September 9, 2020 by admin

Each week, we will preview eight intriguing Georgia High School Football games throughout the state. This is part one of our Eight Greats around the state. This weeks matchups include Cartersville as they host West Forsyth. West looked strong in the opening week, but can they duplicate that effort against traditional power Cartersville? Meanwhile, Bainbridge and Coffee lock horns on Friday night down in Decatur (County). Will this game turn into a quarterback duel between A.J. Wilkerson and Quayde Hawkins?

In Cordele, the Crisp County Cougars will host the Houston County Bears. Crisp won a defensive battle in week one against Tift, while Houston edged Perry. Will the Cougars defense be able to duplicate their performance last week? Finally down in Valdosta, the Lowndes Vikings will host the Griffin Bears. Griffin is a well coached and very talented football team, but do the have the depth to compete with one of the top teams in the top classification in the state?

As always, please feel free to share and comment. Thank you for reading.

The Skinny

The Cartersville Hurricanes got off to a great start with a shutout victory in Week-1. The Stratton Tripp era began as the senior quarterback looks to be the next in-line of successful Purple Hurricane QBs. (He was preceded by Trevor Lawrence and Tee Webb.) Tripp was impressive in one half of play tossing 3-TDs. The Canes are also highlighted by some familiar names, running back Quante’ Jennings (79 yards and 2-TDs on 3 carries) and receivers Sam Phillips and Devonta Ross. Defensively, Amarai Orr and Evan Slocum return to lead the secondary. Both players are veterans and have logged a lot of minutes for the Canes defense over the past few seasons.

Coach Dave Svehla brought his blue-collar mentality to the West Forsyth Wolverines this season and they looked impressive with a victory over Mays last week. The Wolverines were highlighted by Navy commit Daba Fofana who rushed for 110 yards caught six passes for 57 yards and accounted for 3-TDs. Junior tight-end Oscar Delp also had a big night with 3 receptions for 47 yards and 2-TDs. Sophomore quarterback Kegan Stover threw for 156 yads and 4-TDs in the victory. West Forsyth limited Mays to 200 yards of total offense last week. We expect Cartersville to be a much more difficult task for West. The big question is whether or not Stover can be efficient against the experienced Cartersville secondary. This game could be high scoring, but we like Cartersville by 4 over the Wolverines. 

The Skinny

Bainbridge and Coffee will face off for the first time in 19 years. The Bearcats were off last week and have an extremely challenging opponent in Week-1. Bainbridge returns quarterback Quayde Hawkins who threw for 1,791 yards and 16-TDs last season. They also return leading rushers Rashad Broadnax (915 yards, 11-TDs in 2019) and Trey Bouie (301 yards, 3-TDs) as well as leading receivers, Braxton Johnson (544 yards, 4-TDs) and Deyon Bouie (510 yards, 6-TDs). Bainbridge’s experience at the skill positions leads us to believe they will improve from the 28 points per game output a season ago.

Meanwhile the Coffee Trojans were reclassified to 5A this season. They got a big win in week one over Drew. A.J. Wilkerson threw for 119 yards and a TD, while A.J. Franklin, Brady Skipper and Dreshawn Taylor combined for 134 yards and 3-TDs on the ground. The Trojans defense recorded a shutout in Week-1. A feat they accomplished four times last season. Defensive lineman Arliss Sutton also scored a defensive TD last Friday. We believe this has the makings of one of the top games in the state this weekend. With both teams returning starters at key positions. Perhaps Coffee has a slight edge with a game under their belt this week, but our gut tells us Bainbridge might be a tad more explosive. We like the home team Bearcats to edge Coffee by 1.

The Skinny

The Crisp County Cougars started the 2020 campaign with a big win over 7A Crisp County on Friday night. The lone score of the game came on a A.J. Lofton to Sirad Bryant touchdown pass in the 1st quarter. Lofton was efficient, completing 80 percent of his passes, but the Cougars only gained 181 yards against 7A Tift County team that includes one of the top junior defensive linemen in the state, Tyree West. Yet, the Crisp County defense was even more stingy as they shut out the Blue Devils and held them to -8 total yards while pitching a shutout. The Cougars defense just might be the strength of the team this season; they are led by Preston Lavant, Christopher Paul, Kamron Moate and Nick Mercer. All four were in the top 5 in total tackles for Crisp last season. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech commit Sirad Bryant is not only the teams leading receiver, but also led the secondary with 6 interceptions last season. 

Houston County also got their season off on the right foot as they defeated a very tough Perry squad in Week-1. The Bears now shift their focus to the Crisp County Cougars. Houston broke in new quarterback Christian Lawhorn last week, while Simeon Askew, Javon Lormand and Ty Waters helped carry the load on the ground. Askew scored both touchdowns for the Bears. The Houston County defense limited Perry to 229 total yards in the victory. This week Jalen Jordan, Jayleem Santos, Larry Fields and the rest of the Bears defense will have their work cut out for them trying to contain Lofton, Bryant, Marquise Palmer and the rest of the Crisp County offense. Even if Houston can keep those guys in check, we think the Crisp defense will be a little too much this week. We look for the Crisp defense to shine in this game. Cougars by 10. 

The Skinny

Coach Jamey Dubose’s head coaching debut for the Lowndes Vikings was impressive as they defeated Archer in the Corky Kell Classic. Quarterback Jacurri Brown threw for 163 yards and ran for 143 and accounted for four touchdowns in the victory. Justin Lee was the workhorse in the backfield carrying the ball 19 times for 92 yards while Israel Mitchell added 78 yards on only five attempts. The Lowndes defense held Archer to 57 yards rushing. The Vikings also recorded three sacks and two interceptions in the victory. 

Coach Kareem Reid looks to have the Griffin Bears off to a great start with a win over rival Spalding in Week-1. Quarterback Quamari Williams tossed three touchdown passes while Appalachian State commit Jordan Favors recorded a pick 6. Linebacker Donovan Westmoreland also had four sacks on defense. We believe the Bears have a fighting chance this week and expect this will be a great litmus test for them as well. We look for this game to be close for three quarters, but expect the Vikings to pull away in the late stages. Lowndes by 10.   

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Week 2 Cherokee County Football Previews

Posted on September 8, 2020 by admin

Week One of Cherokee County Football is in the books and we must say it is nice to see the young men back on the gridiron. This week there are five county teams in action. The Creekview Grizzlies will take the week off after a thrilling Week-1 victory over Etowah.

The River Ridge Knights will host the Woodstock Wolverines in their home opener. River Ridge put up some big numbers offensively last week; can they duplicate that effort against David Daniel and the Wolverines defense? Etowah travels out of county to face Forsyth Central. They’ll be looking to spoil the season opener for Central who had their Week-1 game cancelled. Will the Etowah offense be able to find their rhythm this week?

Finally, the Cherokee Warriors host the Sequoyah Chiefs. Cherokee is looking to pick up where they left off in Week-1. Their defense looked impressive. Meanwhile Sequoyah will be looking to derail their rival as they look to pick up their first win of the season. This game will feature two of the top backs in Cherokee County in Keith Adams, Jr. and Jaden Mitchell.

As always, thanks for reading. Please feel free to share and comment. Best of luck to all of the teams competing on Friday night!

The Skinny

The River Ridge Knights will be at home for the first time in the young season as they host county rival Woodstock. The Knights are coming off of a big win against Lassiter that saw them put up the third most points in school history. River Ridge will look for another big performance out of Amehre Morrison as he rushed for 225 yards and 14 carries with 4-TDs. But the Knights are no one-trick pony. Jackson Head and Andrew Bingham also had good showings for River Ridge last Friday and will look to duplicate the success on Friday. The River Ridge defense performed well last week also. But expect them to be tested a little more this week by Woodstock.

The Woodstock Wolverines won their season opener against rival Sequoyah in a back and forth affair. The Wolverines were successful in getting Sebastian Moss and David Daniel involved on both sides of the ball. Daniel was making plays all over the field on offense, defense and special teams, blocking a punt while also setting up the go ahead touchdown with a 70 yard kickoff return. Meanwhile, Moss provided what would be the deciding touchdown with a pick 6 with under a minute to play in the game. The Wolverines defense will need to continue that trend this week as River Ridge looks poised to mix up the run and the pass, (a little more than the Sequoyah). Our biggest questions is whether or not the Knights defense can contain Daniel, Moss and Hampton. Containing the stretch plays that Woodstock runs out of the shotgun will be key. As well as making Preston Lawrence uncomfortable in the pocket. Woodstock survived a close game last week, but we think it is finally Knight time. We are putting the Wolverines on upset alert. River Ridge by 3.

The Skinny

The Forsyth Central Bulldogs open their season this week as they host the Etowah Eagles in Cumming. The Bulldogs had their season opener scratched due to a confirmed COVID case at their would be opponent, Blessed Trinity. This season, the Bulldogs will return quarterback Bronson Landreth back to the backfield along with fullback Eli Ruis. In 2019, the duo combined for 1,172 yards and 12-TDs on the ground. Central only attempted 67 passes last season. Look for them to establish the ground game behind East Carolina commit Canaan “CC” Clark and Robby Watson. They should be able to provide plenty of room for the Bulldog’s ground game. Defensively Nick Forrester returns as the teams leading tackler. Clark will also see time on the defensive side of the ball as well.

The Etowah Eagles lost a heartbreaker in Week-1, but will be looking to right the ship. After falling behind early, the Eagles defense tightened up and ultimately held on to a slim 13-7 lead until the final seconds of the ballgame. It is certainly the type of defensive effort that we have come to expect from Etowah. But as one might suspect, most offenses are a little behind defense at this point of the season. We look for Etowah to get a little more comfortable on offense this week and believe establishing the ground game will be a key for the Eagles. This game should will be another close matchup early. However, we like the Eagles offense to be playing with a little more consistency. Etowah by 6.

The Skinny

The County’s second oldest rivalry will take place at Tommy Baker Field at Cherokee High School this Friday as Cherokee hosts the Sequoyah Chiefs. Cherokee is coming off of a big opening week win over Carver-Atlanta. The defense was stout keeping Carver out of the end zone until the final quarter. This week, look for Cherokee to serve up a heavy dose of Keith Adams, Jr. He appeared to run harder and harder as the game progressed. We’d be remised if we did not mention the Cherokee defense and turnovers. They were up to their old tricks again last week, intercepting two passes and recovering a fumble. Whether or not they can continue that this week should go a long way into determining the outcome in this matchup.

Meanwhile, the Sequoyah Chiefs fought to final horn as they fell to Woodstock by 6 last week. It was sophomore Matthew Traynor who emerged as the starter for the Chiefs under center. He will certainly have his hands full this week against a stingy Cherokee defense. Look for the Chiefs to try to keep the Warriors off balance with backs Jaden Mitchell, Aiden Moore, and Jack Piskorz. As with most games, this one will be won at the line of scrimmage. Biggest question for us is whether the Chiefs offensive line can give the young quarterback a little more time in the pocket. At this point in the season, we give the edge to Cherokee on both lines of scrimmage. We think it will be close early, but we like the Warriors by 17 over the Chiefs.      

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The TFR GHSA Week-1 Football Top-10

Posted on September 6, 2020 by admin

Football in the state of Georgia kicked off this past week. We are grateful to the GHSA, administrators, coaches and players for following protocols and allowing the season to get underway!

In 7A, Collins Hill finds themselves in the poll after a convincing win over 6A Collins Hill. Meanwhile, Lowndes downed Archer in a battle of top 10 teams. Lowndes remains at No. 1 this week. Over in Class 6A, Allatoona had an impressive win over Harrison, while Dacula dropped a classic overtime game to 7A Brookwood. Richmond Hill proved last year was no fluke as they downed Camden County.

St. Pius makes their debut in the Class 5A poll after going on the road and defeating Flowery Branch. Blessed Trinity remains atop the poll for now. There were only three Top-10 teams in action in our 4A poll. Both Benedictine and Riverdale were victorious while North Oconee fell to rival Oconee County.

Speaking of Oconee County, we admittedly underestimated the Warriors, but have them ranked 9th this week as they make their first appearance in the 3A poll. Over in Class 2A, Haralson County, Bleckley County and Jeff Davis all make their debut in this week’s poll. No.1 ranked Rabun County shut out Ridgeland in and impressive showing. 

In Class A-Public, Brooks County downed Thomasville and remains atop the poll, Meanwhile, Metter shut out 2A Swainsboro. Charlton County finds themselves in the poll after they shut out Brantley County. In A-Private, Eagle’s Landing Christian shut out Woodward Academy and remains atop the poll. Savannah Christian makes their debut and No. 9 as they beat Emmanuel County Institute by 24 on Friday.      

While not all teams are in action at this point, we are still doing out best to provide rankings, which can provide for spirited and healthy conversations and debates. (As well as bulletin board material…) We welcome any and all poll feedback.

All helmet images are courtesy of the Georgia High School Helmet Project. To see all of their work, please visit: http://www.gahelmetproject.com

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Football Fridays at the Tavern – Episode 3 – Week 1 Cherokee County Football Previews

Posted on September 4, 2020 by admin

Thanks for checking back in with Football Fridays at the Tavern. This week Von Brown of Cedarwood Tavern and Art Mosley of the Turd Furgeson Report discuss Week-1 Cherokee County Football matchups.

Von and Art are joined by Coach Josh Shaw to talk about his teams Week-1 performance in the Corky Kell. While we get a special visit from Coach Mike Collins of River Ridge to talk Knights football.

Please feel free to share and give us each a hard time. You can follow us on twitter: @CedarwoodTavern (Von) and @Turdfurgesonrpt (Art). 

Podcast Time Stamp

2:25 – Coach Shaw

12:17 – Cherokee/Carver Recap

16:04 – Coach Collins

22:00 – River Ridge Preview

29:11 – Sequoyah/Woodstock Preview

34:45 – Etowah/Creekview Preview

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