As a Class AAA team, the Cedar Grove Saints often get overlooked in an ocean of larger DeKalb County schools. That’s going to be more difficult to do this season.
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
The No. 6-ranked Saints won their season opener with a decisive 36-0 victory over neighborhood rival Southwest DeKalb. Now they’ll get a tougher test when they play Hallandale, Fla., in the 2:30 p.m. game of the Chick-fil-A Battle of the Borders at Hallford Stadium.
Cedar Grove is trying to open the season 2-0 for the first time since 1999, when the Saints defeated North Atlanta and Tucker to start their campaign.
Cedar Grove has four preseason all-state selections. The group is led by talented defensive lineman Antwaun Jackson (SR, 6-3, 295) who is weighing a lot of options to play on the next level as one of the top rated defenders in the country. Ellyesse Mbem-bosse (SR, LB, 6-2, 234), Lebron Morris (SR, RB, 5-8, 193), Alabama commit Natori Johnson (JR, OL/DL, 6-4, 318) and Tre Shaw (JR, DB/Ath, 6-0, 180) complete the group.
Morris has already taken the first step toward establishing himself as an all-state candidate. Morris ran for 1,700 yards and 18 touchdowns last season. In the opener against SWD he rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
But the real story may be Cedar Grove’s defense, which forced 13 negative yardage plays against SWD. They’ll need a similar effort against Hallandale.
Hallandale is ranked No. 6 in Florida’s 5-A classification. The Chargers have eight players who have committed to play for major programs, including quarterback Tyler Huntley (Utah), receiver Joshua Hammond (Florida) and running back Zacheus Moss (Miami).
No. 1 Calhoun gets season started
Defending state champion and top-ranked Calhoun opens the season against rival Dalton.
The Yellow Jackets haven’t dropped a season opener since 2008, when they lost two of their first three games and went on to play for the state championship.
Dalton leads the series between the two northwest Georgia rivals 34-9-1, but Calhoun has won the last six meetings.
Last year’s game was the closest of the season for the Yellow Jackets. Calhoun beat Dalton 21-14 and didn’t have another close call until the state quarterfinals.
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