This is Part II of our Week-5 GHSA Football Previews. First up, another rivalry game as the Callaway Cavaliers take on the Troup Tigers down in LaGrange. Both teams are extremely talented across the board. These teams have the potential to really light up the scoreboard. Our next preview features a rematch of the 2017 & 2018 Class A-Public state title game, as region rivals Irwin and Clinch clash this week. We expect the winner of this game to go on to win the region. But the last two seasons, it was Clinch that captured the coveted state title. Colquitt County will look to rebound after last weeks heartbreaker to Valdosta, but Warner Robins won’t make it easy. Do the Demons have enough to knock of the 7A power? Finally…we preview another Region 6 Class A matchup as North Cobb Christian visits Trion in a battle of two Top-10 teams. As always, thank you for reading…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 Troup Tigers and Callaway Cavaliers will face off Friday night for the 10th time. Both teams are at or near the top of the polls in their respective classifications this season. Since their 10-7 loss to Opelika, the Callaway Cavaliers have been scoring points like their hair is on fire. The Cavs outscored LaGrange and Cross Keys 125-10. Through three games, Callaway is only allowing 6.6 points per game. There are plenty of superstars on both sides of the ball, but the two bell cows for Callaway might be running back Cartavious “Tank” Bigsby and lineman Tate Johnson. Bigsby has rushed for over 450 yards so far on the season. Both he and Johnson are committed to Auburn.
The Troup Tigers are just as talented as Callaway. Their star on offense, quarterback Kobe Hudson, is also an Auburn commit. Hudson has passed for 640 yards and rushed for another 411 yards and has accounted for 13 touchdowns. Trey Williams leads the Tigers in rushing with 479 yards and 4-TDs. While Zy Varner, Luke Purnell, and Mark Anthony Dixon are the statistical receiving leaders for Troup. The Tigers are averaging 53 points per game this season. We think they will need to get close to that mark this week. We expect this game will be a shoot out. But we like Troup and perhaps some Kobe Hudson magic to win this one in the closing minutes. Troup by a two.
The Skinny
Irwin County and Clinch County have met for the state title in 2017 & 2018 and once before in 2015. The Irwin County 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. The Indians game last week was cancelled due to weather so we will see if that has any impact on them this week.
Clinch County has looked impressive in their first three games as well. They do most of their damage on the ground, similar to Irwin County. Clinch is averaging 43.6 points per game while the defense is allowing 18. That’s a little off of the pace from where they were last season at this point defensively, but we wouldn’t say that’s cause for alarm. We fully expect for Clinch to be in the conversation for a state title come December. We like Clinch in a nip and tuck battle. Panthers by 4.
The Skinny
Colquitt County returns home to the friendly confines of Mack Tharpe Stadium as they face the Warner Robins Demons. Colquitt is coming off a heartbreaking loss to South Georgia rival Valdosta. On the season, quarterback Jaycee Harden has passed for 883 yards and 10-TDs while Daijun Edwards has rushed for 337 yards and 4-TDs. Lemeke Brockington continues to leads Colquitt’s receivers with 13 receptions for 230 yards and 3-TDs. Prior to last week, the Packers defense had only allowed 9 points in two games. Ty French and Callon Kubiak lead the team in total tackles. Colquitt’s defense has 9 sacks on the young season and everyone seems to be getting in on the action.
Warner Robins enters this weeks game undefeated Jalen Addie has seen the bulk of the reps at quarterback and has passed for 613 yards and 8-TDs. Addie has also rushed for 141 yards, but it has been Jalen Rutherford leading the way with 189 yards on the ground. Marcayl Jones (14 receptions 202 yards) and Ty’larrious Carr (9 receptions, 204 yards) lead the Demons receivers. The Warner-Robins defense is allowing just over 10 points per game this season. They will need another stout performance to stymie Colquitt. We think this one will be closer than last year’s tilt, but we like Colquitt to bounce back and win this one by two touchdowns.
The Skinny
The Trion Bulldogs will host the North Cobb Christian Eagles this Friday night at McCain Stadium. There were several questions that Coach Brown had about his 2019 Bulldogs coming in to the 2019 season. So far the seemed to have been up to the task. The Trion defense is allowing just under 9 points per game. Leaders on the defense include names like Wallin, Baker, Wyatt, Crabbe and Stewart. Meanwhile, Lincoln Maddox continues to direct the Trion offense at quarterback and Rob Brown seems to be fitting in nicely to the offense as well. Trion is averaging just over 31 points per game.
Meanwhile, the North Cobb Christian Eagles are winners of their first three games as well. They were tested last week against Monticello, but got a late touchdown in the closing moments of the game. The Eagles are averaging 25.3 points per game, while their defense is only allowing 11.6 per game. North Cobb will run the ball more often than not, similar to Trion. So the big question is which offensive line will take control of the game. We like the home team this week, Trion by 6.