We begin to reach the midway point of the GHSA Football season. This is Part I of our GHSA Football Previews called Eight Greats Around The State. Our first preview features the Harrison Hoyas and Dalton Catamounts. The Dalton offense is powered by Jahmyr Gibbs who’s already reached 1,000 yards rushing. Can Harrison’s defense put the clamps on Gibbs and maintain control in region 6-6A? The Milton Eagles will host the Parkview Panthers in a matchup of Top-10 teams. This is the last week of non-region please for both 7A schools. Will this year’s game match up to last season’s exciting contest? The Buford Wolves will host the Archer Tigers. The Wolves seem to have everything clicking, The Tigers however are also playing well. Which defense will prevail this week? Finally, Crisp County travels to defending 5-A Champ, Bainbridge for yet another tough match-up. Crisp shutout the Bearcats last season. Will Bainbrdige be ready to return the favor? As always, please feel free to share and comment.
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
Two of the favorites in Region 6-6A will face off as the Dalton Catamounts visit the Harrison Hoyas. Both teams come into the game undefeated. Gavin Hall continues to lead the Hoyas offensive attack. Last week Hall passed for 153 yards and 2-TDs. Meanwhile, the Harrison defense is as stingy as ever, allowing only 7.4 points per game through five games.
That might be a difficult number to uphold for Harrison’s D, as the Catamounts come to town led by Jahmyr Gibbs and his 1,144 rushing yards and 23 total TDs. Last week, Gibbs crossed the 1,000 yard threshold as he rushed for 315 yards and 6-TDs. Perhaps the most impressive thing we saw with Gibbs last week is that he ran just as hard in the 4th quarter as he did in the 1st quarter. The Catamounts only attempted two passes with quarterback Landon Allen sidelined, so expect for the Hoyas to see a steady dose of Gibbs. Dalton is averaging 51.2 points per game. We believe Gibbs will get his yardage, but like Harrison to hold off the Cats…Harrison by 6.
The Skinny
The Milton Eagles got back into the win column last week after two losses by a combined 6-points. This week, Milton has their final tune-up game before region play. It doesn’t get any easier for the Eagles this week as they host Top-10 ranked Parkview. Milton continues to be lead by Ahmad Junearick with 382 rushing yards and 6-TDs. Dual threat quarterback Devin Farrell has also come on as of late running as well, as he is averaging 6.3 per carry. Meanwhile on defense, Jack Rhodes and Jonathan Pittman pace the Eagles. Pittman leads the team with 4 sacks while Rhodes leads the team in total tackles with 24.
The Parkview Panthers also got back to their winning ways last week after defeating Tift County. Kobe Wilson was the star on defense for the Panthers with an incredible 13 solo tackles. Jordan Williams has passed for 512 yards and 5-TDs while Cody Brown has rushed for 350 yards and 2-TDs. CJ Daniels leads the receivers with 16 receptions, for 229 yards and 4-TDs. We believe this game will be as close as last year’s, but we don’t believe as many points will be scored. We like Milton by a field goal.
The Skinny
The Buford Wolves will face their third 7A opponent this season as they host the Archer Tigers this Friday. The Wolves are averaging 35.5 points per game this season. Last week against Newton, Jarvis Evans threw for 138 yards and 3-TDs while Elijah Turner rushed for 128 yards and 2-TDs. On the season, Turner has rushed for 260 yards and 5-TDs while Gabe Ervin Jr. has rushed for 258 yards and 3-TDs. Evans has passed for 523 yards on the season with 9-TDs.
The Archer Tigers are coming off of a big win against Norcross last week as they shut out the Blue Devils for the second consecutive season. The Tigers only loss came on a weather shortened game. Carter Peevy has passed for 528 yards and 6-TDs while Jordan Swain (240 yards, 2-TDs) and Schmari Campbell (235 yards, 6-TDs) lead the Tigers rushing attack. On defense, Kameron O’Rourke leads the team with 31 total tackles. Archer is only allowing 6.7 points per game. Buford just might be the Tigers biggest test before region play. This game should be much closer than last years 24-point margin of victory. We like the Tigers by 4.
The Skinny
The Bainbridge Bearcats will travel to face the Crisp County Cougars this week. The Bearcats were off last week after edging Brooks County two weeks ago. Rashad Broadnax has carried the load on offense, rushing for 528 yards and 7-TDs this season, while quarterback Quayde Hawkins has passed for 725 yards and 7-TDs. Michael Ryan (11 receptions, 262 yards, 4-TDs) and Braxton Johnson (9 receptions, 231 yards, 1-TD) lead the Bainbridge receivers. Deyon Bouie has already intercepted 3 passes in the Bearcats secondary this season, while Tevin McCrary and Amari Peterson lead the team in tackles.
Meanwhile, the Crisp County Cougars are an intriguing team. Their only losses came at the hands of West Laurens and Dutchtown by a combined total of 5 points. They have two wins over 7A programs as well…and lest we forget, they did shot out Bainbridge back in 2018. A.J. Lofton and Jack Carter continue to split time at Quarterback for the Cougars. They have combined to pass for 704 yards and 4-TDs. Marquise Palmer leads the team in rushing with 399 yards and 5-TDs while Sirad Bryant has 16 receptions for 285 yards and 1-TD. Chris Paul Jr. has been a tackling machine as he has tallied 64 total tackles on the season. The aforementioned Bryant has also intercepted 4 passes on defense this season. This game should be much closer than last year’s matchup. We give the edge to the Bearcats, even on the road. Bainbridge by 4.