Week-3 of the high school football season get’s under way this week. This is Part I of our GHSA Football previews. Peach County hosts the defending 6-A state champion, Lee County. Does Peach have the weapons to derail Lee County? Parkview makes the long trip to Valdosta to face the Lowndes Vikings. The Vikings lead the series, but Parkview got the best of Lowndes last season. Will the Lowndes Vikings get revenge? Hapeville Charter will travel to Franklin to face the defending 2-A State Champion Heard County Braves. Our last preview looks at a big matchup in Middle Georgia as Dodge County hosts the West Laurens Raiders. As always, please feel free to share and comment.
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
NR – Not Ranked
**The GSWA Poll was not available at the time of publishing so it was not included in this week’s previews.
The Skinny
The Peach County Trojans will host the Lee County Trojans this week. Last week Peach beat Northside Warner Robins for the second year in a row. The Trojans had a big week from running back Tijah Woolfolk who rushed for 100 yards and 2-TDs. Senior running back Noah Whittington also added 87 yards on the ground and was the workhorse for Peach last week. Sergio Allen made his impact felt on defense as he racked up 11 total tackles including an interception he returned for a touchdown.
Lee County’s defense has picked up where it left off in 2018. The two-time defending 6-A State champions have shutout both opponents thus far this season. (Last season, the Trojans shutout 6 of their opponents.) Lee County had solid performances from the usual suspects last week. Quarterback Kyle Toole passed for 176 yards and 2-TDs, James Hopson had 6 receptions for 112 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Baron Hopson was a force against Life Christian. Last year, Lee County shut out Peach County. We don’t think that will be the case this week. This game should be a little closer, but we think the Trojans are a little deeper and a little more talented across the board. Even on the road, we like Lee County by 13.
The Skinny
The Lowndes Vikings will host the Parkview Panthers in a battle of top ten 7-A teams this Friday. The Vikings have outscored their opponents 113-20 in their first two games. Last week, Jalon Baker grabbed headlines as he returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the win. The Vikings have used two quarterbacks this season, both sophomores, Tristan Bohler and Jacurri Brown. Brown is a dual threat quarterback that will certainly give Parkview some different looks and challenges this week.
The Panthers were off last week after their Week-1 victory over Mountain View. Cody Brown ruched for 164 yards in the victory, while Jordan Williams passed for 194 yards and 4-TDs. CJ Daniels was the primary target for the Panthers as he caught 7 balls for 127 yards and all 4-TDs. Defensively, Kobe Wilson had 13 solo tackles in their victory, so expect him to be all over the field again. Both Wilson and fellow linebacker Tony Ward should have their hands full trying to contain the Lowndes QBs. Playing at Martin Stadium will certainly be an advantage for the Vikings. We believe it will be just enough to upset the Panthers. Lowndes by 4.
The Skinny
Both the Heard County Braves and Hapeville Charter Hornets find themselves in search of their first win of the regular season. Heard County was beaten by a resurgent LaGrange team, while Hapeville Charter fell to the defending Class 3-A State Champion Cedar Grove Saints. The Braves are the defending Class 2-A state champions, but lost a lot of talent from last year’s team. Look for Alex Boyd and Kesean Johnson to get the bulk of the carries on offense. Quarterback Leroy Marsh will also have a few new receivers looking to break through while, tight-end Alex Boyd is one of the only returning receiving threats for the Braves.
Hapeville Charter also lost a lot of talent to graduation, but do have several playmakers at the skill positions. Running Back Marcus Carroll, a Coastal Carolina commit, has a great balance of power and speed, while quarterback Jeremy Stephens can wreak havoc with his arm and with his scrambling ability. Rico Powers also gives the Hornets another threat at receiver. The Hapeville defense also flies around and is an opportunistic bunch. This game should be much closer than last season’s score, but we still like Hapeville by two touchdowns on the road.
The Skinny
Perhaps one of the more intriguing matchups in middle Georgia will take place in Eastman, as the Dodge County Indians host the West Laurens Raiders. West Laurens held off a late surge by Crisp County last week to improve to 2-0 on the young season. A.J. Mathis threw two touchdown passes to Brent Carr and Cam Coup added a short field goal. West Laurens defense is led by linebackers D’Eryck Jackson (Kentucky commit) and Javen Ashe.
Dodge County outdueled Bradwell Institute two weeks ago to get their season started out on the right foot. Daylon Gordon was the star of the night with 322 yards on 13 carries and 4-TDs. Elijah Williams and Jamal Mahan picked up where they left off last season defensively. Both players led the Indians in tackles last season and each did so again against Bradwell. West Laurens is definitely improved from a season ago, and we think Coach McClain’s Raiders are a favorite to win Region 2-4A, but we like Dodge County by a field goal in this game.