This is Part II of our GHSA Football Previews called Eight Greats Around The State. As we take a look at the previews for Week-7, we noticed that some of the best games are in Class A-Private this week. Our first preview takes us to Middle Georgia as West Laurens and Howard look to get a leg up in Region 2-4A play this week. Next up, we take a look at one of those Class-A Private games as Prince Avenue Christian hosts Athens Academy. Prince Avenue has been without their quarterback for the past month. Can they do enough to keep Len’Neth Whitehead and the Spartans at bay? In Region 5-A-Private, Wesleyan travels to McDonough to face the ELCA Chargers. Both teams were beaten earlier this season by Holy Innocents. This game should settle second place in the region and also give a boost to the winner in the Class A power rankings. Finally in Region 4-6A, The M.L. King Lions will face the Stephenson Jaguars. The Jaguars have not been as prolific on offense as we’ve seen in the past. Is this the season the Lions break a 6 game losing streak to their county rival? As always, please feel free to share and comment.
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
If there was ever a year that traditional region power Mary Persons could be knocked off from the top of the hill, this might be it; and both West Laurens and Howard have just as good a chance as any program to do so. West Laurens hosts Howard as both teams come in with identical records. West Laurens has a pretty balanced attack and is led by quarterback A.J. Mathis (1,006 yards passing, 8-TDs) and running backs Daniel Dorsey (284 yards, 4-TDs), Christian Covin (260 yards, 2-TDs) and Shonta Burney Jr. (256 yards, 3-TDs). Brent Carr is the team’s leading receiver with 31 receptions fro 564 yards. D’Eryck Jackson leads the Raiders in total tackles with 50 and is second on the team in sacks with 4. The Raiders have recorded 25 sacks on the season. The aforementioned Dorsey also leads the defense with 3 interceptions.
The Howard Huskies have won four consecutive games after dropping their first of the season to Jones County. They have done much of their damage on the ground. Jeremiah Kelly leads the way with 498 yards and 4-TDs while Javarsia Meadows has added 324 yards and 8-TDs. Quarterback Jaylon Clark has passed for 556 yards and 7-TDs. Meadows is also the Huskies leading receiver with 21 receptions for 258 yards. Jason Parham leads the team with 36 total tackles and also leads the team in interceptions, with 2. We are impressed with the direction the Huskies are moving in and it looks like this could shape up to be one of the best season’s in school history, but we think West Laurens gets revenge from last year’s game this week. Raiders by 9.
The Skinny
The Athens Academy Spartans will travel to Prince Avenue Christian in a battle of top Region 8 teams. The host Wolverines are currently playing without starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff who has been out with an injury. Freshman quarterback Lucian Anderson has stepped up in his stead and passed for 465 yards and 6-TDs. Landon Owens leads the team in rushing with 454 yards and 5-TDs while Logan Johnson (20 receptions, 359 yards, 4-TDs) and Zac Dyer (14 receptions, 366 yards, 5-TDs) lead the Prince Avenue receivers. Tyler Payne and Davis Ridings lead the team in total tackles with 49 and 46 respectively while Shane McCormick leads the team in sacks with 5.
Athens Academy has won the last three games in the series. The Athens Academy defense is allowing 8 points per game while their offense is averaging 43.5 points per game. Len’Neth Whitehead is a star on both sides of the ball at running back and linebacker for the Spartans. Palmer Bush has a dangerous weapon in Deion Colzie at receiver. We like the Spartans this week again, but it should be a close contest. Athens Academy by 4 on the road.
The Skinny
While Holy Innocents is almost certain to lay claim to the Region 5 crown, ELCA and Wesleyan are battling for positioning in the Class A private power poll. ELCA’s Keaton Mitchell is one of the state’s top running backs with 811 yards and 17-TDs on the season. Quarterback Gabe Wright has passed for 718 yards and 10-TDs. Justin Robinson has been the Chargers leading receiver with 19 catches for 247 yards and 4-TDs. The ELCA defense is allowing 13 points per game. Deion Fisher leads the team in total tackles with 43 and interceptions, with 2.
The Wesleyan Wolves opened the season with 4 straight wins before falling to Holy Innocents last week. The Wolves are led by sophomore quarterback J.C. French (646 yards passing 11-TDs) and fellow sophomore running back Griffin Caldwell. Josh Aspinwall leads the team in total tackles with 43. The Wolves look to have a strong young nucleus, but we believe the Chargers have too much firepower this week. We like ELCA by three touchdowns.
The Skinny
The M.L. King Lions are undefeated through four games for the first time since 2012 when they went undefeated in regular season play. This week they host the Stephenson Jaguars. The Lions have had a lot of success on the ground. Dual threat quarterback Jacobi Haynes (715 yards rushing, 472 yards passing, 13 total TDs) and running back Michael Fearn (325 yards, 3-TDs) lead the King offensive attack. De’Ouandre Moore is the leading receiver with 12 catches for 332 yards. Linebackers Colin White and Jomel Robinson lead the team in total tackles with 43 and 34 respectively.
The Stephenson Jaguars have won the last six games in the series. In those last six matchups, the Jaguars are only allowing the Lions 7.3 points per game. Offensively, Deondre Jackson has rushed for 447 yards and 8-TDs. Ryan Ingram has also chipped in 167 yards and 1-TD. The Stephenson defense has been pretty stingy, only allowing 12.5 points per game. Tommy Smith leads the team with 40 total tackles and Javier Morton leads the Jaguars 2 interceptions. We think the Stephenson defense will do enough to keep them in the game for 4 quarters, but we like King by 3 this week in a low scoring battle.