Any battle between a good offensive team and a good defensive team brings a lot of interest. Such will be the case this week when No. 3 Jones County plays No. 4 Dutchtown in a game between two of the three giants in Region 3.
Jones County (6-0, 3-0) is led by quarterback Hunter Costlow, who has thrown for1,585 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has flourished under the tutelage of first-year coach Mike Chastain, who watched Dylan Fromm produce great numbers in his system while at Warner Robins. Jontavis Robertson has caught 28 passes for 625 yards and six touchdowns; he is a game-changer.
Dutchtown (6-0, 3-0) is known for its defensive prowess. The Bulldogs were early adopters of the sledgehammer on the sidelines and enjoy playing a physical brand of football. Defensive linemen William Anderson (Alabama commit) and Dezmond Tell (Louisville commit) make up one of the best one-two defensive punches around.
But Dutchtown has shown more offensive ability this season. Quarterback Arendez Fedd, the son of coach Clifford Fedd, has thrown for 924 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for seven touchdowns. He has come up with important plays at key moments.
Both teams still have a game remaining with No. 6 Stockbridge, but the winner will have cleared a huge hurdle toward winning Region 3 or at least claiming home-field advantage for the playoffs.
This is an odd week in Class AAAAA. There are no region games in Region 5 or Region 6, leaving the schedule very light.
Here are four other meaningful games:
Bainbridge at Veterans, 7:30 p.m. Reigning state champion Bainbridge had its 12-game winning streak broken last week in its final non-conference game. Now the No. 8 Bearcats (5-1) jump into region play against Veterans (5-1), which has won two straight.
Veterans has been a solid defensive team all year. Opponents combined to score five points against coach Milan Turner’s team over the last two weeks. Other than a fourth-quarter meltdown at Statesboro, the group has been good. The offense is led by quarterback Blake Ethridge (498 yards passing, three TDs) and back Lebron Fields (352 yards, five touchdowns), a pair of productive sophomores.
The Bainbridge offense had difficulty last week for the first time all season. Otherwise the Bearcats have flourished behind quarterback Quayde Hawkins (989 yards, nine TDs) and tailback Rashad Broadnax (24 yards, seven touchdowns).
Wayne County at Statesboro, Friday, 7:30 p.m. No. 10 Wayne County (4-1) has produced some big offensive numbers this season, scoring no fewer than 33 points in any contest. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a season-high 48-point performance against Bradwell Institute. Quarterback Trey Pierce and tailbacks Kaliz Hadley and Antwon McBride lead the offense.
Statesboro (3-2) has lost its last two games. The Blue Devils have a deep group of running backs led by Aundrell Grace, son of former AJC Super 11 selection Audrell Grace, who had a 71-yard touchdown run in last week’s loss to Burke County. Quarterback Drake Horton has been solid and dependable. But Statesboro may be without two-way lineman Corey McCullough, who was injured last week.
The two Southeast Georgia rivals will be playing for the 38th time, with Statesboro holding a 26-11 edge. Wayne County has won the last seven meetings, including 21-20 a year ago.
Jonesboro at Griffin, 7:30 p.m. The winner of this game remains in contention for the Region 3 championship, with the loser destined to hit the road for the playoffs. Jonesboro (3-3, 1-1) has already beaten Starr's Mill and Griffin (5-2, 1-1) has lost to Starr's Mill. Both have games remaining against region leader Riverdale.
Griffin will be highly motivated after losing last week’s game to Starr’s Mill on a last-second 50-yard field goal. The Bears have been putting up big numbers behind quarterback Darshavious Foster and running back Mo King. Foster threw for 280 yards and three touchdowns last week.
Jonesboro is coming off a one-point loss to previously winless Whitewater. Quarterback Tremir Alexis, running back Isaiah Rice and receive Rasheed Singleton lead the offense, which runs behind linemen Jeff Mays and Eugene Orr.
Griffin has won 41 of 44 games in this series. The Bears won 31-0 in 2018. The last Jonesboro win came in 2015, which ended a 22-game losing streak in the series.
Buford at Cedar Shoals, 7:30 p.m. Cedar Shoals needs to knock off the No. 1-ranked Wolves to have a crack at home-field advantage in the playoffs.
The Jaguars (4-2) placed themselves in a hole thanks to last week’s 34-10 loss to Clarke Central. Cedar Shoals is led by quarterback Jalen Rusher (642 yards passing, 10 TDs; 332 yards rushing, three TDs) and sophomore running back Jerdavian Colbert (580 yards, six TDs).
Buford (6-0) operates behind a college-sized offensive line. Quarterback Jarvis Evans has shown great development at quarterback – last week the completed 8 of 8 passes – and the two-head running back monster of Elijah Turner and Gabe Ervin has been quite productive.
Buford leads the series 3-0 and won 55-6 in 2018. The Wolves have scored at least 55 points in each of the three previous meetings.
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