Week-11 looks to help settle a lot of the uncertainty in the regions standings. Upstart Haralson county and the states leading rusher, Treylon Sheppard will face the defending region and state champion as they visit Calhoun. A Haralson upset win would shake things up in the region standings…Down in South Georgia, the Valdosta Wildcats will host the Northside Warner-Robins Eagles. The winner will most likely claim the two seed in the region…Just north of Valdosta over in Tifton, the Tift County Blue Devils will host the Colquitt County Packers. The Blue Devils will be the latest team to try to knock off the defending state champs. The winner will be sitting pretty in the region standings…Finally, we take a look at Region 2-3A is Rick Tomberlin has his Pirates on contention for a region title. But the Pierce County Bears have other plans. Regardless of the outcome, both of these teams should host at least one playoff game come November…
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Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Haralson County Rebels have been one of the great turn-around stories of this season. In 2017, the Rebels only won two games and did not win a region game. This season, the Rebels have won seven games and with a win this Friday, would really throw a monkey wrench in the Region-6 standings. Running back Treylon Sheppard is leading the state in rushing with over 2,500 yards. The next closes rusher was over 600 yards behind Sheppard. The Rebels are averaging 33 points per game on offense this season. That’s almost double their point production from 2017.
The Calhoun Yellow Jackets are the defending state champions. Gavin Gray leads Calhoun at quarterback and he has several weapons at his disposal including Zach Fuller, Brannon Spector and Bralin Barton. The Yellow Jackets are averaging 48.8 points per game on offense. The defense is only surrendering 7.1 points per game. As spectacular as Shepard has been this season, we don’t think he can carry the Rebels to a victory over the Jackets. We like Calhoun by 17 this week.
The Skinny
Northside will travel to Valdosta in a game that should determine the number two seed in the region. Both teams have lost to defending state champ, Lee County. Northside has the distinction of the only team to hold Lee County under 30 points of offense this season. The Eagles Jadin Daniels has passed for 937 yards and 10-TDs on the season. Northside favors the run on offense, as Daniels also leads the team in rushing yards with 792 while Eric Smith has rushed for 519 yards on the season with 6-TDs.
The Valdosta Wildcats Tate Rodemaker has passed for over 2,400 yards on the season along with 23-TDs. Aalah Brown did not play against Lee County but still leads the team in receptions and receiving yards. Jaheim Bel and Tarrell Roberts have combined for 53 receptions and 816 yards through the air. Rajaez Mosley continues to lead the Wildcats on the ground with 663 yards on 124 carries. We believe that home field advantage will have a big role in this game. So we’ll take Valdosta by a field goal.
The Skinny
Tift County and Colquitt County will look to gain control of region 1. A win puts either team in the driver’s seat of the four team region. The Blue Devils got a big win against Lowndes last week as senior quarterback Patrick Felton passed for 283 yards and 3-TDs. On the season, senior running back Mike Jones has rushed for 862 yards and 10-TDs. Receiver Tyler Ajiero has caught 30 passes for 600 yards and 7-TDs. Austin Williams anchors an offensive line that helped pave the way for over 1,500 yards of rushing offense for the Blue Devils. Defensively, KD McDaniel leads the Blue Devils in sacks while Deontae Overstreet leads the team in total tackles with 70.
We have mentioned before about Colquitt’s dominance this season. Jaycee Harden has passed for almost 1,300 yards while the combination of Ty Leggett and Daijaun Edwards has rushed for 1,286 yards on the season and 21 rushing TDs. Perhaps we don’t show enough love to their offensive line, anchored by Kamaar Ball and William Rykard. But these guys definitely set the tone for the Packers. The defense is giving up 9.2 points per game. We won’t be surprised if this game is not a blowout. But we think the Packers are just to strong at home this week. Pack by 14.
The Skinny
The Pierce County Bears and Appling County Pirates will meet on Friday in a game that should determine the Region-3 champion. The Bears come into the game undefeated and averaging 46.3 points per game on offense and giving up a mere 5.3 points per game on defense. They have shut out five of their opponents on the season. Pierce County is averaging 278.5 yards per game on the ground. Senior running back John Jones leads the way with over 1,000 on the season. Parker Peagler leads the team in receptions, although the Bears do not pass the ball a lot. Quarterback Jermaine Brewton has thrown 15-TDs and only 2 interceptions.
Coach Rick Tomberlin continues his rebuilding of Appling County. This season, the Pirates find themselves in position to at least force a tie and perhaps, win the region with a victory this week and next. The Pirates offense has done much of their damage on the ground this season as well. RJ Conaway and Sharode Roberts have combined for 787 yards and 6-TDs on the ground. Sophomore Keyshawn Walker leads the team in receptions and receiving yards with 269. Appling County is surrendering 14.6 points per game on the year. We aren’t sure if the upstart Pirates have what it takes this season to knock of the Bears, so we’ll take the safe bet in Pierce County. Bears win by 10.