Week 1-GHSA Football Game Previews – TFR Eight Greats Around the State – Part 1 of 2

The Thomasville Bulldogs will host Cairo on Friday night. The Bulldogs lost around 90% of their offensive production from last season. Ronnie Baker will take over at quarterback and should have a couple of weapons in tight end Payten Singletary and WR Kevin Cochran. Defensively, KD Johnson and Jayshawn Thornton will be the bell cows for the Bulldogs. They Bulldogs have a lot of talent, but are their young players ready for the big stage?

Last season, after dropping their first two games of the season, the Cairo Syrupmakers ran off 10 consecutive wins all the way to the quarterfinals in what some may have seen as a rebuilding year. Cairo will counter on offense with quarterbacks Robert Matthew Peters and Ronnie Baker. Tay Solomon returns for the Syrupmakers. Last season he led the team with 778 yards and 10-rushing TDs. This game went down to the wire in 2018, but we think Cairo is a little more experienced than Thomasville and that will be the difference. We like Cairo by 6 on the road.

The North Gwinnett Bulldogs and Colquitt County Packers will square off in the Benz on Saturday afternoon. These teams last met in the quarterfinals of the 2018 playoffs where Colquitt got the best of North Gwinnett. The Bulldogs return quarterback J.R. Martin who passed for almost 1,700 yards last season. His primary targets should be Joshua Downs and newcomer Bobby Ezzard. Devin Crosby should also get the bulk of the carries as he is the teams leading returning rusher.

Meanwhile, Justin Rogers takes over as head coach for the Packers. They reached the state finals in 2018. Colquitt returns their leading passer (Jaycee Harden, 2,498 yards, 22-TDs), leading running back (Daijun Edwards 1,480 yards, 26-TDs) and leading receiver (Lemeke Brockington 30 catches, 604 yards 6-TDs), from the 2018 season. The Colquitt defense registered 82.5 sacks in 2018. While most of those leaders on last years defense are gone, Laquavian Haynes returns with his 8.5 sacks, while Nyquann Washington will lead the secondary. We don’t believe that Colquitt’s defense is as good as last year’s, we do think that the offense returns enough fire power to get past a tough North Gwinnett squad on Saturday. We like the Packers by 10.

The Athens Academy Spartans travel down to Pooler to take on the Savannah Christian Raiders. Last season, the Spartans were knocking on the door of a state title but were denied by the ELCA Chargers. The Spartans return several key pieces from last year’s team including star running back/linebacker Len’Neth Whitehead. Quarterback Palmer Bush will return under center for the Spartans. One of his primary targets should be wide receiver Deion Colzie. Perhaps one of the biggest weapons for the Spartans might be senior kicker James Williams who is committed to Syracuse.

The host Raiders also return some key pieces from their semi-final team last season. Last season, quarterback Spencer Robicheaux passed for 1,737 yards. Running backs Nate Moon and Marquell Brown combined for over  1,785 yards and 23-TDs on the ground as well. Colby Quinney and Walker McDonald will be tasked with opening up holes along the offensive line. We believe that the long drive for Athens Academy will play to Savannah Christians favor, but we like the Spartans by a James Williams field goal in this one.

The Marietta Blue Devils may be as talented as the come this season. They will be looking for redemption as they face the Rome Wolves for the second consecutive year in The Corky Kell Classic. Blue Devils quarterback Harrison Bailey (2,809 yards, 29-TDs) will have several weapons at his disposal including Taji Johnson (661 yards, 3-TDs), Arik Gilbert (88 catches, 1,210 yards, 14-TDs) and Ricky White. Kimani Vidal returns as the teams leading rusher with 954 yards and 11-TDs in 2018.

For the first time in 3-years, the Rome Wolves will have a new quarterback under center. We believe that will be  Caleb Ellard. Whoever is taking snaps for Rome will have the benefit of passing behind the blocking of Quintavious Leslie and Aiden Gaines. Trey Lawrence looks to be the heir apparent at running back. Last season he rushed for 560 yards and 14-TDs. Defensively for the Wolves, linebacker Nick Burge is the teams returning tackler while Rayquan Jones returns on the defensive line. We believe that the balance of power has shifted in this game and we like the Blue Devils by two touchdowns.