We begin to make our way to the final stretch of the high school football season in Georgia. This is Part-1 of some of the more intriguing matchups around the state that we call Eight Greats Around the States. Here are the first set of games in our weekly Georgia High School Football Previews.
First, down in Leesburg, the Lee County Trojans will host the Houston County Bears. Houston County has been winning with solid defensive efforts, but they’re up against one of the more explosive offenses on their schedule. Can they slow down Lee or will the Trojans assert their will? Next up, down in southeast Georgia, the Richmond Hill Wildcats host the Brunswick Pirates. By our accounts, the winner of this game will be in the drivers seat for the region title. Can Richmond Hill continue take care of business at home against the Pirates?
In Dalton, the Christian Heritage Lions will host the Darlington Tigers. Christian Heritage has never beaten Darlington. Is this the year the Lions get over the hump? Finally, in Gwinnett County, a battle of top-5 opponents takes place as Grayson hosts Parkview. Which backfield will have the bigger night…Grayson with Phil Mafah or Parkview with the duo of Cody Brown and Tyler Curtis. The winner of this one should be in line to at least host a first round playoff game, with Brookwood still looming on the schedule for both teams.
As always, thanks for reading. Please feel free to comment and share. Best of luck to all of the teams competing on Friday night.
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The Skinny
The Lee County Trojans were off last week and will open up region play at home. The Trojans have won three straight games after their only setback of the season to Lowndes. Athlete Chauncey Magwood and running back Caleb McDowell lead the Trojans offense. Magwood has spent time at quarterback and receiver for Lee County. The offense is averaging 39.1 points per game. Lee County’s defense has been pretty darn good this season as well, allowing 11.1 points per game. They have two shutouts to their credit. Baron Hopson and hard-hitting Jaron Willis have helped to lead the way for the Trojans defense.
Houston County has won their last two games entering their Region-1 opener. Like Lee County, the Bears were also off last week. Houston County has not been an offensive juggernaut, averaging only 13.5 points per game. In the first six games of the season, running back Tyler Williams had rushed for 438 yards and 2-TDs. The Bears have only thrown for 138 yards in their first six games as well. But the Bears defense has done their part to keep the team in games. They are allowing 14.4 points per game. Jayson Hodges, Hunter Rizer and Jayleem Santos are tops on the team in total tackles. It will take a herculean effort from the Houston defense to slow down Lee County. Even if Chauncey Magwood has to spell Smith Pinson at quarterback, we like Lee County to win the opener. Call it Trojans by 17.
The Skinny
The Richmond Hill Wildcats look to be on a march to their second consecutive region title. The Wildcats are winners of their last five games and their only loss was to a highly ranked Ware County team. Richmond Hill is averaging 36.2 points per game. Senior quarterback Tyler Coleman has thrown for 1,020 yards and 7-TDs to help lead their offense. Aushaud Roberson is slowly creeping up on the 1,000-yard mark on the year. He sits at 962 yards and 10-TDs on the season. Defensively Nathan Vickers and John Mastrorilli are tied for the team lead in total tackles. Vickers also leads the team in sacks. The Wildcats have forced 13 turnovers and are allowing 14.4 points per game.
The Brunswick Pirates also have their sights on a region 2-6A title. The Pirates have won their last four games and Richmond Hill is the biggest test left on their schedule. The Pirates are averaging 26.8 points per game. Quarterback K.J. Lee has thrown for 1,145 yards and 11-TDs. His top receivers are Tyrease Jones (22 receptions, 473 yards, 8-TDs) and Xavier Bean (26 receptions, 318 yards, 2-TDs). Ree Simmons has rushed for 747 yards. As a team, Brunswick has rushed for 1,413 yards on the season. The Pirates are allowing 16.4 points per game. Cameron Crump and Zane Rosenbaum lead the team in total tackles. We expect this game to be close in the first half, but believe the Wildcats will lean on the legs of Aushaud Roberson to get the victory and pull away in the second half. Wildcats by 11.
The Skinny
The Christian Heritage Lions are looking to get their first victory against Darlington. The Lions are led by a trio of juniors in the backfield, running backs Solomon Locke (572 yards, 4-TDs), Gage Leonard (399 yards, 9-TDs) and quarterback Christian Thomas (853 passing yards, 8-TDs). Senior Evan Lester is tops on the team in receiving with 21 catches for 345 yards and 2-TDs. Senior linebacker Ben Hermann leads the team in total tackles. Defensively, Christian Heritage is allowing 13.3 points per game and has shutout two of their opponents this season.
The Darlington Tigers have been involved in a couple of close contests in their last two games. The Tigers are averaging 28.5 points per game this season while the defense is allowing 15.2 points per game. Quarterback Patrick Shelley spearheads the Darlington offense and can beat teams both throwing and running the ball. Harrison Allen is the team’s leading rusher. Entering last week’s game, Allen had rushed for 693 yards. Kicker Brinson Sumner is a perfect 10 of 10 on field goals this season with a long of 42 and is averaging over 40 yards per punt. Darlington has been able to keep Christian Heritage at bay over the last few years, but we believe the Lions have enough offense to best the Tigers this week. We like Christian Heritage by 8 this week at home.
The Skinny
The Grayson Rams begin a two game stretch that will determine the region champion. The Rams are 6-0 for the first time in three years. The offense is averaging 37 points per game. Phil Mafah helps power the ground game with 834 yards and 13-TDs through six games. Meanwhile, Jamal Haynes (22 catches 318 yards, 3-TDs) and Jaden Smith (18 catches, 294 yards, 4-TDs) lead the team in receiving. Perhaps the biggest story for Grayson in the last couple of weeks is the arrival of quarterback Jake Garcia. What we have read is that he is eligible, but we don’t know if or how much game time he will see. We almost forgot about the Rams defense. They are only allowing 11.3 points per game and have sacked opposing quarterbacks 25.5 times. They’ve also forced 14 turnovers.
Parkview has won four consecutive games entering Friday’s contest. Parkview features a couple of talented senior running backs in Cody Brown and Tyler Curtis. Brown has rushed for 757 yards and 7-TDs while Curtis has added 527 yards and 8-TDs. Jared Brown is the Panthers top receiving threat with 26 catches for 538 yards and 8-TDs. Parkview is averaging 33 points per game on offense while the defense is allowing 17.5 points per game. It is likely to see Grayson load the box to prevent Brown and Curtis for getting loose and forcing young quarterback Colin Houck into winning the game with his arm for Parkview. We think Brown and Curtis are really good backs, but we like Grayson to prevail on the strength of their defense. Rams by a touchdown.