Week 3 is upon is. Here are five of the most interesting games in Class AAAAAAA as some top out-of-state teams come to Georgia.
Bergen Catholic vs. Grayson
This is part of a double-header at Buford on Friday. Deerfield Beach, Fla., plays Buford in the nightcap. Bergen has won 17 New Jersey state titles dating to 1963, but the 2017 championship was the Crusaders' first since 2004. The all-male school has a tradition for quarterbacks. Tennessee's Jarrett Guarantano and Boston College's Johnny Langan are former Crusaders. Andrew Boel is the new starter this season. Expect running backs Rahmir Johnson (committed to Nebraska) and Josh McKenzie (a three-star recruit going to Yale) to be prominent in the offense early. DE Aeneas DiCosmo, TE Tyler Devera and especially four-star junior DB Jordan Morant are other major-college prospects. Grayson is in in the top five of four national polls, peaking at No. 4 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25. They've got 10 of the top 100 senior prospects in Georgia, according to the 247Sports Composite Ratings. Those include LB Owen Pappoe (Auburn) and OL Wanya Morris (Tennessee), both five-star recruits. Grayson got some negative publicity last week when several players walked out of practice, citing harsh conditions, but a meeting with the coaching staff appears to have smoothed things over. Grayson then pounded Tucker 48-7 in its opener after taking a 34-0 lead. Jonathan Halyard rushed for 110 yards. For more on Bergen, see J.J. Conrad's article from NJ Advance Media for NJ.com.
Cardinal Gibbons at Milton
This is part of the six-game, two day Freedom Bowl at Milton and is the 8:30 Friday night game. Cardinal Gibbons is ranked No. 1 in Florida’s Class 5A by MaxPreps. Nicknamed the Chiefs, they lost their opener last week to a bigger national power, Central of Miami, 48-21. Gibbons’ quarterback, Nik Scalzo, is committed to Kentucky. Milton also has a D-I QB prospect, Jordan Yates, who has passed for 366 yards and rushed for 152 in two games. Gibbons’ most highly recruited player, DE Khris Bogle, is expected to miss the game with a knee injury. Gibbons has a slew of other D-I prospects – LB Yahweh Jeudy (Kansas State), WR/TE Nik Ognenovic (Kentucky), RB Vincent Smith (Pitt), OL Jamari Williams (Louisville) and WR/S Majon Wright (Florida). This is big opportunity for Milton, which is ranked for the first time since 2014 and coming off victories over Archer and Alpharetta, each ranked at the time they played.
Lowndes at Parkview
Parkview has scored 38 and 34 points against Lowndes the two past seasons and lost both games. The current team expects to be better on defense than offense initially. Parkview graduated its leading passer, rusher, receiver and tackler but feels confident in the maturity of a program that has improved its victory total each of the past four seasons. Junior QB Jordan Williams, making his first start, was 9-of-11 passing for 141 yards in the opening win over Mountain View. Parkview's best player is Malik Washington, who had 517 receiving yards in just six games last year before suffering a torn ACL. He's a high-academic player with offers from Duke and Stanford. Lowndes also graduated more starters than it returned. Andrew Koenemann, who has taken over for all-state QB Michael Barrett (now at Michigan), is 18-of-27 passing for 260 yards and three touchdowns. Projected starter Joe Almond suffered an injured spleen in preseason, and his return for this game is doubtful. Travis Tisdale, a scatback who is committed to Kentucky, has rushed for 169 yards and four touchdowns on just 12 carries.
Mill Creek at Norcross
Mill Creek was dropped from the rankings after losing to fifth-ranked Walton 49-21 in the opener. Norcross entered the rankings after beating fifth-ranked Mays of AAAAAA 42-26. This game will decide if those rankings decisions were hasty. Mill Creek, which went 8-4 last season after consecutive 13-1 finishes, has gone on to beat a pretty good Dacula team 49-21. It was over by halftime. Mill Creek passed only seven times. Chancellor Lee-Parker rushed for 196 yards. Norcross, in its victory over Mays, built a 28-6 first-half lead and weathered four Mays TD passes. Norcross QB Louis Williams threw three TD passes of his own, the final one a 37-yarder to Isaiah Wilson with 1:27 left for the final margin. Williams was 17-of-21 for 198 yards and rushed for 45 yards.
Wekiva vs. North Gwinnett
Wekiva (pronounced wah-KYE-vah) is an Orlando-area school that opened in 2007. It wasn't really noted for football until last season, when the Mustangs lost in Florida's Class 8A semifinals to eventual champion Dr. Phillips. Now, they are stacked, perhaps the team to beat in their state's highest classification, with five major college recruits who are seniors, all who play most prominently on defense. They are LB Rian Davis (committed to Georgia), DT Tyler Davis (top-150 national prospect), CB Renardo Green (Florida State), DB Brandon Hill (Pittsburgh) and DT Norell Pollard (Virginia Tech). Wekiva's defense was far ahead of the offense in a season-opening 17-3 victory over Jones, another Orlando-area school. North Gwinnett, the defending Georgia champion in the highest classification, is well-stocked with college prospects of its own. DB Warren Burrell (Tennessee), RB Tyler Goodson (Iowa), WR Josh Downs (four-star) and DB Quinton Newsome (Nebraska) are the notable ones. Goodson rushed for 142 yards in North Gwinnett's opening 37-2 win over Brookwood, which was held without a first down until the game was in hand.
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