Our third set of 4-A playoff previews are listed below. This preview features matchups between Howard-Burke County, Hardaway-Eastside, Sandy Creek-North Oconee, and Northwest Whitfield-Blessed Trinity. The Howard Huskies go on the road with a legitimate chance to upset the Burke Bears. This game looks like a toss-up, the winner will more than likely be the team with the most rushing yards…Eastside continues their perfect season. Hardaway will need to be flawless in order to knock of the region-4 champs…Sandy Creek travels to North Oconee in a game that should be a defensive battle…And Roswell, Blessed trinity will host Northwest Whitfield. Do the Bruins have enough on defense to slow down The Titan’s Steele Chambers…
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Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Howard Huskies will bring their run dominated attack to Waynesboro to take on the Burke County Bears. As a team, the Huskies have rushed for over 2,400 yards. They are led by Jeremiah Kelly, Javarsia Meadows and quarterback Quintan Sewell. Howard is averaging 28.8 points per game. Meanwhile, Burke County is averaging 30.6 points per game and the defense is giving up 17.4 points per game. They are also a run oriented offense, with 2,262 yards as a team on the season. Leon McGee leads the way with 813 yards and 18-TDs. This game looks like a toss-up, but we like Burke by a touchdown this week.
The Skinny
Coach Troy Hoff has led the Eastside Eagles to their first undefeated regular season and the most wins in Newton County history. Noah Cook has passed for 1,581 yards and 23-TDs and Taylor Carter leads the ground attack with 870 yards and 11-TDs. Colby Shivers, Jamari Brown and Carter have caught a combined 70 passes this season. The Eagles are averaging 40.2 points per game while the defense is only giving up 13.2 points. The Hardaway Hawks will depend heavily on the run this week. Ja’Ron Early leads the way for the Hawks with 1,019 yards on the ground and 11-TDs. Hardaway is averaging 23.6 points per game on offense while the defense is giving up 15.6 points per game. We think there is just too much talent on the Eastside sidelines in this game. We like the Eagles by 17.
The Skinny
North Oconee is back into the playoffs after missing the past two years. The Titans are averaging 28.4 points per game. The defense has been more impressive, surrendering 15.9 points per game. The Sandy Creek Patriots also have similar stats. They are averaging 28.9 points per game and giving up 14.7 points per game. Comparing schedules, the Sandy Creek Patriots seem to be a little more battle tested this season. That’s enough to take Sandy Creek in a low scoring game. Patriots by 5.
The Skinny
The Blessed Trinity Titans begin their title defense at home against the Northwest Whitfield Bruins. Quarterback Jake Smith has passed for 1,219 yards and 12-TDs and Ohio State commit Steele Chambers has run for 1,078 yards and 17-TDs. The Titans are averaging 35.8 points per game while the defense is only giving up 9 points per game. The Northwest Bruins have also had success on offense, averaging 30.8 points per game. Ty Fisher has passed for 1,922 yards and 20-TDs to pace the Bruins offense. The Bruins defense has been suspect at times, on the season they are giving up 24.9 points per game. Blessed Trinity is probably the best defense that Northwest has seen this season. We think they can hold the Bruins defense in check, we like the Titans by 24.