TFR Week-3 Eight Greats Around the State – Part I

This game might epitomize a “David vs. Goliath” matchup. Both Thomasville and Colquitt are at the head of the class in their respective classifications. Yet Colquitt, the 7A runner-up from last season, has to be the clear favorite at home. Last week the Packers Jaycee Harden showed off his arm, passing for 240 yards and 3-TDs. Nine different receivers caught passes for Colquitt County. Daijun Edwards again led the Packers in rushing with 112 yards and 3-TDs. The Colquitt County defense has already recorded 15 sacks and 3 interceptions in the first two games of the season.

Let’s not sell Thomasville short just yet. Last week, against rival Thomas County Central, freshman quarterback Chad Mascoe led the Bulldogs with 244 yards passing and 4-TDs. Senior Jakarius Tillman has been the most productive receiver with 153 yards and 2-TDs, while Tan Gelin leads the Bulldogs on the ground with 222 yards and 3-TDs on the season. So how does Thomasville win this game? Perhaps if Jaycee Harden struggles and the defense can bottle up Daijun Edwards, the Bulldogs will have a puncher’s chance. Even if that were the case, everything would have to go just about perfect on offense. We just don’t believe enough things will line up for Thomasville. They will be competitive, but we like the Packers by two touchdowns.

Ware County won a thriller at Burke County last week. This week, they return to Memorial Stadium to face the Coffee Trojans. The Ware Gators will look to get Dream Gainer going again this week. Last week he was limited by Burke’s defense. However, Thomas Castellanos was able to pick up the slack as he passed for 109 yards and rushed for 144 yards.

Coffee has relied primarily on the ground game thus far in 2018. The Trojans have already racked up 530 rushing yards in two games. Josiah Killiebrew leads the way. At 6’0” 269lbs, he’s a load for anyone to bring down. We think that Ware County has enough talent to hang with Coffee, but we like the Trojans to get the win in Waycross this week by a touchdown.

Hapeville Charter will travel to Heard County for a rematch of the 2017 semi-finals. While some of the star power from last season has graduated, these two teams still find themselves at the top of the polls and both look to be contenders for the Class 2A title. In their first weeks of play, the Heard County Braves outlasted LaGrange, while Hapeville Charter had little trouble with River Ridge.

We suspect much of the Braves offense will be centered around Aaron Beasley. In week-1 Beasley rushed for over 180 yards with 1-TD. Heard County will also need another stellar performance from their defense if they hope to walk out of Staples Stadium with a victory. They will need to slow down quarterback Jordan Slocum and running back Marcus Carroll. Carroll led the Hapeville offense with over 170 yards and 3-TDs last week. On paper, this game looks like a dandy, and perhaps, the best matchup of the week. In somewhat of an upset, we like Heard County to win the rematch by a field goal.

The best of class 1A-public will meet one of the best teams in class 2A. Both teams are coming off of a bye week. For Brooks County to win on the road at Clinch, they will need to find a way to slow down Trezman Marshall on both sides of the ball. Marshall rushed for 143 yards in week one. Wide receiver Jeremiah Johnson will be a matchup problem for Brooks. Johnson stands at 6’7” and is a big target for Clinch County.

Brooks County will feature a run oriented attack, led by Deon Fountain. In week-1, Fountain rushed for 133 yards and 3-TDs. Quarterback Jacolby Brown also chipped in the running game with 95 yards and 1-TD. Brooks won a squeaker last year at home. This year, we think it will be just as close and we like Brooks again to win by a field goal.