Our first set of week two GHSA-5-A Playoff previews are listed below. This preview features matchups between Bainbridge-Wayne County, Kell-Buford, Stockbridge-New Hampstead, and Carrollton-Loganville. Congratulations to all of these teams that won their first round game. Best of luck to you all as you play this Friday.
As always, thanks for reading. Please feel free to contact me if there are any errors.
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
Last week MJ Fuller and the Wayne County Yellow Jackets survived a scare from a very talented Jonesboro Cardinals team. Fuller rushed for 120 yards and 1-TD. The Jackets were held far below their 34.9 points per game. The Bainbridge Bearcats will come calling this week and we believe that Wayne County will need another big performance from their defense to get past Bainbridge. The Bearcats proved they could score, putting up 40 points on Jones County in a first round win. Caleb McDowell was big on both sides of the ball; he had two touchdowns and a fumble recovery on defense. We think that Wayne will shake off the rust and edge out Bainbridge in the teams first meeting since World War II. Jackets by a field goal.
The Skinny
The Kell Longhorns will visit the Buford Wolves this Friday. Buford’s two losses on the season came at the hands of nationally ranked Deerfield Beach and Class 7-A Archer. The Wolves have won 6 games in a row. They have shutout three opponents on the season and are averaging 47.8 points per game. Derrian Brown led the way last week with 102 yards rushing and two touchdowns. They will be up against a Kell defense that is only surrendering 17.1 points per game. Kell’s offense has been pretty good as well this season as the Longhorns are averaging 41.6 points per game. Ebony Jackson had a big week last week as we rushed for 243 yards and 4-TDs. We aren’t sure that Jackson will have as much success against the Wolves, but he has certainly put the Wolves on notice. Kell has won seven straight games, but we think the buck stops here. We like the Wolves by a touchdown.
The Skinny
The New Hampstead Phoenix got the first playoff win in school history as they upset No. 1 seed Starr’s Mill. The Phoenix didn’t overwhelm with any big statistical performances. Quarterback Deyandre Ruffin passed for 110 yards and 1-TD and rushed for 78 yards, while Dontre Wallace rushed for 72 yards and 1-TD. The Phoenix also got big plays on defense that help seal the deal. On the season, New Hampstead is averaging 26 points per game, while their defense is surrendering 21.8 points per game. The Stockbridge Tigers will present another tough challenge for the Phoenix. The Tigers are averaging 34.8 points per game while the defense is giving up 12.3 per game. Last week, Jevon McDonald passed for 112 yards, but it was the rushing of McDonald and Bonner that helped the Tigers get past a stubborn Veterans team. We think that Stockbridge will stay on track this week. We like the Tigers by two touchdowns.
The Skinny
The Loganville Red Devils scored a big upset of the Southwest DeKalb Panthers. Their reward is a trip to Carrollton to take on the Carrollton Trojans. The Red Devils got some key special teams play to help get the victory last week. They will probably need some more of the same. On the year, the Red Devils are only averaging 20 points per game on offense, while their defense is surrendering 30.5 points pre game. Loganville will have to slow down a high-powered Carrollton offense that is scoring 43.9 points per game. Brandon Marenco led the ground game last week with 181 yards and 2-TDs. The Carrollton defense is giving up 21 points per game. We think that Carrollton will put a lot of points on the board, we just don’t know if Loganville can keep pace. We’ll take the Trojans by 13 this week.