This is Part I of our GHSA Football Previews called Eight Greats Around The State. As we take a look at some of the previews for Week-7, we noticed that some of the best games are in Class A-Private this week. Our first preview features the Darlington Tigers and Christian Heritage Lions. The Lions are looking to break through and finally get a win against Darlington. The winner is sure to get a big boost in the GHSA Class A-Private power rankings. In Class 4A, Troup and Sandy Creek face off in region play. These are certainly two of the top three teams in the Region. Can Troup get the offense rolling again against a stingy Sandy Creek defense? Hapeville Charter and Douglass face off in a Region 6-AA battle. Can Douglass knock off the reigning region champ? Over in Region 8-AA, Union County will host Elbert County. Will it be another big night for UC quarterback Pierson Allison? Or will Elbert slow down the Panther express? As always, please feel free to share and comment.
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
Two of the top teams in both Region 6 and Class A Private will match up as The Christian Heritage Lions travel to Rome to take on the Darlington Tigers. For Darlington, Kolin Rogers has rushed for 491 yards and 10-TDs, while quarterback Griffin Brewster leads the team with 512 passing yards and 6-TDs. The Darlington offense is averaging 39.4 points per game while their defense has two shutouts to their credit and is only allowing 8.6 points per game.
Christian Heritage also comes into this game undefeated. They are led by sophomore quarterback Christian Thomas, who has passed for 615 yards and 6-TDs. Gage Leonard has rushed fro 459 yards and 5-TDs and also caught 13 passes for 176 yards and 2-TDs. Evan Lester leads the team in receiving yards with 225 and 3-TDs. The Lions got their first shutout in their last outing and are only allowing 5 points per game on defense. If there was ever a year for Christian Heritage to beat Darlington, this might be one of their best chances…but we like the Tigers at home in another close game…Tigers by 3.
The Skinny
Troup County will get another test in Region 4-4A as the Sandy Creek Patriots come calling on Friday night. Troup continues to be led by quarterback Kobe Hudson (999 yards passing, 558 yards rushing, 17-TDs) and Tre Williams who has rushed for 723 yards and 8-TDs. The Tigers leading receivers are Zy Varner (10 receptions, 325 yards, 5-TDs), Marquavious Kelley (10 receptions, 193 yards, 1-TD) and Luke Purnell (12 receptions, 136 yards, 2-TDs). The Tigers are averaging almost 320 yards on the ground per game and averaging 45.2 points per game on offense, while the defense is allowing 25.4 points per game.
Meanwhile, head Coach Brett Garvin has the Sandy Creek Patriots moving in the right direction this season as the Patriots are undefeated coming into their region opener. The storyline for the Patriots this season has been their defense. Sandy Creek is allowing 5 points per game on defense. Meanwhile, quarterback Matt Williams has a couple of talented receivers in Brian Branch (Alabama Commit) and Ahmad Jackson who will definitely put pressure on the Troup secondary. This game could certainly be a slugfest this year. We give the nod to Troup at home, but not by much…Tigers by 2.
The Skinny
Hapeville Charter will host the Douglass Astros on Friday night. While we are only at the midway point of the season, this game could decide the region champion or at least give the winner an inside track to the region championship. The Hornets again have a plethora of talent on this year’s squad. Quarterback Jeremy Stephens has passed for 603 yards and 5-TDs. His top receivers include Na’Sean Dickerson (7 receptions, 195 yards, 2-TDs), Jaquez Smith (9 receptions, 144 yards, 3-TDs) and Rico Powers Jr. (6 receptions, 123 yards, 2-TDs). Meanwhile Marcus Carroll has rushed for 372 yards and 5-TDs. Defensive lineman Robert Lee has recorded 8 sacks on the season. The Hornets are allowing 9.7 points per game.
The Douglass Astros are 5-0 for the second consecutive season. They have done most of their damage on offense in the run game. Quintavious Lockett has rushed for 715 yards and 11-TDs, While quarterback De’Andre Watson has passed fir 356 yards and rushed for 395 yards and accounted for 15 total TDs. Dre Towns is the Astros leading receiver with 175 yards and 3-TDs. Douglass is averaging almost 300 yards per game on the ground. If the Astros can use their ground game to keep the explosive Hornets offense off the field, this game could get very interesting late. We think Hapeville is still the top dog in Region 6. Hornets by 10.
The Skinny
The Union County Panthers host the Elbert County Blue Devils in beautiful Blairsville on Friday night. Union County quarterback Pierson Allison, one of the top passers in the state, has thrown for 1,553 yards and 18-TDs with no interceptions. Running back Jonah Daniel has rushed for 798 yards and 10-TDs, while Kyle Morlock (21 receptions, 528 yards, 6-TDs) and Sawyer Drake (27 receptions, 465 yards, 6-TDs) lead the Panthers in the receiving statistical categories. The Panthers are averaging a very healthy 53.8 points per game on offense.
We suspect that the Elbert County Blue Devils will be the toughest opponent to date for the Panthers. Elbert’s only losses were to North Oconee and Hart County; two teams that are ranked in the Top-10 in various polls in their respective classifications. The Blue Devils are averaging 35.8 points per game and quarterback DJ Ardister is a dangerous weapon as well in his own right. We just don’t believe that the Blue Devils can outscore Union County. We like the Panthers by 17 this week.