It’s Homecoming Week on one side of the county, while the other has a road game with real implications for the rest of the season as undefeated squads face off on Friday night.
Rockmart hosts Haralson County, and Cedartown heads to Heritage-Catoosa in the latest region matchups. What’s going to happen this Friday night? Let’s break down our Week 8 showdowns.
Stars shine in Rockmart as Jackets host Haralson County
This is a 7-AA matchup I’ve personally been looking forward to this season, if only because I’ve been wanting an excuse to cover Haralson County’s football team. The Rebels at 2-4 come into The Rock for A Hollywood Homecoming night, and are split in region play at 1-1.
Rockmart, who had the first week of region play off for a bye, opened at home against Model with a solid Thursday night win (thanks to Hurricane Ian, which never came close to us…)
HC will likely try to get on the scoreboard as fast as possible, based on their region opener at North Murray where they lost, and then their inevitable win over Gordon Central.
Rebels QB Haldyn Williams is more of a running QB than a passing. He only put up a single completion and 14 yards against the Mountaineers, but had 117 yards on the ground and a touchdown. He also threw only one pass against Gordon Central, but had five carries for 39 yards on the night.
The running game is where Haralson County is going to attack the most.
Senior Caden Hughes is the guy to stop for the Jackets defense. He had 30 carries for 169 yards and two touchdowns against the Mountaineers in their loss, and had 19 carries for 108 yards and four touchdowns on the night against the Gordon Central Warriors.
Rockmart’s defense on Homecoming night will have to avoid being distracted by the bright lights and fanfare, but that shouldn’t be a big deal. Haralson County’s losses have been against teams with better defenses than the Rebels (based on points given up.) Since Haldyn Williams isn’t passing much, we won’t likely get any interceptions.
The Jackets only need to stick to their normal game plan to avoid upset in this one: give the ball to runners to setup passing schemes, and let JD Davis lead the team down the field. Give Cam Ferguson and Brett Washington the rock and let them rush for first downs and more.
Most importantly, the Jackets need to have fun. It’s homecoming. Run up the score, give us a second half running clock and let’s go home.
Homecoming Dance is Saturday night. Enjoy this win Jacket Nation! You’ve got at least two more big ones coming up with a trip to Murray County next week, and Gordon Central at home on the 21st.
Battle of undefeated teams: Cedartown at Heritage
This is a showdown game. This is the region championship game. This is for all the marble.
Cedartown ranked #1 and undefeated heading into Week 2 of Region Play. Heritage-Catoosa at 6-0 and ranked 10th by the AJC (first time they are ranked by the paper of record for the state. Heritage-Catoosa opened in 2008. AJC calls them Heritage-Ringgold instead of Catoosa. Unsure what’s up there…)
The Bulldogs haven’t been in this position in a long time, but the target is on their back and the Generals want to take their shot at the best. We do have some, ahem, criticism of the Generals’ schedule. They opened with Ringgold (now 3-3) with a 31-17 win. East Hamilton (now 4-2) wasn’t a blowout by any means. But then LFO, Ridgeland, Chattanooga Prep and Southeast Whitfield aren’t exactly strong squads. LFO is 2-4 right now, Ridgeland hasn’t won a game this season, Chattanooga Prep is 1-5. Southeast Whitfield hasn’t mostly played smaller schools to get away with their 4-2 record, and lost their region opener.
Yes, Heritage has run up the scoreboard on several of these teams. Yes, they’ve played SOME competition. But have they beat a Calhoun? A Sequoyah? Ummmm…..
Generals QB Kaden Swope went 1 for 2 and 22 yards and a TD during the Southeast Whitfield game, and he mainly relied on his legs to get the job done against the Raiders, getting five carries for 51 yards and a TD on the ground. Several running backs shared duties on the ground with Paxton McCrary, Landon Cansler, and Brady Chandler also scoring TDs on the ground and everyone combining for 250 yards.
Senior Bryce Travillian with five tackles and five assists during the Southeast game is the guy to watch for the Generals defense. He’s up to 47 on the season in total at the moment. Senior Evan Turner is also a big threat against Cedartown runners, with 30 tackles on the year – 21 of those solo.
The Generals are facing their toughest opponent yet.
Everyone is a threat on the field for Cedartown, from Reece Tanner under center able to hit open routes for first down and touchdown passes, or take the ball and grab yardage when a play falls apart, he’s got the experience of a QB whose been under center for many years. He’s also the punter, but barely had to workout his kicking game this year.
But the guys who are going to get the job done tonight on the road are the running back corp. Give the ball to Patrick Gardner, Harlem Diamond, Xavier Hargrove, Khamarion Davis… I could keep this list going, but I’ve got other things to write folks. The Bulldogs have no shortage of talent in the backfield, and an offensive line to match and give the guys with the rock opportunities to get in for six.
I’ve not even gotten to the defense yet (where guys like Harlem and Patrick play on both sides of the ball) but we would be remiss if we didn’t mention Eli Barrow. He’s going the distance for Coach Diamond’s school tackle record this season, and a road game is the perfect place for him to shine and keep the home crowd silent on offense.
This will be a tough one for the Bulldogs. Look for a close game, but one ultimately decided by Cedartown’s clock management and scoring drives. Bulldogs should win this one by at least a TD, then get to take one last break before a sprint to the end of region play and the regular season.
Other games of note
We’ve got a couple we want to talk about around Northwest Georgia this week, and we think this might be the week that determines playoff implications for a few of our area squads we like to watch.
How does 7-AA and 7-AAAA shake out as we claw closer toward the end of the line for some teams, and potential gold for others? Only Friday night can really determine the outcome, but here’s some crystal ball thinking from the Editor.
Southeast Whitfield at Northwest Whitfield
Raiders and Bruins, it sounds like an NFL game between Las Vegas and Chicago in my head, but we all know what this really is: an inter-county rivalry that needs a shakeup.
This year, Southeast Whitfield is finally playing in the region and though they got rolled against Heritage in Week 1 of Region play, they at least put some points on the board.
Southeast Whitfield at 4-2 has closed out games this year, winning over Gordon Central, Armuchee and Druid Hills in somewhat convincing fashion. The 14-7 Coosa win is a little shaky, but the Eagles have also begun to improve with a young squad this year in region play.
The 56-12 loss to Heritage, who are 6-0, is what prognosticators like me would say is the expected outcome. But any given Friday, a team can shock you. The Raiders need Brayden Miles under center to play the game of their lives. Anthony Ramirez and Brady Ensley need to find openings and fast.
It might be possible. A friend on the sidelines of the Cedartown game noted that Northwest Whitfield has serious problems in their defense.
Northwest also at 4-2 isn’t the team of old. Sonoraville seriously smoked them in a 42-20 victory last week. The outcomes have been expected through their first four weeks of the season against Pepperell, Coahulla Creek, Ringgold and North Murray.
Then the Bruins ran into the wall against Darlington on Sept. 16, and it seems after last week’s region opening loss to Sonoraville they are looking for this one to be a recovery game.
Owen Brooker is going to have to take command under center if the Bruins have a chance, and have a game like he did against North Murray where he put up a 17-25, 210 yd and 2TD performance. If Southeast can shut down his passing game, they might be in trouble since Brooker is the heart of the offense (10 carriers and 174 yards against Sonoraville, the most on the team after he also had a 20-38 for 238 yards and a TD passing.)
I smell an upset coming. Not sure which side is supposed to be upsetting the other with each team holding on at 4-2 and 0-1 in 7-AAAA. Listen into WGAA for my pick on this one…
Sonoraville at Central Carroll
Another matchup of 4-2 teams that could go either way, but the difference here is that Sonoraville took a Week 1 region victory, and Central Carroll fell flat on their faces.
Having seen what Central Carroll had to offer last week against Cedartown, I find it even easier to say the Phoenix have a better chance in this game and securing another victory toward a playoff spot, and cementing the No. 2 spot in region play.
Central going into last week already had a somewhat suspect win-loss record. They had up until last week put up at least 20 on every opponent, including a 61-40 shootout with McIntosh. Their most impressive win right now looks like the 35-20 victory over Bowdon.
Some could argue that Cedartown’s defense is so good, Devan Powell never had a chance against the Bulldogs. He went 10-14 and 128 yards, but scored a TD on the ground. They never got a chance to establish the running game with Vicari Swain or anyone else who got a chance to carry the ball.
Yet in their victory over Northgate, the Lions QB went 9-14, 170 yards and a TD. Josh Johnson had a 9 carry, 43 yard and one touchdown campaign against the Vikings. In a win earlier in the season against Bowdon, Jonaz Walton (a freshman to boot) had 16 carries for 243 yards and 3 TDs. His production against Cedartown? 5 carries, 5 yards. Nothing else doing.
Defense is Central’s real problem. Teams are scoring a lot against the Lions, and it doesn’t look like that pain is going to stop anytime soon. Especially against the Phoenix.
Coming off their win against Northwest Whitfield, Sonoraville actually looks like a decent 4-2 team. They have a region win under their belt, and quality wins over Dalton, LaFayette, and Pickens to pad their resume so far this season. The losses to Darlington (they score 22 against the Tigers, that is saying something) and to Calhoun look like what you’d expect (only a TD for the Phoenix, but hey, it’s Calhoun.)
Jaxon Pate looked fantastic for the Phoenix against the Bruins, going 14-18 for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns. Coach Lyles (best name for a football kid ever) had 16 carries and 161 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground. Senior Tristan Mullins came up with 7 solo tackles and 8 assists on the night to stop the Bruins on defense. Several more of the Phoenix defense racked up good tackles on the night too, like Brant Bryant, Wyatt Springfield and Zach Mcafee.
Fannin County at Model
A 3-2 Fannin County at a 3-3 Model coming off of their loss to Rockmart seems like a smart bet to go toward the Rebels. Especially after Model fell 48-14 on the road to Rockmart in the Jackets’ region opener.
The Blue Devils opened the season with back-to-back losses to Cherokee County (Alabama) and Pepperell, but bounced back for wins over Woodland-Cartersville, Trion and the expected trouncing of Murray County to open the region.
After the paper shredder against Rockmart (likely region champ if they can keep their act together) it’ll be up to the offense with Jake Sanders under center to help figure out where the Blue Devils go from here.
Fannin County on the other hand is coming into this one with two Ls, but a 1-0 record in region play as well. They had last week off as the odd-man out in 7-AA, but kicked off with a 47-0 victory over Gordon Central on Sept. 23.
Rebels fell early to Union County and Gilmer, but picked back up their season with victories over Pickens, Murphy, North Carolina, and Gordon Central. Model is actually from the looks of things get their first real opportunity to showcase against a solid squad.
Sophomore Elijah Weaver is putting up solid yardage from the stats we’ve seen, and is complimented by a number of running backs to help keep up the ground game. Expect senior Cade Sands to be the Rebel that the Blue Devils need to stop on defense.
I like Fannin County in this one despite a long road trip. We’ll see.
Cartersville at Cass
The Hurricanes went into three overtimes last week, and fell for the first time in a ridiculous number of regular season games. The loss to Calhoun 50-48 will likely sting for a long, long time for Canes players and fans alike.
So this road trip to a 3-3 Cass for a region game is going to be a bit of ointment for that burn sustained last week. Colonels despite a Week 1 region victory over Woodland 49-12 will get blown away in this one. Cartersville still wants an opportunity to get Calhoun back in the playoffs.
Hiram at Calhoun
On paper, this shouldn’t be a trap game for the Yellow Jackets. But that’s what folks said about Cedartown at Calhoun.
The Jackets are coming off one of those emotional, must-win games that leaves teams exhausted by the effort. No bye week after, and immediately are coming up against a team who have come off a hard, high-scoring loss to Dalton.
Hiram’s Samir Wylie put up a 6-12, 191 yard and three TD performance against Dalton. The Hornets have put up big wins over Drew, Morrow and Woodstock in their campaign this year. Their TD loss to East Paulding and a 33-13 season opening loss to Paulding County are suspect.
But look at Calhoun: it took three overtimes to defeat Cartersville. They lost to #1 Cedartown (I still love writing that) in an embarrassing 21-7 home loss, and fell to Blessed Trinity. They haven’t won convincingly over Gardendale (1 point win 31-30?) and five points over Creekview (26-21.) The only win that was both expected and big was a 40-7 trouncing of Sonoraville.
Who here has more to prove? Whoever answers that question will be the victor in this one, and help determine how the region will shake out.
Sequoyah at Rome
The Rome Wolves should, will, are going to win over Sequoyah. The 5-1 Wolves against the 3-3 Chiefs comes down to this: Rome is having one of those seasons where they will continue to roll over opponents and should handily win the region title this year. Their only loss to Carrollton was the outlier of the season for them.
Coming off of a 70-0 win and putting themselves at 2-0 in region play, the host a Sequoyah squad who had somewhat closer wins in their two region wins over Etowah and River Ridge. This is the moment where the Chiefs hit the wall. Based on what they looked like versus Cedartown earlier in the season, Chiefs could make this interesting, but they don’t have what it takes to get them through the fourth quarter versus the Wolves this season.
Darlington at Chattooga
Y’all, this one isn’t even a contest. Darlington is undefeated, has won against big and bad squads, and wants a region title. Chattooga is just having a bad year.
Tigers win this one by a mile. Should be a shutout.
New Manchester at South Paulding
One should almost feel bad for New Manchester. They haven’t won a game the whole of the season at 0-6, while a 4-2 (3-0 in region play) South Paulding are looking to keep up their streak and take home a title. October 28 will determine who wins the championship as the Spartans face a (so far for now) undefeated Langston Hughes.
South Paulding has this week and October 21 at Alexander to get ready for the Panthers.
This one is a tune-up for the Spartans. Expect a shutout.
Armuchee at Pepperell
Here is where the season gets fun in 7-A, as a classic rivalry finds two teams just about evenly matched. Armuchee and Pepperell are both three wins into the season, and the only outlier is that the Indians have an extra L on their record.
The Dragons NEED to win this one. They opened region play at Chattooga with a 21-7 victory, then had last week off before heading into Friday night’s showdown. If the Dragons want a shot at the playoffs, they have to overcome the Indians at home. Erik Jensen needs a bigger night under center than he had against Chattooga in the air if they want to overcome Armuchee’s defense. D.J. Rogers needs at least a 100-yard night.
(I couldn’t find any good Armuchee stats to add to this one.)
Gut feeling tells me that the Indians are coming into this one with one extra game under their belt, and might want this one just a bit more this season. They haven’t won against the Dragons since 2009, and this week might be their best shot.
If they don’t, the record will move to 1-22-1.
