Week 1- TFR Cherokee County Football Game Previews

The Woodstock Wolverines will host the North Cobb Warriors on Friday night at the Woodshed. Woodstock will be looking to find their grove under center as the team has been looking for the right fit at quarterback this off-season. Whoever takes the first snaps will have some experienced receivers returning in Brooks Bortle and Wes Bruno while De’Andre Turner could be an emerging star for the Wolverines. The Woodstock secondary might be the best in the county with Top-100 DB David Daniel and his teammate Andrew Bartolero patrolling the secondary for Woodstock. D.J. Thomas could be the next big thing along the Wolverines defensive front.

North Cobb lost a lot of production form last season when Christian Singleton graduated. The Warriors do return an experienced quarterback in junior Trevor Lovett. While Lovett won’t have Singleton in the backfield, he will have receiving threats such as Jevon Johnson at receiver and Kalen Carver at tight-end. This game should be closer than last season’s matchup, but we still like the Warriors this week by a touchdown.

The River Ridge Knights will start the Mike Collins era on Friday night as they host the Etowah Eagles.  The Knights had a good showing in their scrimmage last week and are looking for their first win over a County rival in program history.  We expect for Kofi Reeves-Miller and Ahmere Morrison to share the load at running back to help ease Chase Begin return at quarterback. Begin is a threat to pass and has shown an ability to scramble, so we know he will keep the Etowah defense on their toes. Aiden Ali should be one of his primary targets through the air.

The Etowah Eagles have been one of the most consistent programs in Cherokee County in recent history, qualifying for the playoffs  in each of the past six years. We believe that Dalton Miller is one of the best quarterbacks in the county. Nick Maddox should lead the way on the ground for the Eagles. Porfinio Acosta will anchor the offensive line and should help open lanes for the Eagles rushing attack. On defense, look for Raymone Devezin and Cole Milovanovic to set the tone for Etowah. We don’t think that Etowah will shut out River Ridge this season, but we do like the Eagles by 17 this week.

The Creekview Grizzlies will make the short trip over to Milton to face the Cambridge Bears. The Grizzlies have not lost in the series. New head coach Trevor Williams looks to have his team geared up as they looked impressive in their scrimmage against Cherokee last week. Brody Rhodes will lead the Grizzlies offense once again in 2019. Rhodes was the teams leading passer while splitting time with Ethan Dirrim. The duo passed for over 1,400 yards last season. Clemson commit, “Big” John Williams will anchor the offensive line. Lake Bowman is the Grizzlies leading returning tackler from a year ago.

The Cambridge Bears were very young last season. Both Zach Harris and Stratton Tripp took snaps for the Bears in 2018. They combined for 1,705 yards through the air and 14-TDs. The Bears lose their top three receivers from a year ago, but Hayden Gardella seems poised to lead the receiving corps in 2019. Cambridge does return last year’s leading running back, Phillip Michael Collins. In 2018, Collins rushed for 953 yards and 11-TDs. We expect for the Grizzlies to see a steady dose of him on Friday night. We also expect this game to be much close than last season, but we still like the Grizzlies to come out on top, Creekview by 8.

The Cherokee Warriors will host the North Forsyth Raiders on Friday at Tommy Baker field. The Warriors will have a new quarterback under center in sophomore A.J. Swann. Swann will have the luxury of having Cherokee’s two top receivers from a season ago, Devin Ellison and Brady Bocherer back for 2019. Keith Adams Jr. should get a bulk of the carries for the Warriors. Meanwhile, there was a lot of talent and leadership that graduated on the defensive side of the ball. Ebony Jackson and Patrick Dahlen will provide skill and leadership in the secondary for the Warriors, but who else we step up for the Warriors this season?

The North Forsyth Raiders will also have a new quarterback under center in Brady Metz. Like Cherokee’s Swann, Metz will have the Raiders top receiver from a year ago returning in Nicky Dalmolin (47 catches, 514 yards).  The Raiders rushed for almost 230 yards per game last season, but lose their top four running backs to graduation. Linebacker Jack Tucker is the leading returning tackler for the Raiders while Tyler Cunningham will patrol the secondary at safety. Mason Butcher and Max Bryant will help anchor the North Forsyth defensive line. We think this matchup will be close again this year, but we like the Warriors by a field goal.