TFR Week-7 Cherokee County Football Preview

The River Ridge Knights will host the Dalton Catamounts on Friday looking to extend Dalton’s slow start in region play. Like the Knights, the Catamounts have run up against some stiff competition in the first part of the season. Some injuries have slowed the Cats as well. Dalton will lean on Landon Allen to direct a struggling Cats offense that is averaging 16 points in their last three games. Jamhyr Gibbs and Jeric Montgomery continue to pace Dalton on the ground, combining for 727 yards rushing and 7-TDs on the season.

Like the Cats, the Knights have struggled a bit early in the season. They picked up their first region win their last time out and like Dalton, this is a must win to keep pace with Harrison, Creekview and Sequoyah. The Knights will need another big performance from Chico Ward. Ward’s last time out last time out he rushed for 93 yards and 3-TDs. Kofi Reeves Miller and freshmen Amehre Morrison will also be keys for the Knights on offense. River Ridge has shown some promise this season with some long-sustained drives, but they’ll need to turn those drives into points this week in order to have success against the Cats. We think the Knights will have more success this week, but we like Dalton by 8 points this week

Cherokee County’s oldest rivalry will take place on Friday night at Etowah High School as the Cherokee Warriors visit the Etowah Eagles. Both teams come into the game with identical records this season. However, this week is the beginning of Region play, so these are the games that count most in region standings. The Warriors continue to grow into their own. The team has bolstered their rushing attack with the addition of Grant Mogelnicki to the backfield with Garrett Miles allowing for more options on offense. The two backs have combined for 419 yards rushing and 6-TDs. Landon Ergle continues to lead the county in passing with 871 yards and has a couple of young, but very talented wide receivers in Devin Ellison and Brady Bocherer.  On defense, McKinley Hunter seems to always be flying around to the football. Keep an eye out for the athletic linebacker this week.

Etowah has been without their leading running back the past few weeks, but Klivert Many has filled in nicely for the Eagles. The Eagles have played some stiff competition which has certainly led to some of their struggles on offense. Etowah certainly has talent on both the offense and the defensive lines. Dalton Niccolia leads Cherokee County in sacks this season. If he can continue his torrid pace, that will certainly create some problems for the Warriors in the passing game. This game should be a slugfest, but we like the upstart Warriors to win this one by a field goal and get an early leg up in region play.

The battle of East Cherokee certainly has the makings of one of the biggest games in the county in recent history and perhaps may go down as one of the biggest all time between county teams. Both teams enter the game undefeated. Creekview sits at 5-0 for the first time in school history under new head coach Adam Carter; while the Chiefs are 4-0 for the first time since 2008. Both teams are highly ranked in all polls across the state. There are neighborhood bragging rights on the line, but more importantly, a leg up in region play is on the line Friday night at the Grizzly Den.

Creekview is led by an imposing offensive line that is highlighted by Clemson commit “Big” John Williams and all-state preseason selection Nick Pendley. Pendley has been picking up more interest from colleges as the season carries on; he’s certainly a player to watch on Friday and for the remainder of the season. These two physical tackles, along with Tanner Taranto and John Clenney  have helped pave the way for the county’s leading rusher, Cade Radam. Radam is a physical bruising back, that can also catch passes out of the backfield. He’s run for 729 yards and also has 9 receptions, with 8 total TDs. The Grizzlies will use two quarterbacks, Ethan Dirrim and Brody Rhodes to spearhead the offense attack. Dirrim is versatile athlete, as he can also split out wide at receiver and cause problems for the Chiefs secondary. But he’s not the only weapon for Coach Carter. 6’5” TE Paxton Nayman is a big-time prospect and receiver Jacob Pfundt is coming into his own as well. The Creekview defense might be a little undersized, but they play big. They’ll be led by Citadel commit Andy Davis at safety. Davis has been big in run support this season and tends to always find himself around the ball. Linemen Avery Rocks, Alex Godfrey, and John Hanaford have been stout up front. But Coach Carter said that perhaps the biggest surprise is the production they’ve gotten from Chance Schwartz.

Sequoyah has had a lot of success this season with their wing-T offense. Collier Pecht (pronounced Payth) leads the attack and while he hasn’t had to throw much this season he’s been efficient in doing so. The reason Pecht hasn’t had to pass much is because backs Cole Jacobs, Jackson “Brick” Smith, and DJ King have been effective running the ball.  The three backs have combined for 817 yards this season and 12-Tds. Sequoyah’s offense line has done well to create seems for the running attack. “Big” Alex Majeed, Connor Johnston, Nick Balance, Colton Haney and Wyatt Hampton anchor that offensive line. Defensively, by now, everyone knows about Emmanuel Jenkins, the Chiefs physical corner. We expect that he and the Chiefs secondary will be tested this week. Adam LaSelva and Grant Gibson are very active linebackers for the Chiefs who like Creekview’s Davis, always seems to be around the football. Perhaps the unsung heroes on the defense are the guys up front including Connor Johnston and Jordan Bowers.

This game is too close to call as the teams are as evenly matched as I can recall. Something tells me that crafty senior Collier Pecht will have one more trick up his sleeve. Chiefs by 1, in a nip and tuck game.