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

Bryant Appling takes over as head coach for the Buford Wolves. Buford lost their starting quarterback from a season ago to transfer. Elijah Turner does return at running back while Seth McLaughlin will anchor the offensive line. Perhaps the most dynamic player for the Wolves is DB/WR T Lee. He will certainly make things difficult for the Milton passing attack.

Speaking of Milton…The Eagles are coming off of their first State Title in school history. But like Buford, the Eagles will be trotting out a new quarterback as last year’s starter is now playing at Georgia Tech. Ahmad Junearick is the Eagles leading offensive producer from last season. The Eagles back will have the luxury of running behind Paul Tchio and Anthony Minella. Jack Rhodes and Stephen Michaels will lead the Milton linebackers while Marcos Rangel will help anchor the defensive line. We think the offenses may struggle early in this game but we like Milton to edge Buford by a field goal.

This Polk County rivalry will renew for the 75^th time on Friday night as the Rockmart Yellow Jackets travel over to Cedartown to face the Bulldogs. Cedartown has dominated the series, but it was Rockmart getting the win last season. The Yellow Jackets will turn to Javin Whatley under center. Juke Boozer, last year’s hero for Rockmart is back at receiver. Reed Couch is also a receiving threat for Rockmart. Deacon Allen should make things difficult for the Cedartown ground game as he looks to clog up the interior defensive line.

The Bulldogs will counter on offense with running back Kobe Pryor (a Clemson commit). Dual threat quarterback Taji Hudson will also present some challenges for the Rockmart defense. Hudson is committed to ECU. Chadriq Neal is a dangerous wide receiver who can make the big catch and also spells trouble taking pitches out of the backfield once he gets to the edge. We think the Jackets will have quite a time chasing him around this Friday. We like the Bulldogs this week to return the favor and win by 10.

The Hapeville Charter Hornets and the Cedar Grove Saints will face off for the first time ever, this Saturday over at Buck Godfrey Stadium. Both of these teams have been at the top of their respective classifications for the past few seasons. The Hornets will be led by returning quarterback Jeremy Stephens, while Marcus Carroll, the teams leading rusher also returns. Newcomer Rico Powers should also be another weapon at receiver.

Austin Smith looks to take over full time at quarterback for the Saints. They will be looking for someone to fill the shoes of star wide receiver, Jadon Haselwood who graduated last season. Perhaps Nae’Saan Dickerson will be the name that folks around Ellenwood will be talking about this season. Until the offense gets settled, it may be up to the Cedar Grove defense, led by linebacker Isaiah Ratcliff, lineman Alvin Williams, defensive back Tee Denson. This matchup will come down to whether the Cedar Grove defense can slow down the Hapeville Charter offense. We think it will be close, but we like Hapeville Charter by 4 this week.

The Oconee County Warriors will travel to Jefferson on Friday to take on the Dragons. For the Warriors, all eyes will be on LSU commit, Max Johnson. Ben Noland was one of Johnson’s top targets last season and we expect for them to pick up where they left off. Jimmy Boswell also returns for Oconee County to add balance in the run game.

The Jefferson Dragons also return some of their top playmakers from a year ago. Both Colby Clark and Carter Stephenson saw time under center last season. However, the Dragons did much of their work on the ground last season on the legs of Clark, Donsha Gaither and Paxton Corkery. They helped lead the time to over 260 yards per game on the ground. We think there could be a lot of offense in this game. We like Jefferson at home to avenge last season’s loss. Dragons by 6.