The stakes continue to get higher in region play as we go into Week-8. Sequoyah will look to bounce back against River Ridge; while the Knights are looking for a big region win and a chance to stay in contention for the post-season. Will the Knights catch the Chiefs napping…After a big win last week for Cherokee, they will go on the road to take on Roswell. The Hornets will present a stiff challenge as they look to be one of the top teams in the region…Finally, the battle of Towne Lake takes place this week. This might be the counties fiercest rivalry. The schools are just over 2 miles apart. Last year, Woodstock edged Etowah. Can the Eagles rebound and get their first region win of the season? Or will the Wolverines hold serve at home this season.
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Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writers Association
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Sequoyah Chiefs will look to bounce back from their loss last week at Creekview when they host another county rival, the River Ridge Knights. Sequoyah was not able to get the running game going in the red-zone last week, so that might be a point of emphasis against the Knights. Jackson Smith, Cole Jacobs and DJ King will be the featured backs in the Chiefs vaunted wing-T attack. QB Collier Pecht proved last week that he could do more than hand the ball off to the three amigos. Pecht does have weapons on the perimeter including Emmanuel Jenkins and Myles McGee. Defensively, the Chiefs secondary got a boost with the return of D’angelo Smith. Smith, Jenkins, King and Jacobs make for a formidable secondary. Linebackers Adam LaSelva and Grant Gibson lead the Chiefs in tackles.
The Knights where able to do some good things against Dalton last week, but if they are going to upset Sequoyah, they will need to limit the big plays this week. The River Ridge defense did record 3 sacks last week as well. Chico Ward and Amehre Morrison will again lead the Knights ground attack. Despite their record, River Ridge has continued to improve each week. This could be a trap game for the Chiefs, who had an emotional loss to a rival last week and turn around to play another rival this week; one that is hungry for their first win against a county foe. We expect the Chiefs to bounce back this week. Sequoyah by 17.
The Skinny
The Cherokee Warriors started off region play with a win over the Etowah last week. The Warriors defense really hunkered down when it had to last week. Kerwin Majano was constantly causing havoc. He along with McKinley Hunter, Grant Hornbuckle and the rest of the Warriors defense will need a similar effort this week at Roswell. Hunter recorded five sacks last week to go along with 13 tackles. Offensively, dual-threat QB Landon Ergle has passed for 926 yards and 5-TDs. Garret Miles and Mogelnicki have combined for 513 yards 7-TDs on the season.
The host, Hornets have quietly put together an impressive season, with a win over rival Milton and the only blemish, a one-point loss to undefeated Wheeler. Ethan Roberts has passed for 967 yards and 10-TDs while Kamonty Jett has rushed for 598 yards and 6-TDs. John Copenhaver and Jacob Jarrett lead the Hornets in receiving with a combined 695 yards and 16-TDs. Sam Antona leads Roswell in total tackles while Doneiko Slaughter leads Roswell in sacks with 6. Cherokee is playing much better as of late this season, in fact, we think this team has a great shot to make the post-season, but we like Roswell this week by a touchdown.
The Skinny
The Battle of Towne Lake will take place on Friday night. This will be the first region game for the Woodstock Wolverines. The last time out, Woodstock got a big win against North Forsyth. Dean Braxton leads the Wolverines in rushing and passing this season with 784 yards passing and 374 yards rushing. He’s also accounted for 10-TDs. Sophomore Sebastian Moss leads Woodstock with 27 receptions and 253 receiving yards. Campbell Price and Camden Vaughn lead the team in total tackles. While David Daniel and Andrew Bartolero lead the Woodstock Secondary.
Etowah will look to stop a two game losing skid. The Eagles had a tough time getting things going on offense last week against a stingy Cherokee defense. Nick Maddox did return to the backfield for the Eagles. They will need a big game from their defense this week if they want to be successful. For the Eagles on defense, it starts of front with Dalton Nicolai, Cole Milovanovic and Raymone Devezin. These three will need to get pressure on Dean Braxton and disrupt the Woodstock passing attack. We think the Wolverines offense is a little ahead of Etowah this week. We don’t expect a shoot-out like last season, but we like Woodstock by a field goal.