Friday ushers in the end of the regular high school football season in Georgia. This is Part I of our GHSA Football Previews. First up, Savannah Country Day hosts the Johnson County Trojans for the Region 3 Class A title. Country Day won the first matchup earlier in the season. Can they hold off Johnson County again? Next up, Lee County hosts Coffee. Lee County is in search of their 3rd consecutive region title. Will Coffee force a three way tie, or will Lee take the crown again? Darlington travels to Roswell to take on the Fellowship Christian Paladins. Both teams have put up big numbers offensively, but we think defense will be the factor on Friday night as these two teams battle for the Region 6 Class A title. Finally, Ware County hosts Wayne County for the Region 2-5A title. Can Wayne County make it three straight region titles? As always, please feel free to share and comment.
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Savannah Country Day Hornets and the Johnson County Trojans will face off for the second time this season. This time for the Region 3 Class A title. The Hornets won the first meeting by 3 back in September. Country Day is led by sophomore quarterback Barry Kleinpeter (1,676 yards passing, 408 rushing yards, 25-TDs), sophomore running back Davion Smith (829 rushing yards, 12-TDs) and receivers Erik Brown (28 receptions, 571 yards, 6-TDs) and Kenny Odom (26 receptions, 441 yards, 6-TDs). Country Day is averaging 33.6 points per game on offense and allowing 15.8 points per game.
Meanwhile, a win by Johnson County will secure their first Region title since 2010. They are off to their best season since 2013. The Trojans are averaging 35.7 points per game while their defense is allowing 13.8 points per game. If they are going to exact revenge on the Hornets, they’ll need to get freshman running back Germivy Tucker going this week. He has rushed for over 1,100 yards on the season. We believe this will be a nip and tuck battle, but we like the Hornets in this game by 5.
The Skinny
The Lee County Trojans will face the Coffee Trojans for a chance to win the Region 1-6A Title. Lee County is the defending Class 6A State Champion. The Trojans have not been as dominant as last years team, but they are still putting up some impressive numbers. They are averaging 38.2 points per game while the defense is allowing 15 points per game.
Meanwhile, the Coffee Trojans can force a three-way tie for first place in the Region with a win this week. Coffee has used a balanced attack this season. Quarterback A.J. Wilkerson has passed for 867 yards and 10-TDs. The team has combined to rush for almost 1,500 yards this season. Jamal Paulk is the workhorse of the group with 308 yards and 9-TDs. Jaylen Suggs leads the team with 399 yards and 6-TDs receiving. Jase Rish leads the team with 76 total tackles. Coffee is averaging 32.6 points per game while the defense is allowing 11.7 points per game, (the best in the region). With all that said, we like Lee County in a close game this week. Lee by 7.
The Skinny
Fellowship Christian and Darlington will meet for the first time in school history for the Region 6 Class A title this Friday in Roswell. The Fellowship Christina Paladins are in search of their first region title since 2016, when they made a run all the way to the state title game. The Paladins have done most of their damage on the ground, averaging almost 355 yards per game on the ground. Murphy Reeves has rushed for 1,190 yards and 14-TDs. Defensively, the Paladins are allowing 12 points per game. Freshman Kyle Elphick has 4 interceptions for a team that his picked off 11 passes this year. The smallest margin of victory this season for the Paladins was 22 points.
Meanwhile, the Darlington Tigers are looking for their first Region title since 2015. The Tigers play in one of the toughest sub-regions in Class A, where 5 teams are projected to make the playoffs this season. Darlington is averaging 35.3 points per game while the defense is allowing 8.3 points per game. Their offensive and defensive lines are anchored by UGA commit Tate Ratledge. Look for this game to be nip and tuck. Fellowship Christian has not played a team like Darlington this season. We believe the Tigers are a little more battle tested and that’s why we like them on the road, but it won’t be easy. We like the Tigerss by 3.
The Skinny
The Ware County Gators will be looking to win their first title in three years as they host Wayne County this Friday. Quarterback Thomas Castellanos leads the team in passing (623 yards, 5-TDs) and rushing (724 yards, 12-TDs). The Gators have rushed for 1,550 yards and 21-TDs as a team. James Daniels leads the team with 16 receptions for 158 yards. (The Gators don’t pass the ball much.) Ware County is averaging 23.6 points per game while the defense is allowing 20.3 points per game.
Wayne County would earn their third consecutive region title this week with a win over Ware. Wayne County’s only loss this season was to 6A Glynn Academy. They are averaging 38.3 points per game and have scored over 30 points in seven of their eight games this season. Defensively, the Yellow Jackets are allowing 21.1 points per game. Wayne County has won 12 consecutive region games. We believe that number gets extended to 13 this week. We like Wayne County by 13.