As we mentioned in Part I, Friday ushers in the end of the regular high school football season in Georgia. This is Part II of our GHSA Football Previews. First up, Benedictine plays Jenkins for the Region 3 3-A title. The Cadets are looking for their 5th straight Region title. Can the Warriors dethrone the defending champs? Meanwhile, down in Camilla, two very familiar Rivals face off as Mitchell County hosts Pelham. Both teams can put up points in bunches. The scoreboard operator could be very busy this week! Next, we look at a DeKalb County battle as the Tucker Tigers face the Stephenson Jaguars. This may be a down year for the Tigers, in terms of wins, but they have put themselves in a position to win a region title. But the Jaguars won’t hand it over that easily. What we love about this game is that the battle of the bands should be as good as the game on the field. Finally, Union County hosts Rival Rabun County. This game features two of the best passers in the state, Union County’s Pierson Allison and Rabun County’s Gunner Stockton. This should also be another high-scoring contest. As always, please feel free to share and comment.
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Benedictine Cadets will be looking for their 5th consecutive region title when they face the Jenkins Warriors on Friday night. Benedictine has not lost a region game since October 17th, 2014. That’s 36 consecutive region wins. They have reeled off seven consecutive wins since starting the season 0-2. Sophomore quarterback Holden Geriner has passed for 1,155 yards and 12-TDs. Leshon Brooks Jr (646 yards, 7-TDs) and James Epps (402 yards, 9-TDs) lead the Cadets in rushing, while Trent Broadnax is the team’s leading receiver with 38 receptions for 495 yards. Jake Reese leads the Cadets in total tackles with 86.
Jenkins has also won their last 7 games. They are averaging 40.7 points per game, while their defense is allowing 7.4 points per game. Quarterback Patrick Blake has passed for 1,123 yards and 15-TDs. Damozzio Harris has rushed for 1,047 yards and 18-TDs. The Warriors defense has recorded 31.5 sacks. Taurus Simmons leads the way with 7 sacks. Jenkins seems to have all the tools in place to beat Benedictine this year. But it won’t be easy. We like the Warriors by 4 this week.
The Skinny
The Mitchell County Eagles and Pelham Hornets will battle for the 104th time down in Camilla this Friday. This game will decide the Region 1-1A champion. Mitchell County was won 9 consecutive games since their shootout loss to Brooks County back in week 1. They are averaging 52.4 points per game and only allowing 10.2 points per game. In region play, Mitchell County has only allowed 29 points all season. That’s only 3.6 points per game. Quarterback Quentavious Hunter has passed for over 1,300 yards and rushed for over 300, while De’Shaun Sherman has led the way on the ground for the Eagles. Myron Carthen Jr. and Kentrel Williams are the team’s leading receivers.
As impressive as Mitchell County has been, the Pelham Hornets have also put up some big numbers. They are averaging 55.5 points per game. Their defense has only allowed 18 points all season. They have shut out 6 of their 9 opponents. Quarterback Kendrick Patterson has impacted the Hornets at several positions. He has passed for 1,159 yards, rushed for 242 yards, accounted for 23-TDs; on defense, he has intercepted 4 passes; on Special teams he’s responsible for kickoffs and has made 32 of his 42 extra points. The Hornets defense has picked off 16 passes total this season. While both teams have been dominant on defense, we believe this game will be a track meet. We like the Hornets by10 in a high scoring game.
The Skinny
The Stephenson Jaguars and the Tucker Tigers will face off for the Region 4-6A title. Coming into the season, we thought both these teams would be undefeated in the region coming into this game, but they both have a region loss. Stephenson is averaging 31.1 points per game while the defense is allowing 7 points per game, including three shutouts. Through last week, Deondre Jackson (629 yards, 12-TDs) and Ryan Ingram (478 yards, 7-TDs) have combined to lead Stephenson in rushing. Also through last week, the Jaguars have forced 17 turnovers.
The Tucker Tigers are looking for their third region title in four years. The Tigers are averaging 25.8 points per game, while the defense is allowing 16.8 points per game. Going into last weeks game, Quarius Smith was the 6th leading rusher in DeKalb County with 669 yards and 9-TDs. Through 8-games, as a team, Tucker has rushed for 1,562 yards and 16-TDs. Isaiah Dunson is the team’s leading receiver. Again, through last week, Dunson had 26 receptions for 446 yards and 7-TDs. Both teams will look to assert themselves on the ground this week. We give the edge to Stephenson and their turnover-forcing defense. Jaguars by 8.
The Skinny
The Union County Panthers will host the Rabun County Wildcats this week for the Region 8-2A title. Union County has not defeated Rabun since 2011. (A span of 5 games.) The Panthers are averaging over 500 yards of total offense per game this season. Quarterback Pierson Allison has passed for 2,361 yards and 26-TDs while Jonah Daniel has rushed for 1,254 yards and 14-TDs. Allison’s top two receivers are Sawyer Drake (56 receptions, 958 yards, 9-TDs) and Kyle Morlock (22 receptions, 534 yards, 6-TDs). John Mancuso leads the team in total tackles with 90. The Panthers are averaging 44.6 points per game on offense and allowing 14.8 points per game.
Meanwhile, Rabun County has performed well under first year head coach, Jaybo Shaw. The Wildcats sport a very talented young quarterback of their own in Gunner Stockton. Stockton has passed for 2,399 yards and 35 TDs. (He’s completing 70% of his passes.) Stockton also leads the team in rushing with 660 yards and 11 rushing TDs. (We failed to mention he’s just a sophomore!) Braxton Hicks (36 receptions, 780 yards, 8-TDs) and Sam Adams (29 receptions, 454 yards, 12-TDs) lead the team in receiving. The Wildcats are averaging 48.2 points per game this season while the defense is allowing 12 points. We like everything Union County has done this season, but we think Rabun’s Stockton will be too tough to contain. We like the Wildcats by 4 this week.