Our final 7-A first round playoff previews feature matchups between McEachern-Newnan, Etowah-Colquitt County, Newton-West Forsyth and Central Gwinnett-North Gwinnett. Some of the story lines in this preview include the McEachern Indians facing off against the Newnan Cougars for the first time since 1993. Can McEachern get a win on the road or will Newnan defend home turn…Etowah has the unenviable task of facing possibly the best team in the state, the Colquitt County Packers. Does David have any chance to slay Goliath…The Newton Rams will travel to Cumming to face the West Forsyth Wolverines. Newton will be playing without head coach Terrance Banks who resigned on Monday. Will the team circle the wagons or will this be a distraction for the upcoming week…Finally, old county rivals collide as North Gwinnett hosts Central Gwinnett. North is looking to defend their state title. We are sure the Knights want to spoil any of North Gwinnett’s plans for a repeat…
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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 Newnan Cougars will host the McEachern Indians this week. It’s been 25 years since these programs have squared off. The Indians haven’t had much trouble scoring this season, as they are averaging 37 points per game. Jeffrey Clark and Jamil Burroughs anchor the defensive line. They will need to find a way to get pressure on Newnan quarterback Michael Maginnis. Maginnis has passed for 1,500 yards and 14-TDs. His primary receiver is Woody Waters who has hauled in 37 passes for 585 yards. Sophomore Bryson Moss leads the team in rushing with 636 yards and 9-TDs. Our biggest question is if Newnan can outscore McEachern…We don’t think they can. McEachern wins on the road by 10.
The Skinny
The Etowah Eagles draw they short straw in the playoffs and will face quite possibly the best team in the state. The Eagles will need to rely on their physical offensive line to neutralize Brian Merritt, Rashard Revels and the rest of the Colquitt defense that is surrendering 8.7 points per game. The Colquitt defense has recorded 68 sacks and 13 interceptions. Kendrick Neloms leads the team in sacks with 12 and Revels is close behind with 11. Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald has connected on 80% of his field goal attempts with a long of 57 yards. The Etowah offense will need to find a way for Nick Maddox to get loose. That seems to be the only chance the Eagles have of pulling the upset. Even if Maddox has a career night, it still might not be enough to hang with the Packers. We like Colquitt by four touchdowns this week.
The Skinny
Perhaps the biggest news coming into this game is the resignation of Newton Head Coach Terrance Banks on Monday. You can read more about that in this article from Gabriel Stovall of the Covington Sports News here: Banks Resigns. The Rams were 4-6 on the season, but still garnered the No. 3 seed. L.T. Stowers has passed for 1,336 yards and 18-TDs. Adarious Thomas has rushed for 844 yards on the season to lead the Rams. Stephon Bland leads the West Forsyth Wolverines with 795 yards and 5-TDs, while Abraham Camara leads the team in receiving yards with 616 and 8-TDs. We thought this game was a toss-up before the news of the resignation, but we think West Forsyth has the edge this week with stability at the head coaching position. We’ll take the Wolverines by a touchdown this week.
The Skinny
North Gwinnett will start their title defense at home against county rival Central Gwinnett. The Bulldogs have won 6 straight since dropping a game to Walton back in September. Ty Goodson and Josh Downs help lead a North Gwinnett offense that is averaging 36.7 points per game. Perhaps, the most impressive team stat is the 9.7 points per game that the Bulldogs are yielding on defense. That should make tough sledding for the Central Gwinnett offense. The Knights Justin Fomby has passed for 1,489 yards and 13-TDs, but he has also been intercepted 13 times. In order to pull the upset this week, Fomby will need to be accurate and Daedae Reynolds, Justin Wilkins, and Kameron King will need to have big nights. Even with that said, we think that North will win this Gwinnett County battle by three touchdowns.