As we mentioned in Part I of our Eight Greats Around the State, we are working our way to the midpoint of the high school football season here in Georgia. This is part two of our weekly game previews where we take a look at a few of the intriguing matchups throughout the state.
First up, Milton will host the two time defending Class 3A State Champ as Cedar Grove comes to town. These to teams have not locked horns since 1977. Will Cedar Grove show signs of rust from the long layoff? Next, the Ola Mustangs host Dutchtown. The Dutchtown Bulldogs have dominated this series, but Ola seems to be closing the gap. Is this the year, they knock off Duthctown and position themselves for a run at the region title?
Down in Blackshear just across the Alabaha River, the Pierce County Bears will host the Eagle’s Landing Christian Chargers. No one can say the Chargers are beating up on also rans. Do they have enough in the tank to weather the long bus ride and the Bears offense?
Finally, Hart County will host the high powered Jefferson Dragons. Both teams will rely on the run, but Jefferson looks to have the triple option working. Is there a way for the Bulldogs to put the clamps on Malaki Starks?
As always, thank you for reading. Please feel free to share and comment. Best of luck to all the teams competing this weekend!
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The Skinny
The Milton Eagles have scored 72 points in their first two games as they are off to an undefeated start. Offensively, quarterback Devin Farrell (402 passing yards, 3-TDs) and running back Jordan McDonald (237 yards, 4-TDs) have led the charge for the Eagles. Receivers Adam Freas (8 receptions, 120 yards) and Freshman Debron Gatling (7 receptions, 109 yards) are the top receivers. Milton’s defense has been just as impressive, allowing 18 points in two games. (The first game being a shutout.) Dylan Miller and L.T. Overton lead the team in total tackles. Overton sports a team high 7.5 tackles for loss and also leads the team in sacks with 5.5.
Meanwhile, this will be the first game of the season for the two time defending Class 3A State Champs. The Saints will return several top prospects on both sides of the ball this season. Austin Smith is back at quarterback to lead the offensive attack. He will be joined by Rashad Dubinion in the backfield. Dubinion is fleet of foot and is effective in between the tackles and also dangerous when he gets to the edge. Additionally, he’s shown his prowess as a receiver. Speaking of receivers, Janiran Bonner is one of the top receivers in the class of 2022. The Saints offensive line is anchored by Keon Watson and Christian Anderson. Cedar Grove may have one of the most talented defensive lines, not only in 3A, but also in the state. Expect for Carlton Madden, Jr., Christian Miller, Joshua White, Demarius Jackson and the rest of the Saints defense to make things pretty uncomfortable for the Milton offense. Cedar Grove looks to have all of the pieces in place for another deep playoff run, but this is a tough opening week opponent. However, we like Milton this week in a relatively close game. Eagles by 4.
The Skinny
The Ola Mustangs are off to their second 3-0 start in school history. The Mustangs offense has been outstanding, averaging 46 points per game in the young season. Dual threat quarterback Jake Hall has thrown for 400 yards and 3-TDs and also rushed for 330 yards and 4-TDs. Running backs Micah Bell and Naziq Dahniya have combined for 504 yards and 9 TDs on the ground. Meanwhile, sophomore, Jaden Barnes is the team’s leading receiver with 12 receptions for 136 yards and a TD. The Mustangs defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 11 times this season led by Chris Ramos and Devin Lee, both with 4. Legend Doggett leads the secondary with 2 interceptions.
The Dutchtown Bulldogs will look to get back into the win column this week after their bye week. The Bulldogs were in a defensive struggle with Douglas County last time out. Their offense has not put up big numbers, but a lot of that has to do with the schedule. Quarterback Arendez Fedd will look to get Dutchtown back on track this week. While the offense is only averaging 7 points per game, the defense has been stout, allowing only 9 point per game. Until the offense finds it’s groove, expect for the defense to keep most of Dutchtown’s games close. With that said, we do expect for Dutchtown to keep this game close, but look for Ola to pull a minor upset and get only their second win in this series. Mustangs by 3.
The Skinny
Since 2018, the Pierce County Bears have amassed a record of 27-2. The Bears are off to another fast start this season. They have done it with defense, allowing only 10 points this season with two shutouts to their credit. Spencer Woodcock and Austin Jernigan lead the team in total tackles while Seth Foster leads the team in tackles for loss with 9. The Bears have sacked opposing quarterbacks 14 times this season. On offense Jermaine Brewton is completing 75.7% of his passes for 429 yards and 6-TDs. D.J. Bell is tops on the team in rushing with 342 yards and 3-TDs while Luke Bennett and Maleek Chandel are the top two receivers through the first three games of the season.
Eagle’s Landing Christian might have played one of the toughest schedules to date with games against teams like Woodward, Blessed Trinity and Crisp County. The Chargers led the game late, but could not hang on. By now, we should know that E.L.C.A will look to get the ground game going with Josh Rogers. He’s rushed for 587 yards and 9-TDs. While the Chargers don’t pass much, it should be noted that eight different players have recorded a reception this season. Mac Craig leads the group in yardage with 158 on 6 receptions. This is another tough test for the Chargers. We believe this game will be tightly contested, but think the Bears have the edge at home. We like Pierce by 4.
The Skinny
The Hart County Bulldogs will be back in action this week after last week’s game with Greater Atlanta Christian was cancelled. In their last outing, the Bulldogs picked up their first win of the season. They raced to 35 first half points in route to a 55-point outing. Hart County got a big outing from Malachi Thomas who scored three times while J. Len Lackey scored twice. Hart County also got two special team’s touchdowns and a pick 6 in the victory. Thomas has accounted for seven TDs will Lackey has recorded 4-TDs. The Bulldogs are averaging 38 points per game, but are also allowing 33.6 points per game.
The Jefferson Dragons will roll into Hartwell with an impressive ground attack that is averaging right at 400 yards per game this season. The Dragons are averaging 43 points per game and are led by quarterback Malaki Starks and his 462 rushing yards and 7-TDs. Kolton Jones, Reese Johnson and Jordon Perry make up most of the Dragons rushing attack outside of Starks. The trio has combined for 434 yards and 3-TDs. Defensively, Jefferson is holding their opponents to an average of 9.3 points per game, with 14 being the most they’ve given up, and that was to an explosive Rabun County team. Paxton Corkery is the team’s leader in solo and total tackles. He’s also recorded a team high 3 sacks on the season. We like the Jefferson ground game this week to chew up yards and clock en route to a win. Dragons by 16.