Part one of our Cherokee County Football Previews feature the Region 4-7A matchups. Up first, Etowah hosts Lassiter as the Eagles look to bounce back after a loss two weeks ago. Lassiter can certainly play spoiler this week to the Eagles. Next up, the Cherokee Warriors travel to face the Walton Raiders. These teams are part of a four-way tie for first place the region. This game features two talented quarterbacks, Cherokee’s A.J. Swann and Walton’s Zak Rozsman. Which one of these signal callers will guide there team to victory? Finally, the Woodstock Wolverines will host the Roswell Hornets. Woodstock has been improved over the second half of the season, but can they put points on the board against a very strong Roswell defense? Please make sure to get out and support these young men on Friday night. As always, thanks for reading. Comments and discussion are always welcome!
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Etowah Eagles host the Lassiter Trojans this week as they continue to jockey for position in Region 4-7A. Etowah was off last week and will look to regroup after a loss against Walton. The Eagles have several weapons on offense including the county’s leading passer Dalton Miller (1,971 passing yards). Miller’s top receiver is Jackson Manns (668 yards). Remington Adams, Klivert Many, and Nick Maddox are all threats in the run game. The Eagles offense is averaging 27.7 points per game, while their defense is allowing 28.1 points per game.
It has been a long season for the Lassiter Trojans. They really haven’t been able to get much going on offense this season. Last week, their touchdown came from special teams. The Trojans are averaging 5.3 points per game while they are surrendering 28.2 points per game. Lassiter is probably a little outmanned this week. We like Etowah by 24.
The Skinny
The Walton Raiders host the Cherokee Warriors this Friday night. Both teams are sitting in a four-way tie for 1st place. We won’t even begin to try to breakdown the scenarios here, but we do know that a win this week would almost guaranty a home playoff game for either team. Last week, Kenny Djaha was the workhouse for Walton as he rushed for 150 yards. Djaha, Julian Bumper and K.D. Stokes have made for a formidable rushing attack for the Raiders. Quarterback Zak Rozsman had the Raiders only score last week, but he has shown in recent weeks that he can make several throws. Teagan Bierra is one of his top targets.
The Cherokee Warriors would more than likely claim their first region title since 2002 with a win on Friday night and at minimum, clinch a home playoff game if they win out. The Warriors were off last week after a win against county foe, Woodstock. Keith Adams, Jr. had a big game last time out as he rushed for 135 yards and 1-TD in the win. On the season, he has rushed for 709 yards and 6-TDs. We’ve said it before, but the telltale sign for a Cherokee victory has ben their ability to turn teams over. In every victory this season, they’ve forced multiple turnovers…in both losses, they’ve not forced any. The Warriors haven’t won at Walton since 2002. We expect a defensive struggle, but something tells us not to bet against Zak Rozsman. With that said…Raiders by 2.
The Skinny
The Woodstock Wolverines got a big Region win last week as they try to keep pace with the other four teams ahead of them in the standings. This week they’ll host the Roswell Hornets in a must win game if they want to keep any playoff hopes alive. The Wolverines seemed to have turned the corner over the last four games and while they’ve gone .500 during that stretch, they’ve been competitive and had a chance to win those two games they lost. They led in both of those games at one point.
Meanwhile, the Roswell Hornets come into this game needing a win to keep pace with Walton, Cherokee and Etowah. The Hornets scored a big overtime win last week against Walton. Roswell has used a balanced attack this season en route to averaging 27.7 points per game. Ethan Roberts has passed for 989 yards and 10-TDs, while Nnamdi Orijoke and Savion McCrary have combined for 711 yards and 11-TDs on the ground. Marquis Willis (26 receptions, 349 yards, 3-TDs) and John Copenhaver (32 receptions, 246 yards, 1-TD) lead the team in receiving. The Hornets Defense is allowing only 8.5 points per game with three shutouts. The defense has also recorded 32 sacks. Caden Bondurant is responsible for 9 of those. With Woodstock’s propensity to throw the ball, the Hornets will be looking to add to those sack numbers. Roswell’s defense is pretty darn good. And that’s why we like the Hornets this week by 16.