Our third set of 5-A playoff previews are listed below. This preview features matchups between Statesboro-Griffin, Harris County-Dutchtown, Lithonia-Cedar Shoals, Jackson, Atlanta- Rome. The Statesboro Blue Devils are back in the playoffs for the first time in 5 years. The Griffin Bears beat them in the first round back in 2013. Will history repeat itself…The Dutchtown defense has been dominant this season. Can Harris County overcome the injury bug and keep this game close…Lithonia and Cedar Shoals are two evenly matched teams. This might be the most competitive game in 5-A…Meanwhile, Rome defends it’s title defense as the host Jackson, Atlanta…
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Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Statesboro Blue Devils are back in the post season for the first time in five years. The irony is that they will face the team that eliminated them from the playoffs back in 2013, the Griffin Bears. Statesboro is averaging 15.9 points per game on offense. While the Blue Devils are below .500, they do have what it takes to compete with the best in the state, as they fell to Wayne County by 1 earlier in the season. The Griffin Bears aren’t necessarily lighting the world on fire with their offense, averaging 25.6 points per game, but their defense has been pretty good, surrendering 16.8 points per game. We think the Griffin defense will be able to stymie the Blue Devils this week. We like the Bears by 10 points.
The Skinny
The Dutchtown Bulldogs went through a tough region schedule and came out undefeated. Like Southwest DeKalb, defense has been their calling card. The Bulldogs are surrendering 5.7 points per game. That includes four shutouts. The offense is only averaging 29.7 points per game, but that’s not a big deal when your defense is as good as theirs. Harris County has been fighting the injury bug all season. Cal’von Harris has rushed for 827 yards and 6-TDs in eight games this season. Harris was an all-state selection last season. Talique Williams has also chipped in over 500 yards on the ground. If the Tigers can’t get the run game going, it could be a long night. We think this is a big night for Dutchtown. We like the Bulldogs by 24 points.
The Skinny
The Lithonia Bulldogs and Cedar Shoals Jaguars will face off for the first time since 1995 and only the 3rd time overall. The Bulldogs come into the game averaging 20.5 points per game on offense and surrendering 18.5 points on defense. The Jaguars are fairing a little better on offense, averaging 24.6 points per game and surrendering 14.4 points per game. Running backs Osiris Walker and Devontaye Bankston have combined for 1,495 yards and 15-TDs on the season. We think that tandem will help lead Cedar Shoals to a first round victory this week. We like them by 8 over the Bulldogs.
The Skinny
Maynard Jackson High is back into the playoffs after a one year hiatus. The Jaguars are averaging a respectable 28 points per game and their defense has been pretty good, surrendering 16.1 points per game. Through 8 games, quarterback Charles Daniel has passed for 1,429 yards and 12-TDs, but he’s also rushed for over 750 yards in that same time period. Dequantteous Watts and Cario Googer lead the Jaguars secondary with 11 interceptions between the two defensive backs. Those are some great stats, but they are playing the Rome Wolves. Rome is averaging 53.1 points per game on offense and only surrendering 14.7 points per game on defense. Jamious Girffin has rushed for 2,024 yards and 31-TDs this season. We could go on and on about Rome, but we should probably save some material. We like Rome big this week; call it four touchdowns.