In Part II of our Week-7 preview of GHSA football, we spend a little time looking at four games in the State’s smaller classifications. Starting in Class AAA, Pike County will face an early region test as they host perennial power Peach County. Peach might not be explosive as they were last season, but this is still a good football team. Can Pike unseat defending region champ, Peach County…Over in the Classic City, a Class 1-A matchup pits regions foes Athens Academy against Prince Avenue Christian. Can Athens Academy slow down the aerial attack of the Wolverines…In Class 2-A, the Bremen Blue Devils will look to make a statement of Friday as they visit Callaway Stadium and play the host Callaway Chargers. Both teams are highly ranked. This could be a game for Bremen to make a statement in…Meanwhile, down in South Georgia the Charlton County Indians will battle Irwin County for a chance to dethrone the defending region champs. Can Charlton pull off the upset…
Please feel free to share and comment. Thanks for reading!
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Pike County Pirates will host the Trojans defending Region Champion Peach County Trojans on Friday evening in Zebulon. Both teams look to be two of the best in the region this season. The Pirates have fared well early in the season and come into the game undefeated. Pike County has posted two shutouts through four games and are only surrendering 7.5 points per game.
Peach County has dropped two games this season, but both to ranked opponents in higher classifications, (Lee County and Mary Persons). Trojans quarterback Jaydon Gibson has passed for 816 yards and is second on the team in rushing with 230 yards. He has accounted for 10 TD-2 on the season. The teams leading receivers are Millard Thomas and Terkel Jefferson. Noah Whittington leads the way on the ground for the Trojans with 264 yards and 5-TDs. Bryson Dent, Jamir Best and Cedric Hillsman anchor the defensive line. This Peach County team doesn’t boast the same star power as last season’s team. But we think there is enough talent to maintain a grasp on the region lead. We like Peach by 10 this week.
The Skinny
Athens Academy will host Prince Avenue Christian on Friday night in Class A Region-8. Both teams come into the game highly ranked and undefeated. The Spartans have been playing great defense, only surrendering 9 points a game. The Athens Academy offense is led by running backs Payton Bowles and Len’Neth Whitehead. Both backs will are talented and should present a tough challenge for the Prince Avenue Christian Wolverines.
The Wolverines offense comes into the game featuring a balanced attack. Quarterback Brock Vandagriff has passed for over 1,400 yards in 5 games with 12-TDs. Christian Parrish and Mac Simmons have been the primary receivers. The two have combined for 53 receptions, 929 yards and 10-TDs through the air. Vandagriff and running back Tyler Payne pace Prince Avenue on the ground, as the Wolverines have rushed for over 1,100 yards as a team this season. If Athens academy can control the clock and keep the Wolverines offense off the field, they should be in a position to win the game at the end. However, we think that might be too tall of a task this week. We like Prince Avenue by a touchdown.
The Skinny
The Bremen Blue Devils open region play with a very tough matchup against the Callaway Cavaliers in Class AA Region-5. The Cavaliers defense has pitched three shutouts this season. Callaway’s only loss was to highly ranked county rival Troup. Two- way star Cartavious “Tank” Bigsby will lead the offense for the Chargers. Keiondre Jones anchors the Callaway offensive line. While Bigsby and linebacker Tely Fanning spearhead the Chargers defense.
Bremen is off to another hot start this season. The Blue Devils are led on offense by senior quarterback Wade Cartwright and running back Tyran Dobbs who is off to a great start this season after rushing for over 1,300 yards in 2017. Jalen Dallas and Kade Berry, lead a Bremen defense that has only surrendered 26 points in four games. This is possibly one of the best games in the state this week regardless of classification. We weren’t that high on Bremen in the pre-season, but we have had change of heart midway through the year. We like Bremen in a mild upset by a field goal.
The Skinny
The Charlton County Indians will look to derail Irwin County this week in Class A Region-2. Both teams sit tied atop the region at 2-0 in region play. Irwin county is probably a little more battle tested as they knocked off a very good Clinch County team two weeks ago. Irwin’s rushing attack of DJ Lundy, Jay Stanley and Jamal Paulk should have plenty of chances to improve on their rushing totals on Friday. The team is averaging 34.4 points per game this season, while their defense is only surrendering 8 points a game.
Charlton County is playing pretty good ball themselves this season. The only blemish on their record is a loss to Class AAA Appling County. Raykwon Anderson, Micheal Elliott, Tony Cobb and Seaquon Clark lead an offense that is averaging 28.6 points per game. We like Irwin County in this game; as we just don’t think Charlton can slow down Lundy and company. Irwin by two touchdowns.