Our third set of 6-A playoff previews are listed below. This preview features matchups between Richmond Hill-Greenbrier, Coffee-Stephenson, Mays-Lanier, and Harrison-Johns Creek. Both Richmond Hill and Greenbrier enter the playoffs with sub .500 records, but something has to give. Can Greenbrier’s defense stiffen up one more time to move onto round 2…Stephenson hosts a dangerous Coffee team led by QB AJ Wilkerson. If the Jags overlook the Trojans it could be a long night for coach Gartrell and Stephenson…The Mays Raiders and Lanier Longhorns will tangle for the first time. Can JaQuari Wiggles and the Mays defense slow down Zach Calzada and the Lanier offense…Finally Harrison can ill afford to let last weeks heart-breaking loss to Creekview loom into this week. Johns Creek can really score, averaging almost 40 per game. This could be a high scoring affair…
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Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association
NR – Not Ranked
**The GSWA ratings used were from the week of 10/29. The newest poll was not available at the time of publication.
The Skinny
The Richmond Hill Wildcats will travel to the Central Savannah River Area to face the Greenbrier Wolfpack on Friday. Richmond Hill has done most of their damage on offense by way of the ground game. Jalen Rouse and Jamal Polite have combined for over 1,000 yards rushing and 11-TDs. The Wildcats defense has been pretty good as well, only giving up 15.6 points per game. Similar to Richmond Hill, Greenbrier has done most of their work on offense on the ground. Zackery Blackwell and Anthony Urbizo have combined for over 900 yards rushing. Coleman Flemming leads the defense with 121 total tackles, 69 of those were solo tackles. The Greenbrier defense has been pretty good, surrendering 18.1 points per game, but we don’t think that their offense can score enough to outlast Richmond Hill. We like the Wildcats by two touchdowns.
The Skinny
The prize for the Stephenson Jaguars winning Regions 4-6A title is a visit from the 2017 runner –up, the Coffee Trojans. The Trojans are led by sophomore quarterback A.J. Wilkerson, who has passed for 1,093 yards and 10-TDs on the season. Running backs Josiah Kelliebrew and Antonio Dawson have combined for 986 yards and 14-TDs this season. The Trojans defense is led by Arlis Sutton and Jeremiah Colson who have combined for 15 sacks on the year. The Coffee defense is surrendering 15.2 points per game. The only blemish on Stephenson’s record is a seven-point overtime loss to Southwest DeKalb. Since then, the Jaguars have won 8-straight games. Javier Morton and Jevon Goff have combined for over 1,200 yards on the ground this season in place of the injured Deandre Jackson. The Jaguars are averaging 35.9 points per game, while the defense led by Joshua Black and Nazir Stackhouse are only surrendering 12.9 points per game. Stephenson should win this game going away, but we think Coffee keeps it close. We like the Jaguars by 4.
The Skinny
The Mays Raiders lost 18 starters off of last year’s team that made it to the quarterfinals. The Raiders are averaging 29.2 points per game this season. Dual Threat QB Jahquez Evans has missed a couple of games this season and we don’t know if he will be available this week. Jaylen Dunson will take snaps under center if Evans is unable to go. JaQuari Wiggles has been a welcome addition to the Mays defense. The junior defensive lineman had 9 sacks through 7 games this season. Mays’ opponent, the Lanier Longhorns, are led by QB Zach Calzada. Calzada has passed for 1,455 yards and 12-TDs. His leading receivers are Zach Charles and Cole Thornton. The duo has combined for 61 receptions and 795 yards on the season. Linebacker Phillip Webb has recorded 10.5 sacks on the season. This game has the makings of a low scoring defensive battle. We give a slight edge to the Lanier Longhorns to win by 2 points.
The Skinny
The Harrison Hoyas were one point away from being regions champs in Region 6-6A. As it stands, the Hoyas lost the tie breakers in a log jam at the top of the region and will travel as the 4-seed to take on the Johns Creek Gladiators. The Hoyas are averaging 35.9 points per game. Gavin Hall has passed for over 1,200 yards on the season while David Roberts leads the ground game with 937 yards on the ground and 16-TDs on the season. Micah Davis has been the leading receiver for the Hoyas. The Hoyas are giving up 16.4 points on defense. The Johns Creek Gladiators have won 8-straight games and are unbeaten in games played in the state of Georgia this season. They are averaging 39.2 points per game. Much of that on the arm of Zach Gibson who has passed for 2,000 yards and 25-Tds while only throwing one interception. The Gladiators defense is surrendering 20.6 points per game. We are a little biased, but we think Harrison played in one of the top-2 toughest regions in the state. The Hoyas defense, while not big, might be the most physical defense the Gladiators have seen in weeks. The biggest question is will the Hoyas be able to recover from the emotional loss last week or will that haunt them this week. We think the Hoyas will be ready to play. We like Harrison by 3 in an upset.