Week – 6 GHSA Football Previews – Eight Greats Around the State – Part 2 of 2

Two of the titans of Class 7A face off this Friday as the Colquitt County Packers host the Grayson Rams. The Packers senior quarterback Jaycee Harden has passed for 1,216 yards and 14-TDs this season. He’s averaging 304 yards passing per game. His primary targets have been Lemeke Brockington (22 receptions, 328 yards, 6-TDs), Tahj Sanders (19 receptions, 314 yards, 3-TDs), and Tyler Walker (15 receptions, 182 yards, 1-TD). Daijun Edwards continues to provide balance for the Packers rushing attack with 366 yards and 4-TDs on the season. Defensively, Ty French leads the Packers with 42 total tackles. Colquitt County is allowing 18.2 points per game, but the bulk of those points came against Valdosta. In the other 3 contests, the have given up a total of 23 points.

Meanwhile, Coach Adam Carter will bring his undefeated Grayson Rams down to Moultrie looking to stay unscathed. The Rams were in a dogfight with a talented Westlake team last week before pulling away in the second half. While Phil Mafah has been sidelined with an injury, senior running back Lafayette Gurvin has made the most of his opportunity. Gurvin has rushed for 539 yards and 8-TDs and has also caught 12 passes for 143 yards and 2-TDs. Fellow senior quarterback C.J. Dixon has passed for 849 yards and 8-TDs. The Rams defense is allowing14.5 points per game. We expect the long road trip to have some effect on the Rams, but we still like Grayson by a field goal over Colquitt.

The Winnersville classic will be played this Friday night at Martin Stadium on the campus of Lowndes High School. Lowndes won big last season, but Valdosta seems to be clicking on all cylinders right now. Outside of the games in which these rivals faced off in the first game of the season, both teams come into the game undefeated for the first time since 1980. As a team, the Lowndes Vikings are averaging over 290 yards per game on the ground. Dual threat quarterback Jacurri Brown has passed for 287 yards and rushed for 616 yards and has accounted for 9-TDs. Israel Mitchell has rushed for 305 yards and 3-TDs while senior Gary Osby has added 216 yards and 7-TDs on the ground. Ghetti Brown is the team’s leading receiving threat with 10 receptions for 109 yards on the season. The Vikings defense is allowing just over 10 points per game and has tallied 19 sacks on the season. Jacques Hunter leads the way with 4 sacks while Jalon Baker has picked off 3 passes for the Vikings secondary.

The Valdosta Wildcats have been explosive on offense, averaging 48 points per game thus far this season. Last week, quarterback Tate Rodemaker passed for 378 yards and 5-TDs. Unofficially, we have Rodemaker with over 1,160 yards passing on the season; with last week being his best outing to date. Save for the shoot-out victory over Colquitt County, the Cats defense has been very respectable. In all, they are allowing 19.4 points per game and look to complete their tour of Region 1-7A undefeated before heading into region play on October 11^th.  We expect this game to be much closer this season, but there still should be plenty of points scored. We like the Vikings by a touchdown at home.

Both Holy Innocents and Wesleyan have won some big games this season. The Wesleyan Wolves have knocked off 7A Meadowcreek and Class A power Prince Avenue Christian, while Holy Innocents might have won one of the biggest shockers last week, knocking off No. 1 ranked Eagles Landing Christian. The Holy Innocents Bears are 4-0 for the first time in school history. They have been led offensively by quarterback Matt Davis and fullback Michael Cox. Cox has rushed for 636 yards this year including 214 yards in last weeks win against ELCA. The Bears are allowing 15.5 points per game and have two shutouts to their credit.

Meanwhile, the Wesleyan Wolves begin a two game gauntlet that very well might determine the region champion. Wesleyan has won the last 5 games in the series with Holy Innocents. Quarterback J.C. French has passed for 610 yards and 11-TDs this season while Griffin Caldwell has rushed for 338 yards and 2-TDs. Micah Smith (16 receptions, 215 yards, 2-TDs) and Cooper Blauser (10 receptions, 158 yards, 3-TDs) lead the Wolves statistically in receiving.  The Wesleyan defense is allowing 11.5 points per game and is led by Josh Aspinwall who has 34 total tackles on the season. This might be one of the most underrated games in the state this week. We like Wesleyan at home by a touchdown.

The Lovett Lions and Cedar Grove Saints are two of the top contenders for the Region 5-3A title this season. Lovett has the honor of hosting this week’s matchup as they look to slow down the Saints. Prior to the win against Mary Persons, Blaine McAllister had passed for 577 yards and 4-TDs, while Henry Beery leads the Lions in rushing yards (158), receptions (11), and receiving yards, (156). (McAllister added 3-TD passes in the win against Mary Persons.) Lovett’s only loss came at the hands of Marist.

Meanwhile, defending 3A state champion Cedar Grove comes in with a .500 record. Both of their losses came at the hands of top-ranked opponents 7A McEachern and 7A Central (Phenix City, Alabama). Austin Smith has passed for 505 yards and 5-TDs, while Janiran Bonner leads the team in receiving with 280 yards and 4-TDs.  Chavon Wright leads the Saints with 426 yards rushing and 3-TDs. Coming into last week, Isaiah Ratcliff was first in DeKalb County (Public Schools) with 47 total tackles. Antonio Taylor and Tee Denson will make passing the ball against Cedar Grove a dangerous proposition. We like Lovett’s chances at home, but we still think Cedar Gove is a little more talented. Saints by 8.