In Part II of our Week-5, Eight Greats Around the State, we feature a heavy-weight tilt between the defending 7A state champ North Gwinnett as they travel to take on the talented Walton Raiders…In southeast Georgia, Glynn Academy travels to Jesup to take on Wayne County for the 86th time. Which rushing attack will prevail this season? An early season, but extremely pivotal matchup takes place in region 7-5A, as Rome hosts the Carrollton Trojans. Is Rome too powerful or can Coach Calhoun’s Trojans knock of the Wolves on the road…While down in middle Georgia, two traditional powers, Mary Persons and Peach County will get together in Fort Valley…
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Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Walton Raiders welcome the defending 7A state champions into Raider Valley on Friday night. The Raiders boast a very impressive air attack led by senior quarterback Austin Kirksey. Kirksey has passed for 797 yards this season but has also rushed for 159 yards as well. Domonick Blaylock and Kendall Alford lead the Raiders in receiving as the tandem has combined for 593 yards receiving and 6-TDs in 2018. Running backs DJ Soyoye and KD Stokes provide balance for Walton in the run game.
North Gwinnett is looking to bounce back after suffering their first loss to Florida power Wekiva, two weeks ago. Running back Ty Goodson leads the way for the Bulldogs on offense. He has rushed for 158 yards and 3-TDs through three games. The North Gwinnett secondary will have their hands full this weekend. It should be fun to watch defensive backs Warren Burrell and Quentin Newsom matchup against the Walton receivers Friday night. Walton got the better of North Gwinnett in 2017. We expect the same result this season. Walton by a field goal.
The Skinny
Long time rivals Wayne County and Glynn Academy will meet for the 86thtime on Friday night at Jaycee Stadium in Jessup. The Terrors got the best of Wayne County last season, but Wayne County will look to reverse fortunes this season. Wayne County comes into the game undefeated. Their offense is spearheaded by running back MJ Fuller and quarterback Shamar Taylor. Weston Franklin and David Vann anchor the Wayne County offensive line.
Glynn Academy will bring their high-powered rushing attck into Jessup looking to duplicate a similar result to the 2017 game. The Terrors are led by Quantavious Bostic, TJ Lewis and Alan Partin. The three backs have combined for 632 yards and 10-TDs. On defense, Marlon Taylor leads a Glynn Academy team that has only yielded 6 points in the past two weeks. Wayne County will certainly be up to the task, but we think Glynn wins a competitive game. Terrors by a touchdown.
The Skinny
The Rome Wolves will host the Carrollton Trojans on Friday night. While it’s still very early in the season, this game will go a long way in determining the region title. Carrollton is looking to make their mark against a Rome team that, for all intents and purposes, has been unstoppable the past 2 and a half seasons. The Trojans boast perhaps two of the best underclassmen at linebacker in Chaz Chambliss and Kevin Swint. Both of these backers are stat-stuffers on Friday night. But the Trojans aren’t a one trick pony. They have some weapons on offense to take note of. Quarterback Kashif Taylor has performed well in his first season as a starter. Last week he accounted for 264 total yards and 4-TDs. Keshawn Ridley and Kodee Brewer bolster the run game, while Isaiah Lancaster and Miles McLendon lead the receivers.
The Rome Wolves have done much of their damage on the ground this season. Jamious Griffin leads the running attack with 349 yards and 6-TDs on the season. Senior quarterback Knox Kadum has been steady for Rome at quarterback. Kadum might be one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the state. This should be Rome’s most difficult challenge since the Marietta game. A Rome win would really put them in the driver’s seat for a region title. We think this will be closer than Rome’s last two games, but we still think the Wolves are 10 points better this week.
The Skinny
Two Central Georgia powers collide as Peach County hosts the Mary Persons Bulldogs. Mary Persons is averaging 52.5 points a game through 4 games. Quarterback JT Hartage has passed for 835 yards and 7-TDs while Quen Wilson has rushed for 429 yards and an astounding 12-TDs on the season. Deadrek Alford leads the receivers with 12 receptions for 316 yards.
Peach County has already slayed one giant as they took down Northside in their first game of the season, but they struggled against the 6A state champs in their second game. (Most teams would struggle with Lee County.) Jaydon Gibson is a dual threat QB for the Trojans, he is completing 75% of his passes with 4-TDs and no interceptions. Other offensive standouts for the Trojans are running back Noah Whittington and receiver Millard Thomas. Defensively, Jamir Best, Bryson Dent, Sergio Allen and Cedric Hillsman will look to slow down the potent Mary Persons offense. While we expect both teams to be playing at a high level on Friday, the Bulldogs offense will be a little too explosive for the Trojans to contain. We like Mary Persons by 9.