Week-7 in GHSA Football brings us to the midpoint of the season. Most teams have wrapped up non-region play and the all important region match-ups are now in view. North Hall will host Greater Atlanta Christian in a big region game this Friday. Will the Trojans rushing attack be enough to keep a potent Spartans team at bay…Thomasville and Crisp County will square off for the first time in 25 years. Both teams are finishing up their non-region schedule. Can Crisp move the ball against a very stout Thomasville defense…Ware County travels to Valdosta to take on Lowndes this week. It’s a tall task for the Gators. They’ll have to find a way to slow down Travis Tisdale…And in Class-A Christian Heritage hosts Darlington in a big region show down. Can Christian Heritage stay hot or will Darlington rebound from last weeks loss and continue their domination of the young series.
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Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans are off to a bit of a slow start, but this is an experienced team with some big-time college prospects. Josh Rose has taken most of the snaps at quarterback but Jackson Hardy has seen a good bit of action as well. The two have combined for 1,099 yards passing and 12-TDs on the season. While we don’t normally highlight offensive linemen, it’s hard not to notice Chris and Myles Hinton, as these two anchor the Spartans line this season. Rose and Montae Bailey lead GAC in rushing. As a team, the Spartans have rushed for 856 yards. Ty James and Jake Floyd have emerged as top receiving targets for the Spartans with 48 catches and 9-TDs between the two.
North Hall has done most of their damage on the ground. They are averaging 309 yards per game. They’ve done it with balanced production from four different backs including quarterback David Seavey (276 yards), Daniel Jackson (423 yards), Drew Faulkner (291 yards), and JT Fair (224 yards). The Trojans have rushed for over 1,500 yards as a team. North Hall has surpassed the 60-point mark twice this season. GAC presents a different challenge for the Trojans, and will probably be their toughest challenge to date. We think the Spartan defense will do just enough to slow down the North Hall ground game. We like the Spartans by 10.
The Skinny
The Thomasville Bulldogs have dominated the series against the Crisp County Cougars, but these two have not met in 25 years. The Bulldogs freshman QB Chase Mascoe has passed for 977 yards and 7-TDs. Tan Gelin leads the Bulldogs in rushing with 438 yards and 5-TDs. Thomasville’s offense line is anchored by Javonte McGriff, Larry Williams and Tevin Rayford. Defensively, Karey Lee might be the bell-cow for Coach Grage. But Jeremiah Powell, Sedrick Robinson and Chris Monroe are also big time players on defense. Hursten Waldrep has also stepped in at kicker this season to provide some stability with special teams.
Crisp County lost a few big-time players as they transferred out last season. Running backs Anthony Lewis and Marquise Palmer have stepped in to pick up the slack. The two backs have combined for 332 yards on the season. Tubby Spivey is the big threat in the receiving game as he’s caught 13 passes this season. Ahdarrious Gee leads the Cougars in total tackles with 50. While sophomore linebacker Chris Paul leads Crisp in sacks with 4 and Spivey leads the secondary with 4 interceptions. Crisp should definitely be in contention for a region title this season, but we just don’t think they can keep pace with non-region foe, Thomasville this week. We like the Bulldogs on the road by 17.
The Skinny
The Lowndes Vikings will host the Ware County Gators in a matchup of South Georgia powers. The big question for Ware County is whether or not they can slow down Lowndes running back Travis Tisdale. Last week in the Winnersville Classic, Tisdale rushed for an astounding 414 yards and 6…yes S-I-X touchdowns. Tisdale has already eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark on the season and has 16-TDs. Ty’Ehir Simms (336 yards, 3-TDs) and Ghetti Brown (249 yards, 2-TDs) lead Lowndes in receiving. Linebacker Tiberius Drocea and defensive end Gary Osby spearhead the Vikings defense. As a team, the Vikings have intercepted 9 passes on the season.
The Gators are led by a couple of talented underclassmen. Freshman Quarterback Thomas Castellanos has passed for 673 yards and rushed for 312 yards with 11 total TDs. Sophomore running back Dream Gainer leads Ware County in rushing with 460 yards on the ground. Senior linebacker Logan Braucht leads the Gators in tackles and is tied for the team lead in sacks. He and the rest of the Ware County defense will have their hands full trying to slow down the high-powered Vikings attack. The Gators are a really good 5-A team, but we think Lowndes is just too explosive for Ware to keep pace with. We like Lowndes by 3 touchdowns.
The Skinny
The upstart Christian Heritage Lions will host the Darlington Tigers on Friday night. The Lions burst on to the scene from almost out of nowhere this season with come from behind wins in consecutive weeks. Coach Jay Poag told us in an earlier podcast that one of the keys to success this season is the fact that his team has much more experience than in years past. They are led by gun-slinging QB Matthew Neff. Neff has passed for 767 yards and 10-TDs on the season. Zach Gentry (427 yards, 8-TDs) and Evan Lester (244 yards, 2-TDs) lead the Lions in receiving. Defensively, Coach Poag couldn’t say enough good things about Duane Jones and Syd Reece, as the two linebackers pace Christian Heritage on defense.
Darlington comes into the game trying to right the ship after a loss to Mt. Zion, Carroll last week. Kolin Rogers has a big game on the ground last week for the Tigers and he will certainly be looking to add to his rushing totals this week. Last week the Tigers shot themselves in the foot a few times, so in order to win this week, they’ll need to play a more mistake free game. We think that the Tigers will be in the game at the end, but it’s hard to pick against the Lions and Matthew Neff’s hot hand. We like Christian Heritage by 4.