This is Part II of our GHSA Football Previews. This week, Brooks County will face their second State Champion in as many weeks as they travel to Bainbridge to face the defending 5-A State Champions. In a big Region 2-4A matchup, Screen County hosts the Hephzibah Rebels. Screven County running back Gary Hawkins has already rushed for over 400 yards this season. Can the Rebels slow him down? In a big Public vs. Private Class A matchup, Mt. Paran Christian will host the Irwin County Indians. Irwin County has been been playing without their fullback DJ Lundy due to an injury, but don’t seem to have missed a beat. Will the long trip to metro Atlanta have any effect on the Indians? Finally, in perhaps the biggest game in South Georgia, the Valdosta Wildcats will face the Colquitt County Packers. Last year, the Packers shut out the Wildcat. Will the Wildcats get revenge on their South Georgia rival this week? As always, thank you for reading…please feel free to share and comment.
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
GSWA – Georgia Sports Writer Association
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
The Brooks County Trojans will face their second defending state champion in as many weeks as they travel to Bainbridge to face the Bearcats. Brooks County fell to 1-A state champion Clinch County last week. It was a 3-point game going into the 4thquarter before Clinch pulled away. Once again, we expect the Trojans to look to Devin Edwards and Omari Arnold to help carry the Trojans offense.
Meanwhile, the Bainbridge Bearcats are sitting at 3-0 and are perhaps looking for revenge as they were upset last year by Brooks County. Quarterback Quayde Hawkins has passed for 591 yards and 5-TDs while Rashad Broadnax has rushed for 302 yards and 6-TDs to pace the Bearcats on offense. Michael Ryan (10 receptions, 239 yards, 3-TDs) and Braxton Johnson (9 receptions 231 yards, 1-TD) are the leading receivers for Bainbridge. Eric Sanders and Zion Bouie lead the team in solo tackles, while Deyon Bouie and Jaylan Peterson lead the secondary with two interceptions each. Brooks County should keep this game close again, but we Bainbridge might be a little more dynamic on offense. We like the Bearcats at home by 6 this week.
The Skinny
While we know it’s much to early in the season to call this a make or break game, this week one battle of Region 4-2A opponents could go a long way in determining the region title this season. Both Screven County and Hephzibah are two of our favorites to win the region. The Screven County Gamecocks will have the fortune of hosting this year’s game over in Sylvania. The Gamecocks have done the bulk of their work on the ground as senior Gary Hawkins has rushed for 427 yards and 7-TDs while quarterback Austin Markovcic has added 118 yards and 2-TDs and Shemar Cheever has rushed for 117 yards. Linebacker Amaree Kemp leads the defense with 20 total tackles while Kris Gadson has recorded 2.5 sacks on the season.
Meanwhile the Hephzibah Rebels will play only their second regulation contest this week. Against Savannah two weeks ago, the Rebels gained 197 yards on the ground. Javeon Harris paced Hephzibah with 100 yards rushing, while Jordan Wright added 50 yards and a touchdown on 8 carries. Quarterback Marshall Chambers passed for 98 yards and 1-TD and rushed for 45 yards and 2-TDs in the win. The Rebels defense recorded 8 sacks and Jaiden Wofford picked off two passes in the win over Savannah, but we don’t expect for Screven to throw the ball too much this week. So far this season the Gamecocks have been more productive on offense. We expect this game to be close, similar to Screven’s first two games. We like the Gamecocks to edge the Rebels by 3 this week.
The Skinny
The Mt. Paran Christian Eagles will host two time Class A Public state finalist Irwin County this week in Kennesaw. In their only game of the season to date, Mt. Paran beat Our Lady of Mercy soundly, 63-7 on August 30th. Quarterback Niko Vangarelli was efficient in one half of work with 4 passing TDs and 2 rushing as well. Meanwhile the Mt. Paran defense stymied OLM all night.
However, Irwin County is a huge step up in competition. The Indians have been playing without their star fullback, D.J. Lundy, but have not seemed to miss a beat. Gabriel Benyard has shown his explosiveness with the ability to make defenders miss while Kam Ward regularly breaks through arm tackles and exhibits a balance of both power and speed. Garland Benyard and Jamorri Colson have also contributed to the Irwin County rushing attack. The Irwin County defense is only surrendering 7.5 points per game. Something has to give here. Will it be the Mt. Paran offense or the Irwin County defense. We believe the Irwin Count defense has the edge. We like the Indians by two touchdowns on the road.
The Skinny
In perhaps the biggest game in South Georgia this weekend, the Colquitt County Packers travel to Bazemore-Hyder Stadium to face the Valdosta Wildcats. The Packers have won six straight against their South Georgia rival and return several players off of their potent offense from a year ago. Colquitt County quarterback Jaycee Hardin has passed for 464 yards and 5-TDs, while Daijun Edwards has rushed for 166 yards and 3-TDs. Lemeke Brockington (7 receptions, 121 yards, 2-TDs) and Tahj Sanders (7 receptions, 119 yards, 1-TD) lead the team in receiving. The Packers defense has tallied 5 sacks thus far on the season, while only surrendering 9 points total in their two games.
The Valdosta Wildcats are off to a fast start at 3-0 this season. Last week, quarterback Tate Rodemaker passed for over 200 yards with 4-TDs. Santavious Gatlin was on the receiving end of two of those touchdown passes. Jaheim Bell also accounted for two touchdowns. The Cats offense is averaging 45.6 points per game., but the Packers will offer a much stiffer challenge than the Columbia Eagles. This game should be closer than last year’s matchup and we believe Valdosta has the talent to compete with the Packers. But we also believe Colquitt is a little deeper and that’s why we like the Packers on the road by 9 this week.