Today we will start our weekly segment GHSA Football previews that we call Eight Greats Around the State. Each week, we will take 8 of the more intriguing GHSA Football match-ups and preview the games. The segment will be split into two parts, this is Part 2 of 2. (Part 1 of our previews can be found here.)
Our previews feature Camden County and Richmond Hill as the top programs in Southeast Georgia face off. A pretty good battle in Class A-private has Fellowship Christian (Roswell) hosting Christian Heritage (Dalton). Fellowship’s ground game was dominant last season, can Christian Heritage slow them down? Archer will host a talented Lowndes viking squad. Will the long trip to North Georgia be a big factor for Lowndes in this matchup? Finally, Eagle’s Landing Christian (ELCA) will host Woodward Academy. Both of these programs are no strangers to success. Will ELCA be able to knock off a very talented and highly ranked 5A team?
As always, please feel free to share and comment.
The Skinny
Two of the best teams in Southeast Georgia will face off on Friday night as the Camden County Wildcats host the Richmond Hill Wildcats. Camden returns top offensive stars like junior running back Jamie Felix, (1,124 yards, 15-TDs in 2019) as well as receiver Shawn Hardy, (782 yards, 10-TDs) Camden County will have a new quarterback under center who will have big shoes to fill with the departure of Logan Watson to graduation. The Wildcats also sport two D1 caliber “road-graders” on the offensive line in Micah Morris and Noah DeMeritt. Camden did lose a lot on defense to graduation, but expect junior linebacker Jadin Jones and senior lineman Deterias Glover to be a key leaders this season.
The Richmond Hill Wildcats broke through last year with the best finish in school history as the came within a field goal of advancing to the state title game. They return starting quarterback Tyler Coleman, but will have to replace the 1,742 yards and 24-TDs that left when Jalen Rouse graduated last season. Ashaud Robinson looks poised to fill into that role along with a host of other backs including Kenyan Hunter and Christian Boggs. Whoever is running the ball will have the luxury of running behind a line led by tackle Joe Fusile. Defensively, Nathan Vickers returns along the front seven. He tallied 14 sacks a year ago. Meanwhile, Jordan Clark, Kenyan Hunter and Greg Freightman return to lead a secondary that recorded 13 interceptions last season. We believe this game will be close. And in close games, the kicking game is crucial Richmond Hill has one of the best kickers in the state in Britton Williams. However, we like Camden to win this battle of Southeast Georgia by 5.
The Skinny
The Fellowship Christian Paladins made it back to the semifinals last season. In 2019, as a team, the Paladins rushed for almost 4,100 yards. The good news for the Paladins is that they return their top four rushers from a season ago. Murphy Reeves (1,554 yards, 17-TDs), Jayven Hall ( 763 yards, 13-TDs), Josh Cole (708 yards, 14-TDs) and quarterback Eli Hildebrandt (377 yards, 11-TDs) all return for the Paladins. Charlie Patterson and Reid Robinson will anchor the offensive line. Patterson was committed to play for the Virginia Cavaliers. The Paladins defense returns their top 5 tacklers from a year ago including the aforementioned Hall, Cole and Nathan Nardone. Linebacker Kyle Elphick led the team in interceptions as a freshman last season.
Coach Jay Poag has the Christian Heritage Lions trending in the right direction over the last four seasons. Like Fellowship, there was a lot of youth on the Christian Heritage team last season. Junior quarterback Christian Thomas and junior running back Gage Leonard will lead the offense. Thomas threw for 1,505 yards and 16-TDs while Leonard rushed for 875 yards and 9-TDs. Meanwhile, Evan Lester is a big target at receiver. He’ll be looking to improve on his 40 receptions, 792 yards and 10-TDs from a season ago. The Lions defense allowed a paltry 11.8 points per game last season. Ben Hermann and Ben Williamson return as two of the teams leading tacklers, as well as the aforementioned Leonard. Leonard also led the team in sacks and interceptions a year ago. This is a great week one matchup in 1-A. Can Christian Heritage shake off the long bus ride from Dalton to Roswell? We like Christian Heritage and believe they can contend for a region title this year, but we think the Paladin ground machine will be too much this week. Paladins by 8.
The Skinny
The Archer Tigers get their season underway as they host the Lowndes Vikings. The Tigers are coming off of a season in which they advanced to the quarterfinals. The Tigers will have a new quarterback under center this season but do welcome back leading rushers Renoldo Spivey Jr. and Schmari Campbell. This duo combined for 1,363yards and 21-TDs a year ago. Defensively, look for the secondary to lead the way for the Tigers as they return players such as Jaylen Williams, Jackson McCrary, Caleb Wooden and Edwin Mangual.
The Lowndes Vikings will have a new head coach this season as Jamey DuBose takes over. DuBose has led both Prattville, (Alabama) and Central (Phenix City, Alabama) to state titles. He also has not missed the post season in his 10 previous seasons. The Vikings return quarterback Jacurri Brown for his junior season. The dual threat quarterback led Lowndes in passing and rushing last season. The ground attack will also returns Justin Lee and Israel Mitchell who combined to rush for over 1,600 yards and 16-TDs a year ago. The Vikings will also return several talented players on defense including linemen Thomas Davis, Leon Williams, and Jacques Hunter who combined for 25 sacks a year ago. Jalon Baker is the team’s returning tackler and also led the Vikings with 3 interceptions a year ago. In long road trips, we usually favor the home team, but even with a new head coach, we like the talented Vikings by 9 this week.
The Skinny
The Eagle’s Landing Christian Chargers are coming off of their 5th consecutive state title victory. The Chargers will be replacing a lot of key pieces from last season’s state title team, including quarterback Gabe Wright and running back Keaton Mitchell. Bryson Estes and Zechariah Owens will anchor the offensive line for the Chargers. Josh Rogers is the team’s leading returning rusher from a year ago. Expect to see Owens along with Jeremy Butler and Michael Clark on the defensive line. Linebacker DeAndre Allred is the team’s leading returning tackler.
The Woodward Academy War Eagles are coming off of an impressive run to the semifinals last season. Like ELCA, they will be replacing their starting quarterback, Mike Wright. While breaking in a new quarterback is never easy, having Damari Alston in the backfield again this season should make the transition smoother. The Woodward Academy defense returns several starters from last season including Khari Gee and Alan Wright in the secondary, Errington Truesdell at linebacker and Ozzie Hoffler and Carter Kulka on the defensive line. Last season, the War Eagle’s surrendered only 11.2 points per game. Despite the disparity in classification in this game, we expect it to be competitive. We like Woodward by 9 over the Chargers.