We’ve turned the calendar to the month of October and that means it’s time for region play. Five of the six county teams are in action this week and our Cherokee County Football game previews are here. The county’s oldest rivalry renews this year for the 36th time as the Cherokee Warriors host the Etowah Eagles. Can the Warriors bounce back from the defeat at Cartersville and which Etowah team will we see this Friday; the one that took Hillgrove to overtime or the one that had trouble against North Cobb early in the season? Meanwhile, River Ridge will travel to Dalton. The Knights have strung together two consecutive victories but step up in competition as they visit the Catamounts. Can River Ridge slow down Jahmyr Gibbs? Finally, Creekview makes the short ride down East Cherokee Drive to face the Sequoyah Chiefs. The Grizzlies have dominated this series and this game has big playoff implications as neither team can afford to lose too much ground in the standings. Please make sure to get out and support these young men on Friday night. As always, thanks for reading. Comments and discussion are always welcome!
Key:
TFR – Turd Ferguson Report
NR – Not Ranked
The Skinny
Cherokee County’s oldest rivalry renews for the 36th time this Friday night as Etowah travels to Cherokee. This is the first week of region play for both teams. The Etowah Eagles have been up and down this season. The Eagles offense has been pretty consistent, averaging 29.4 points per game. Going into the bye week, quarterback Dalton Miller was one of the state’s leading passers with 1,065 yards on the season. However, the Etowah defense, which historically has been the team’s hallmark is allowing 29.2 points per game. In Etowah’s last outing, they took a very talented Hillgrove team to overtime.
Meanwhile, the Cherokee Warriors had won 4 straight before falling to Cartersville. The Warriors are averaging 22 points per game this season. Quarterback A.J. Swann has passed for 857 yards and 6-TDSs, while Keith Adams Jr. has carried the load on the ground with 468 yards and 5-TDs. Sophomore Adarrius Harshaw leads the team in receiving with 19 catches for 241 yards and 1-TD. The Warriors defense has been stout this season recording 2 shutouts and only allowing 7 points per game. The Warriors are only allowing 204.6 total yards to date. Brandon Byrd, Patrick Dahlen and Braesen Parker lead the Warriors in solo tackles. Dahlen also leads the secondary with 3 interceptions. We don’t expect offensive an explosion this week with these two defenses, but we do like the Warriors by 4 at home.
The Skinny
The River Ridge Knights travel to Dalton to take on the Catamounts. River Ridge has string together back-to-back wins and outscored their last two opponents 83-7. Last week it was quarterback Chase Begin and running back Amehre Morrison leading the way for the Knights. River Ridge is now averaging 19.2 points per game, but their defense is still allowing 26.2 points per game.
Dalton, however is in a different class than River Ridge. The Catamounts will surely be happy to be playing in the friendly confines of Bill Chappell Stadium after consecutive road trips to Metro-Atlanta. Jahmyr Gibbs has rushed for 1,364 yards and 24-TDs , including 220 yards in last week’s loss to Harrison. Behind Gibbs, the Cats are averaging 48 points per game. Meanwhile, the defense is allowing 18.4 points per game, with the bulk of those coming against Harrison. We believe the Cats get back to their winning ways and look for Gibbs to have another big night this week. Dalton by 24.
The Skinny
The Sequoyah Chiefs and Creekview Grizzlies will battle this weekend as neither team can afford to lose any more ground in region play. The Chiefs will look to establish the run out of their Wing-T offense. They are lead by backs Jaden Mitchell (228 yards, 3-TDs) and Aidan Moore (126 yards, 1-TD). Sequoyah is averaging 22.7 points per game on offense, while the defense is allowing 15.7 yards per game. The Chiefs defense is paced by linebackers Christian Kirby (23 total tackles) and Grant Gibson and corner Myles McGee, (a recent NIU commit).
The Grizzlies are looking to get back on track this week after falling to Dalton their last time out. They are led on offense by dual threat quarterback Brody Rhodes, who has passed for 821 yards and leads the team in rushing with 313. He has accounted for 9 total TDs for the Grizzlies. Sophomore Tyler Stephens has added 203 yards and 3-TDs on the ground. Meanwhile, Ethan Dirrim (28 receptions, 410 yards, 6-TDs and Andrew Cloy (19 receptions, 243 yards, 2-TDs) leads the Creekview receiving corp. On defense, Lake Bowman and Cale Williams lead the team in total tackles, while Freshman Isaac Hubert leads the team in sacks with 7. The Grizzlies have recorded 29.5 sacks already this season. The big question this week, is can the Chiefs contain Creekview’s Rhodes & Dirrim…That’s a tall order to ask of most teams. We like Creekview by 6 this week.