Milton vs. Buford – GHSA Football Bonus Preview

Posted on September 5, 2019 by admin

We originally posted our Milton vs. Buford preview in Week-1, but decided this game was too good not to revisit. For those unfamiliar, this game was part of the Corky Kell Classic scheduled to be played at Cool-Ray field. Mother Nature had other plans, and it was rescheduled for this Friday. Milton won the coin toss to determine the home venue. These teams have not met since 1983. (Almost 36 years to the day.) Buford is breaking in a new head coach, but Coach Appling is no stranger to the Wolves and has been a big part of their success. Meanwhile, Milton will look to defend their home turf, as they have gone from the hunter, to being the hunted after winning the first football state title in school history. You can check out our preview below.  As always, thank you for reading…please feel free to share and comment.

 

Key: 

TFR – Turd Ferguson Report

NR – Not Ranked

**The GSWA Poll was not available at the time of publishing so it was not included in this week’s previews.

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

This game was initially scheduled for week-1, but Mother Nature had other plans. Bryant Appling takes over as head coach for the Buford Wolves and he had them looking good last week against Jonesboro. Buford lost their starting quarterback from a season ago to transfer, but Jarvis Evans has stepped in nicely. The junior southpaw tossed three touchdowns in last week’s win. Gabe Ervin had a big day at running back, eclipsing the century mark and scoring 1-TD. Ervin had success running behind Seth McLaughlin and the rest of the Buford offensive line. Perhaps the most dynamic player for the Wolves is DB/WR T Lee. He will certainly make things difficult for the Milton passing attack.

 

Speaking of Milton…The Eagles are coming off of their first State Title win in school history. But like Buford, the Eagles will be trotting out a new quarterback as last year’s starter is now playing at Georgia Tech. Ahmad Junearick is the Eagles leading offensive producer from last season. Last week, against rival Alpharetta, he rushed for 201 yards and 3-TDs. The Eagles back will have the luxury of running behind Paul Tchio and Anthony Minella. Defensively, Jack Rhodes and Stephen Michaels will lead the Milton linebackers while Marcos Rangel will help anchor the defensive line. Both of these teams proved they can light up the scoreboard last week. We like the home team this week in a close battle…Milton by 3.

 

 

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Week 3 – GHSA Football Game Previews – TFR Eight Greats Around the State – Part 2 of 2

Posted on September 4, 2019 by admin

This is Part II of our GHSA Football Previews. Brooks County hosts the defending Class-A Public state champion, Clinch County Panthers. Brooks leads the series, but Clinch got the best of them last season. In a big Class 4-A matchup, Woodward Academy travels to Blessed Trinity to face the defending champions. Do the Titans have enough on defense to slow down Woodward quarterback Mark Wright? Woodward has not beaten Blessed Trinity in three tries. Will this Friday be any different? Crisp County will host the Duthctown Bulldogs. There might not be a tougher schedule than Crisp’s and Dutchtown might be the most talented team they face this season. Finally, Swainsboro travels to Dublin to face the Fighting Irish in a big Class 2-A battle of top-10 teams. Does Swainsboro have enough on defense to slow down the Dublin ground machine or will the arm of Kade Youmans carry the Tigers to victory.   As always, thank you for reading…please feel free to share and comment.

 

Key: 

TFR – Turd Ferguson Report

NR – Not Ranked

**The GSWA Poll was not available at the time of publishing so it was not included in this week’s previews.

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

Last season, Clinch County beat Brooks County going away en route to winning the state title in Class A-Public. This season, the Brooks County Trojans will be looking for redemption as they host the Clinch County Panthers in Quitman this Friday. Both teams are off to a good start and sit at 1-0. Brooks County won a shoot out in Week-1 against Mitchell County. Both Devin Edwards and Omari Arnold had big days for the Trojans as they each rushed for 143 yards. Edwards scored 5-TDs while Arnold added 1. Quarterback Ni’tavion Burrus also threw for 142 yards and 2-TDs. Cameron Priest led the defense with 8 solo tackles.

 

Clinch County looked impressive in their Week-1 victory. They scored in all three phases of the game. The Panthers used big plays to jump to an early lead. Michael Walker started the scoring with a 79-yard TD-run. Perry Williams returned an interception 70 yards. Tyler Morehead returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers will certainly need more of those big plays come Friday night. Tyler Morehead might be the most explosive player on the field. We believe he gives the Panthers the edge. We like Clinch County by 9 in a much closer contest than 2018.

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Blessed Trinity Titans will host the Woodward Academy War Eagles in a showdown of two of the top teams in Class 4-A. Blessed Trinity, the two time defending 4-A State Champs held off a determined South Forsyth team last week to win 34-31. Freshman Justice Haynes rushed for 161 yards and 3-TDs in last weeks win. There is no doubt the Titans lost a lot of talent from last year’s team, but they are still a well-coached talented squad. If Haynes can find ways to duplicate last week’s performance, it could be a lethal one-two punch at running back down the road.

 

Meanwhile, Woodward Academy is flying high and also comes into the game undefeated. Quarterback Mark Wright has passed for 417 yards and 4-TDs so far this season. Wright has spread the ball around to several receivers this season. In all, 10 Woodward players have caught a pass this in the first two games. Damari Alston leads the way for the Eagles on the ground with 110 yards and 2-TDs. Senior linebacker Aaron Washington has recorded 16 solo tackles in two weeks, while Adam Thrasher is 2nd on the team in tackles with 10 solos. We think this game will certainly be much closer than last year’s contest. Woodward definitely has the edge at quarterback, but we believe the Titans have the better ground game. The War Eagles are a little more experienced and we believe that gives them a slight edge. We like Woodward by 1 on the road.

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Crisp County Cougars will again step up in classification this week as they host the Dutchtown Bulldogs. The Cougars narrowly lost to Class 4-A, West Laurens last week. A.J. Lofton and Jack Carter have combined to pass for 435 yards and 2-TDs. Sirad Bryant leads the receivers with 10 receptions for 173 yards. On defense, linebacker Chris Paul and the aforementioned Bryant lead the team in solo tackles.

 

The Dutchtown Bulldogs might be the most talented team that Crisp County will see in the regular season. The Bulldogs are averaging 53 points per game. Over the past few seasons, we’ve come to know Dutchtown to be a defensive juggernaut, but quarterback Arendez Fedd seems to be coming into his own. Last week Fedd passed for 356 yards and 5-TDs. He’s got capable weapons like NC State commit Nate McCollum at receiver and running back Javorri Mack. While Fedd and the offense are in their groove, the defense is no slouch either. Up front, the Bulldogs are led by Alabama commit William Anderson,  and Louisville commit Dezmond Tell. Meanwhile, Corey Minner and Tyler Nelome make passing difficult for the Bulldogs opponents. We believe that Crisp County will be competitive, but there’s just too much talent and experience on Dutchtown’s sideline. We like the Bulldogs by 20.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Swainsboro Tigers will make the 33-mile trip to face rival Dublin this Friday night. It will be a clash of styles as the Irish will look to control the game on the ground while the Tigers will rely on the arm of Kade Youmans. Dublin won it’s season opener two weeks ago in a game that was shortened by weather. The key to this game for the Irish might be how well defensive end Romello Height and linebacker Jaques Evans are able to disrupt the Swainsboro passing attack.

 

The Tigers got a big win over Jefferson County last Monday. Kade Youmans passed for 237 yards and 4-TDs. Robert Allen also carried the ball 26 times for 126 yards and one touchdown. Ja’von Brown led the way at receiver with 5 catches for 111 yards and 3-TDs. We believe that Swainsboro has enough offense to keep this game close again, but we think that Dublin’s run game will help keep Youmans on the sidelines and that might be the difference this week. Dublin by a touchdown.

 

 

 

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Week 3 – GHSA Football Game Previews – TFR Eight Greats Around the State – Part 1 of 2

Posted on September 4, 2019 by admin

Week-3 of the high school football season get’s under way this week. This is Part I of our GHSA Football previews. Peach County hosts the defending 6-A state champion, Lee County. Does Peach have the weapons to derail Lee County? Parkview makes the long trip to Valdosta to face the Lowndes Vikings. The Vikings lead the series, but Parkview got the best of Lowndes last season. Will the Lowndes Vikings get revenge? Hapeville Charter will travel to Franklin to face the defending 2-A State Champion Heard County Braves. Our last preview looks at a big matchup in Middle Georgia as Dodge County hosts the West Laurens Raiders. As always, please feel free to share and comment.

 

Key: 

TFR – Turd Ferguson Report

NR – Not Ranked

**The GSWA Poll was not available at the time of publishing so it was not included in this week’s previews.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Peach County Trojans will host the Lee County Trojans this week. Last week Peach beat Northside Warner Robins for the second year in a row. The Trojans had a big week from running back Tijah Woolfolk who rushed for 100 yards and 2-TDs. Senior running back Noah Whittington also added 87 yards on the ground and was the workhorse for Peach last week. Sergio Allen made his impact felt on defense as he racked up 11 total tackles including an interception he returned for a touchdown.

 

Lee County’s defense has picked up where it left off in 2018. The two-time defending 6-A State champions have shutout both opponents thus far this season. (Last season, the Trojans shutout 6 of their opponents.) Lee County had solid performances from the usual suspects last week. Quarterback Kyle Toole passed for 176 yards and 2-TDs, James Hopson had 6 receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Baron Hopson was a force against Life Christian. Last year, Lee County shut out Peach County. We don’t think that will be the case this week. This game should be a little closer, but we think the Trojans are a little deeper and a little more talented across the board. Even on the road, we like Lee County by 13.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Lowndes Vikings will host the Parkview Panthers in a battle of top ten 7-A teams this Friday. The Vikings have outscored their opponents 113-20 in their first two games. Last week, Jalon Baker grabbed headlines as he returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the win. The Vikings have used two quarterbacks this season, both sophomores, Tristan Bohler and Jacurri Brown. Brown is a dual threat quarterback that will certainly give Parkview some different looks and challenges this week.

 

The Panthers were off last week after their Week-1 victory over Mountain View.  Cody Brown ruched for 164 yards in the victory, while Jordan Williams passed for 194 yards and 4-TDs. CJ Daniels was the primary target for the Panthers as he caught 7 balls for 127 yards and all 4-TDs. Defensively, Kobe Wilson had 13 solo tackles in their victory, so expect him to be all over the field again. Both Wilson and fellow linebacker Tony Ward should have their hands full trying to contain the Lowndes QBs. Playing at Martin Stadium will certainly be an advantage for the Vikings. We believe it will be just enough to upset the Panthers. Lowndes by 4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

Both the Heard County Braves and Hapeville Charter Hornets find themselves in search of their first win of the regular season. Heard County was beaten by a resurgent LaGrange team, while Hapeville Charter fell to the defending Class 3-A State Champion Cedar Grove Saints. The Braves are the defending Class 2-A state champions, but lost a lot of talent from last year’s team. Look for Alex Boyd and Kesean Johnson to get the bulk of the carries on offense. Quarterback Leroy Marsh will also have a few new receivers looking to break through while, tight-end Alex Boyd is one of the only returning receiving threats for the Braves.

 

Hapeville Charter also lost a lot of talent to graduation, but do have several playmakers at the skill positions. Running Back Marcus Carroll, a Coastal Carolina commit, has a great balance of power and speed, while quarterback Jeremy Stephens can wreak havoc with his arm and with his scrambling ability. Rico Powers also gives the Hornets another threat at receiver. The Hapeville defense also flies around and is an opportunistic bunch. This game should be much closer than last season’s score, but we still like Hapeville by two touchdowns on the road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

Perhaps one of the more intriguing matchups in middle Georgia will take place in Eastman, as the Dodge County Indians host the West Laurens Raiders. West Laurens held off a late surge by Crisp County last week to improve to 2-0 on the young season. A.J. Mathis threw two touchdown passes to Brent Carr and Cam Coup added a short field goal. West Laurens defense is led by linebackers D’Eryck Jackson (Kentucky commit) and Javen Ashe.

 

Dodge County outdueled Bradwell Institute two weeks ago to get their season started out on the right foot. Daylon Gordon was the star of the night with 322 yards on 13 carries and 4-TDs. Elijah Williams and Jamal Mahan picked up where they left off last season defensively. Both players led the Indians in tackles last season and each did so again against Bradwell. West Laurens is definitely improved from a season ago, and we think Coach McClain’s Raiders are a favorite to win Region 2-4A, but we like Dodge County by a field goal in this game.

 

 

 

 

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Week 3 – TFR Cherokee County Football Previews

Posted on September 4, 2019 by admin

The Week 3 Cherokee County Football previews are here. All six county teams are in action this week. Woodstock hosts Cambridge as both teams will be looking for their first win of the season. Sequoyah hosts Osborne in a Region 6-6A matchup. River Ridge will travel to Harrison as the Knights take on one of the top ranked teams in the state. Etowah will host South Forsyth over at Eagle Mountain, while Creekview travels to Allatoona in an important Region 6-6A contest between two Top-10 teams. Finally, Cherokee will face their second consecutive Wing-T offense this week as the North Hall Trojans come to Tommy Baker Field this Friday. Please make sure to get out and support these young men on Friday night. As always, thanks for reading.  Comments and discussion are always welcome!

 

Key: 

TFR – Turd Ferguson Report

NR – Not Ranked

**The GSWA Poll was not available at the time of publishing so it was not included in this week’s previews.

 

 

The Skinny

 

Both the Woodstock Wolverines and Cambridge Bears come into this week’s game in search of their first win in 2019. Both teams were in the same predicament a season ago. Cambridge had a bye week last week and will look to get Phillip Michael Collins going this week. Last season, Collins rushed for just over 1,000 yards and 11-TDs. He’s a back that doesn’t mind contact and regularly breaks through arm tackles.

 

While we expect the Woodstock defense dot get a steady dose of Phillip Michael Collins, they will be trying to settle in at quarterback. Both Robbie Roper and Walker Ormsby have shown some promise under center. If they have time to get the ball into their playmakers hands at receiver, we think that the Wolverines can pick up their first win of the season. Don’t forget about V’ontae Hampton in the backfield either. He showed some promise as well last week against Creekview. We believe that this game will be closer than last year’s contest. But we like for Coach Budde and the Wolverines by 9 this week.

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Sequoyah Chiefs will open region play as they host the Osborne Cardinals. The Chiefs dropped their opener last week and were shut out for the first time since their 2016 playoff loss to Dacula. Sequoyah will look to get Jaden Mitchell going this week. He had a few tough runs last week, but was bottled up pretty good by the Cherokee defense. Aiden Moore, also showed some promise in the run game. Riley Gutmann had an impact at receiver last week for the Chiefs and complimented Myles McGee well. The Chiefs defense had a pretty good outing last week. They seemed to wear down just a bit late in the ball game.

 

Meanwhile, the Osborne Cardinals have not beaten the Chiefs and three tries and have not won a game since they beat Forest Park back on October 21, 2016. Last week it was Ron Freeman who got into the endzone for the Cardinals, but it wasn’t enough as they fell to KIPP. The Cardinals will have to limit turnovers this week if they want to get into the win column; that has been one of their bugaboos early in the season. We believe the Chiefs will get the victory this week, and we don’t believe it will be that close. Chiefs by four touchdowns

 

 

The Skinny

 

The River Ridge Knights will travel over to West Cobb to take on the Harrison Hoyas this Friday night in a Region 6-6A matchup. After taking a week off, the Knights are looking to bounce back after falling to Etowah in Week-1. River Ridge did show a lot of promise under new head coach Michael Collins. Chase Begin showed some poise under center while Amehre Morrison is a star in the making at running back for the Knights.

 

The Harrison Hoyas will present a difficult challenge for the Knights this week. The Hoyas enter the game ranked between 2nd and 6th in the state depending on the poll.  The Hoyas defense has only surrendered 10 points in two games. Meanwhile, Gavin Hall has passed for over 250 yards and 3-TDs in the first two games. Hall has several weapons at receiver including Jay Ziglor, Marques Owens and Mason Babay. We expect another stout performance from the Hoyas defense, led by Ryan Smith and Victor Pless. We like them by three touchdowns this week over the Knights.

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Etowah Eagles will be looking to bounce back this week as they host the South Forsyth War Eagles on Friday. Quarterback Dalton Miller did throw for over 250 yards and 1-TD, but was sacked seven times. Jackson Manns led the way at receiver, catching 7 passes and going over 100 yards receiving. In Week-1 it was Remington Adams who carried the load for the Eagles at running back, last week Klivert Many was the workhorse.

 

The South Forsyth War Eagles had a furious comeback attempt fall just short last week against Blessed Trinity, one of the top teams in Class 4-A. For the War Eagles, both Joe Slott and Kyle Durham have led the way at quarterback. The duo is completing 65% of their passes for 610 yards and 3-TDs. But they’ve also been intercepted 5 times. So minimizing turnovers will be key against the Etowah defense. Tre Green has rushed for 193 yards and 5-TDs on the season, so we’d expect for that trend to continue. He’s averaging 4.6 yards per carry. We expect for Etowah to bounce back from last week, but we still think the War Eagles win this one. We like South by 5.

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Creekview Grizzlies travel to face the Allatoona Buccaneers this Friday in another Region 6-6A showdown. The Grizzlies have opened the season with two big wins and a win this week will get them off to a great start in Region play. Brody Rhodes had another big game last week as he eclipsed the century mark in passing and rushing. Meanwhile, Ethan Dirrim is probably the most versatile athlete on the field having an impact on both sides of the ball. Last week, Dirrim had two touchdowns on offense and also had an interception on defense.

 

The Allatoona Buccaneers had last week off after narrowly losing to Cartersville in Week-1. Dante Marshall will need to be accurate this week, as he only completed 45% of his passes against Cartersville. Sophomore Jylan Thomas got the bulk of the carries at running back for the Bucs in Week-1. Allatoona’s strength will again be their defense. They have always been a physical team. Expect the same this week from guys like Eric Carty, Calvin Rucker and Cam Carty. An “x-factor” in this game could be Allatoona kicker Jude Kelly. Kelly set the school record with a 54-yard field goal against Cartersville. He’s also averaging 49 yards per punt. We think this game will be much closer than last year. This game might come down to a Jude Kelly field goal; but we like the Grizzlies by two in a mild upset on the road.

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Cherokee Warriors will host the North Hall Trojans as the two teams square off for only the second time. Cherokee is coming off a big win against county rival Sequoyah. Keith Adams Rushed for 100 yards and 1-TD and AJ Swann passed for 102 yards and 1-TD.  While the Warriors offense did get into the endzone twice last week, it was the defense that was most impressive. Patrick Dahlen made plays all over the field and intercepted two passes including one to seal the game late in the endzone. Meanwhile TJ Parks, Braesean Parker, Toby Thompson and the rest of the Warriors defensive were harassing the Chiefs quarterback all night.

 

But don’t expect for North Hall to test the Warriors secondary too much. The Trojans are a run first team. In their first two games, the Trojans are averaging 314 yards per game. Quarterback Trey Sanders has only attempted 9 passes. Senior running back J.T. Fair leads the team with 283 yards on the young season. Cody Smith and Jacob Dickey have also combined for 300 yards on the ground and 2-TDs. The Trojans defense also recorded a shutout last week as they blanked Jackson County 16-0. Two questions this week that we believe will determine the outcome: 1. Whether North Hall’s offensive line will wear down Cherokee’s young front; and 2. Can A.J. Swann be a little more accurate on his downfield throws? Either way, we like the Warriors by 4 this week.

 

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Week 2 – GHSA High School Football Poll

Posted on September 1, 2019 by admin

The second week of the regular season is in the books and our Week 2 GHSA High School Football Poll is listed below. As we mentioned last week, there is certainly still a lot to be sorted out before we get to region play and beyond. In 7-A Marietta validated their No. 1 ranking by knocking off nationally ranked St. Joseph’s Prep 21-17. Like last week, there was not much movement in the 7-A poll, as all but one team in action won this weekend. The Collins Hill Eagles make their debut at No. 10 this week.

In 6A, Northside Warner Robins and Creekside fall from the top-10, but we don’t believe for one moment we’ve heard the last of them this season. The Dacula Falcons debut at No. 8, while the Creekview Grizzlies make their debut at No. 10. The Grizzlies have a big region matchup this Friday at No. 9 Allatoona. Over in 5-A, all of the Top-10 teams held serve, so there is no change this week.

The bottom third of the 4-A poll gets shaken up a bit this week. New entrants include West Laurens at No. 8 and Denmark at No. 9, while Cairo drops to No. 10 after a close loss to Class 5-A No. 2, Bainbridge. Hart County makes their debut at No. 10 in this week’s 3-A poll.

Meanwhile in 2-A, Fitzgerald drops out of this weeks poll, while Dodge County debuts at No. 10. In Class A- Public, no teams dropped out of the Top-10, but Greene County did slip to No. 6 after their loss to Morgan County. Class-A Private saw both Hebron Christian and Savannah Christian drop from the rankings. Holy Innocents and Mt. De Sales Academy replace them at No. 10 and No. 9 respectively.

Polls are fun and can provide for spirited and healthy conversations and debates. We welcome any and all poll feedback.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Week 2- TFR Cherokee County Football Game Previews

Posted on August 29, 2019 by admin

Our Week-2 Cherokee County Football previews are here. Matchups in Week-2 are Etowah @ North Cobb, Creekview vs. Woodstock and Sequoyah vs. Cherokee. The River Ridge Knights are off this week. Please make sure to get out and support these young men on Friday night. As always, thanks for reading.  Comments and discussion are welcome!

 

Key: 

TFR – Turd Ferguson Report

GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association

NR – Not Ranked

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Creekview Grizzlies will host the Woodstock Wolverines as the two squads face off for only the second time. Creekview won the first meeting last season and are off to a fast start as they beat Cambridge handily last week. Brody Rhodes tossed three touchdown passes, while Andrew Cloy and Ethan Dirrim both caught 6 passes for a combined total of 205 yards and 3-TDs. Perhaps the most impressive performance was the Grizzlies defense which limited Cambridge to 3 points in the game. Defensive end Nick Weeks recorded four sacks in the victory.

 

The Wolverines will be looking to get to .500 this week. All three of the Wolverines quarterbacks had a chance to lead the team in last weeks loss to North Cobb. Junior running back V’ontae Hampton lead the Wolverines in rushing with 90 yards on 19 carries. We believe that once one of the Wolverines quarterbacks separates himself from the others, the team will find more success. Fortunately, the Wolverines have some time to get that sorted out before region play begins. We think Creekview has the edge in this game at quarterback and that should be the difference. Grizzlies by 10.

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Cherokee Warriors visit Skip Pope Stadium to take on the Sequoyah Chiefs this Friday night. The Chiefs have won the last two in the series by a combined score of 55-7, but lost a lot of offensive production to graduation. Sequoyah’s Wing-T will rely heavily on the legs of junior fullback Jaden Mitchell. Colin Koprowski will lead the Chiefs at quarterback. Sequoyah also has two talented receivers in Myles McGee and Christian Hodgins that should provide balance on offense. Defensively, Grant Gibson is a tackling machine and looks to repeat his performance from a year ago as he led the Chiefs in tackles in 2018.

 

The Cherokee Warriors got their season off on the right foot with a win over North Forsyth last week. After a slow start A.J. Swann and the Warriors offense seemed to find their rhythm. The Warriors used explosive plays on offense to take control of the game in the second half. Cherokee has plenty of playmakers on offense including receivers Landon Ergle, Devin Ellison and Adarrius Harshaw. All three found their way into the endzone last Friday. Will Sequoyah’s secondary be able to contain this trio? And will Cherokee’s defense be able to slow down Jaden Mitchell and put pressure on quarterback Colin Koprowski? We think the Warriors are just a little ahead of the Chiefs right now. We like Cherokee to reverse their fortunes against the Chiefs from the past two season. Warriors by 7.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

 

The North Cobb Warriors got a big win over Woodstock last week to open the season. Quarterback Trevor Lovett had over 170 yards of total offense and scored twice on the ground for the Warriors. The North Cobb defense also got in on the scoring action as Kendall Drake returned an interception for a touchdown. The Warriors defense did a good job keeping Woodstock out of the end-zone until late in the 4th quarter. The biggest question is whether or not they can do it against an Etowah team who is a little more settled at quarterback.

 

Etowah was in a dog-fight with River Ridge for the first half last week’s game before pulling away in the second half. Dalton Miller led the Eagles with 159 yards and 2 passing TDs. Sophomore Remington Adams scored on a 66-yard run and also had a special teams touchdown to open the second half. Adams ended the game with 119 rushing yards. The Eagles will step up a bit in competition as they face a North Cobb team that should match up better physically and overall at each skill position. We expect this to be a low scoring physical contest, similar to last year’s game. One key stat that might be the difference is penalties, Etowah was flagged over 10 times last week. If they don’t clean those penalties up, it could be the edge that North Cobb needs. We believe they’ll clean them up just enough to edge the Warriors this week. We like the Eagles by a field goal.

 

 

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Week 1 – GHSA High School Football Poll

Posted on August 25, 2019 by admin

What a great opening weekend to High School Football in the great state of Georgia. Our Week 1 GHSA High School Football Poll is listed below. There is certainly still a lot to be sorted out before we get to region play and beyond, but we did get an idea of where some teams stand early in the season. In 7-A there was not much movement in the poll, as all but one team in action won this weekend. The Milton Eagles showdown with Buford was been postponed due to weather and will be played on September 6th, at Milton.

In 6A both Allatoona and Creekside lost close games this weekend, but do not drop out of the poll. Over in 5-A, Rome dropped it’s game to Class 7A No. 1 Marietta. The Wolves drop two spots to No. 3, but we think Rome will be just fine facing the rest of their slate this season. Cartersville remains atop the 4-A poll after just getting by 6-A Allatoona. Burke County enters the 4-A poll this week after winning their shootout with Benedictine at Paulson Stadium on Saturday night.

The Lovett Lions got a big Week-1 win over GAC in overtime Friday night and make their debut at No. 5 in this weeks 3-A poll. Meanwhile in 2-A, Fitzgerald and Washington County enter this weeks poll at 7 and 8 respectively. Rabun County is our new No. 1 team in 2-A after Hapeville Charter and Calloway were both competitive, but dropped their 2019 openers. Manchester is the only new entrant in our Class A-Public poll, while Class A-Private did not have any new entrants, but there was some reshuffling.

Polls are fun and can provide for spirited and healthy conversations and debates. We welcome any and all poll feedback.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Week 1- TFR Cherokee County Football Game Previews

Posted on August 22, 2019 by admin

High school Football is finally back in Cherokee County! This week we continue our Cherokee County Football game previews. Our matchups in Week-1 are Woodstock vs. North Cobb, River Ridge vs. Etowah, Creekview vs. Cambridge and Cherokee vs. North Forsyth. Sequoyah is off this week. Thanks for reading. Please make sure to get out and support these young men on Friday night. As always comments and discussion are welcome!

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Woodstock Wolverines will host the North Cobb Warriors on Friday night at the Woodshed. Woodstock will be looking to find their grove under center as the team has been looking for the right fit at quarterback this off-season. Whoever takes the first snaps will have some experienced receivers returning in Brooks Bortle and Wes Bruno while De’Andre Turner could be an emerging star for the Wolverines. The Woodstock secondary might be the best in the county with Top-100 DB David Daniel and his teammate Andrew Bartolero patrolling the secondary for Woodstock. D.J. Thomas could be the next big thing along the Wolverines defensive front.

 

North Cobb lost a lot of production form last season when Christian Singleton graduated. The Warriors do return an experienced quarterback in junior Trevor Lovett. While Lovett won’t have Singleton in the backfield, he will have receiving threats such as Jevon Johnson at receiver and Kalen Carver at tight-end. This game should be closer than last season’s matchup, but we still like the Warriors this week by a touchdown.

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The River Ridge Knights will start the Mike Collins era on Friday night as they host the Etowah Eagles.  The Knights had a good showing in their scrimmage last week and are looking for their first win over a County rival in program history.  We expect for Kofi Reeves-Miller and Ahmere Morrison to share the load at running back to help ease Chase Begin return at quarterback. Begin is a threat to pass and has shown an ability to scramble, so we know he will keep the Etowah defense on their toes. Aiden Ali should be one of his primary targets through the air.

 

The Etowah Eagles have been one of the most consistent programs in Cherokee County in recent history, qualifying for the playoffs  in each of the past six years. We believe that Dalton Miller is one of the best quarterbacks in the county. Nick Maddox should lead the way on the ground for the Eagles. Porfinio Acosta will anchor the offensive line and should help open lanes for the Eagles rushing attack. On defense, look for Raymone Devezin and Cole Milovanovic to set the tone for Etowah. We don’t think that Etowah will shut out River Ridge this season, but we do like the Eagles by 17 this week.

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Creekview Grizzlies will make the short trip over to Milton to face the Cambridge Bears. The Grizzlies have not lost in the series. New head coach Trevor Williams looks to have his team geared up as they looked impressive in their scrimmage against Cherokee last week. Brody Rhodes will lead the Grizzlies offense once again in 2019. Rhodes was the teams leading passer while splitting time with Ethan Dirrim. The duo passed for over 1,400 yards last season. Clemson commit, “Big” John Williams will anchor the offensive line. Lake Bowman is the Grizzlies leading returning tackler from a year ago.

 

The Cambridge Bears were very young last season. Both Zach Harris and Stratton Tripp took snaps for the Bears in 2018. They combined for 1,705 yards through the air and 14-TDs. The Bears lose their top three receivers from a year ago, but Hayden Gardella seems poised to lead the receiving corps in 2019. Cambridge does return last year’s leading running back, Phillip Michael Collins. In 2018, Collins rushed for 953 yards and 11-TDs. We expect for the Grizzlies to see a steady dose of him on Friday night. We also expect this game to be much close than last season, but we still like the Grizzlies to come out on top, Creekview by 8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Cherokee Warriors will host the North Forsyth Raiders on Friday at Tommy Baker field. The Warriors will have a new quarterback under center in sophomore A.J. Swann. Swann will have the luxury of having Cherokee’s two top receivers from a season ago, Devin Ellison and Brady Bocherer back for 2019. Keith Adams Jr. should get a bulk of the carries for the Warriors. Meanwhile, there was a lot of talent and leadership that graduated on the defensive side of the ball. Ebony Jackson and Patrick Dahlen will provide skill and leadership in the secondary for the Warriors, but who else we step up for the Warriors this season?

 

The North Forsyth Raiders will also have a new quarterback under center in Brady Metz. Like Cherokee’s Swann, Metz will have the Raiders top receiver from a year ago returning in Nicky Dalmolin (47 catches, 514 yards).  The Raiders rushed for almost 230 yards per game last season, but lose their top four running backs to graduation. Linebacker Jack Tucker is the leading returning tackler for the Raiders while Tyler Cunningham will patrol the secondary at safety. Mason Butcher and Max Bryant will help anchor the North Forsyth defensive line. We think this matchup will be close again this year, but we like the Warriors by a field goal.

 

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Week 1-GHSA Football Game Previews – TFR Eight Greats Around the State – Part 2 of 2

Posted on August 21, 2019 by admin

Today we will start our weekly segment GHSA Football previews that we call Eight Greats Around the State. Each week, we will take 8 of the more intriguing GHSA Football match-ups and preview the games. The segment will be split into two parts, this is Part 2 of 2. Our second matchups feature the Buford vs. Milton game, Cedartown vs. Rockmart, Hapeville Charter vs. Cedar Grove and Jefferson vs. Oconee County. As always, please feel free to share and comment.

 

 

 

The Skinny

Bryant Appling takes over as head coach for the Buford Wolves. Buford lost their starting quarterback from a season ago to transfer. Elijah Turner does return at running back while Seth McLaughlin will anchor the offensive line. Perhaps the most dynamic player for the Wolves is DB/WR T Lee. He will certainly make things difficult for the Milton passing attack.

 

Speaking of Milton…The Eagles are coming off of their first State Title in school history. But like Buford, the Eagles will be trotting out a new quarterback as last year’s starter is now playing at Georgia Tech. Ahmad Junearick is the Eagles leading offensive producer from last season. The Eagles back will have the luxury of running behind Paul Tchio and Anthony Minella. Jack Rhodes and Stephen Michaels will lead the Milton linebackers while Marcos Rangel will help anchor the defensive line. We think the offenses may struggle early in this game but we like Milton to edge Buford by a field goal.

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

This Polk County rivalry will renew for the 75th time on Friday night as the Rockmart Yellow Jackets travel over to Cedartown to face the Bulldogs. Cedartown has dominated the series, but it was Rockmart getting the win last season. The Yellow Jackets will turn to Javin Whatley under center. Juke Boozer, last year’s hero for Rockmart is back at receiver. Reed Couch is also a receiving threat for Rockmart. Deacon Allen should make things difficult for the Cedartown ground game as he looks to clog up the interior defensive line.

 

The Bulldogs will counter on offense with running back Kobe Pryor (a Clemson commit). Dual threat quarterback Taji Hudson will also present some challenges for the Rockmart defense. Hudson is committed to ECU. Chadriq Neal is a dangerous wide receiver who can make the big catch and also spells trouble taking pitches out of the backfield once he gets to the edge. We think the Jackets will have quite a time chasing him around this Friday. We like the Bulldogs this week to return the favor and win by 10.

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Hapeville Charter Hornets and the Cedar Grove Saints will face off for the first time ever, this Saturday over at Buck Godfrey Stadium. Both of these teams have been at the top of their respective classifications for the past few seasons. The Hornets will be led by returning quarterback Jeremy Stephens, while Marcus Carroll, the teams leading rusher also returns. Newcomer Rico Powers should also be another weapon at receiver.

 

Austin Smith looks to take over full time at quarterback for the Saints. They will be looking for someone to fill the shoes of star wide receiver, Jadon Haselwood who graduated last season. Perhaps Nae’Saan Dickerson will be the name that folks around Ellenwood will be talking about this season. Until the offense gets settled, it may be up to the Cedar Grove defense, led by linebacker Isaiah Ratcliff, lineman Alvin Williams, defensive back Tee Denson. This matchup will come down to whether the Cedar Grove defense can slow down the Hapeville Charter offense. We think it will be close, but we like Hapeville Charter by 4 this week.

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The Oconee County Warriors will travel to Jefferson on Friday to take on the Dragons. For the Warriors, all eyes will be on LSU commit, Max Johnson. Ben Noland was one of Johnson’s top targets last season and we expect for them to pick up where they left off. Jimmy Boswell also returns for Oconee County to add balance in the run game.

 

The Jefferson Dragons also return some of their top playmakers from a year ago. Both Colby Clark and Carter Stephenson saw time under center last season. However, the Dragons did much of their work on the ground last season on the legs of Clark, Donsha Gaither and Paxton Corkery. They helped lead the time to over 260 yards per game on the ground. We think there could be a lot of offense in this game. We like Jefferson at home to avenge last season’s loss. Dragons by 6.

 

 

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Week 1-GHSA Football Game Previews – TFR Eight Greats Around the State – Part 1 of 2

Posted on August 21, 2019 by admin

Today we will start our weekly segment GHSA Football previews that we call Eight Greats Around the State. Each week, we will take 8 of the more intriguing GHSA Football match-ups and preview the games. The segment will be split into two parts, this is Part 1 of 2. Our first matchups feature the Thomasville vs. Cairo game, North Gwinnett vs. Colquitt County, Savannah Christian vs. Athens Academy and Marietta vs. Rome. As always, please feel free to share and comment.

 

 

The Skinny

The Thomasville Bulldogs will host Cairo on Friday night. The Bulldogs lost around 90% of their offensive production from last season. Ronnie Baker will take over at quarterback and should have a couple of weapons in tight end Payten Singletary and WR Kevin Cochran. Defensively, KD Johnson and Jayshawn Thornton will be the bell cows for the Bulldogs. They Bulldogs have a lot of talent, but are their young players ready for the big stage?

 

Last season, after dropping their first two games of the season, the Cairo Syrupmakers ran off 10 consecutive wins all the way to the quarterfinals in what some may have seen as a rebuilding year. Cairo will counter on offense with quarterbacks Robert Matthew Peters and Ronnie Baker. Tay Solomon returns for the Syrupmakers. Last season he led the team with 778 yards and 10-rushing TDs. This game went down to the wire in 2018, but we think Cairo is a little more experienced than Thomasville and that will be the difference. We like Cairo by 6 on the road.

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

 

The North Gwinnett Bulldogs and Colquitt County Packers will square off in the Benz on Saturday afternoon. These teams last met in the quarterfinals of the 2018 playoffs where Colquitt got the best of North Gwinnett. The Bulldogs return quarterback J.R. Martin who passed for almost 1,700 yards last season. His primary targets should be Joshua Downs and newcomer Bobby Ezzard. Devin Crosby should also get the bulk of the carries as he is the teams leading returning rusher.

 

Meanwhile, Justin Rogers takes over as head coach for the Packers. They reached the state finals in 2018. Colquitt returns their leading passer (Jaycee Harden, 2,498 yards, 22-TDs), leading running back (Daijun Edwards 1,480 yards, 26-TDs) and leading receiver (Lemeke Brockington 30 catches, 604 yards 6-TDs), from the 2018 season. The Colquitt defense registered 82.5 sacks in 2018. While most of those leaders on last years defense are gone, Laquavian Haynes returns with his 8.5 sacks, while Nyquann Washington will lead the secondary. We don’t believe that Colquitt’s defense is as good as last year’s, we do think that the offense returns enough fire power to get past a tough North Gwinnett squad on Saturday. We like the Packers by 10.

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

The Athens Academy Spartans travel down to Pooler to take on the Savannah Christian Raiders. Last season, the Spartans were knocking on the door of a state title but were denied by the ELCA Chargers. The Spartans return several key pieces from last year’s team including star running back/linebacker Len’Neth Whitehead. Quarterback Palmer Bush will return under center for the Spartans. One of his primary targets should be wide receiver Deion Colzie. Perhaps one of the biggest weapons for the Spartans might be senior kicker James Williams who is committed to Syracuse.

 

The host Raiders also return some key pieces from their semi-final team last season. Last season, quarterback Spencer Robicheaux passed for 1,737 yards. Running backs Nate Moon and Marquell Brown combined for over  1,785 yards and 23-TDs on the ground as well. Colby Quinney and Walker McDonald will be tasked with opening up holes along the offensive line. We believe that the long drive for Athens Academy will play to Savannah Christians favor, but we like the Spartans by a James Williams field goal in this one.

 

 

 

 

 

The Skinny

The Marietta Blue Devils may be as talented as the come this season. They will be looking for redemption as they face the Rome Wolves for the second consecutive year in The Corky Kell Classic. Blue Devils quarterback Harrison Bailey (2,809 yards, 29-TDs) will have several weapons at his disposal including Taji Johnson (661 yards, 3-TDs), Arik Gilbert (88 catches, 1,210 yards, 14-TDs) and Ricky White. Kimani Vidal returns as the teams leading rusher with 954 yards and 11-TDs in 2018.

 

For the first time in 3-years, the Rome Wolves will have a new quarterback under center. We believe that will be  Caleb Ellard. Whoever is taking snaps for Rome will have the benefit of passing behind the blocking of Quintavious Leslie and Aiden Gaines. Trey Lawrence looks to be the heir apparent at running back. Last season he rushed for 560 yards and 14-TDs. Defensively for the Wolves, linebacker Nick Burge is the teams returning tackler while Rayquan Jones returns on the defensive line. We believe that the balance of power has shifted in this game and we like the Blue Devils by two touchdowns.

 

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