For the third consecutive season, two teams from the same region will play for the Class AAAAAA football championship.
However, unlike the past two years, when Region 1 had the last two teams standings, this time it will be Region 6 foes Harrison and Allatoona that will battle for the title.
Harrison (Kennesaw) and Allatoona (Acworth) will meet at 8 p.m. Friday at Georgia State Stadium, and the winner will become the fourth state champion from Cobb County, joining 1967 Marietta, 2014 Mount Paran Christian and 2015 Allatoona. The current Marietta team can join that list with a victory Saturday against Lowndes in the Class AAAAAAA final.
Second-ranked Harrison (14-0) beat No. 7 Allatoona 21-17 on Oct. 11 in a regular-season game that ultimately decided the region title, as Harrison finished one game ahead of the Buccaneers (11-2-1) in the standings. It was the only game Harrison has had this season that was decided by fewer than 18 points.
The familiar foes will bring a lot of similarities into Friday’s game.
Both teams get about 60 percent of their yardage from the running game. Both have feature running backs that are well over 1,000 yards rushing and quarterbacks who have thrown for right at 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns. And each has a deep-threat receiver averaging more than 30 yards per catch.
It’s how they go about it that’s different.
Allatoona is the old-style team that prides itself on running the ball and playing sound defense.
The bulk of the workload in the Buccaneers’ running game falls on Alex Wilson, who has 1,273 yards and eight touchdowns on 251 carries. Quarterback Dante Marshall is 76-of-169 passing for 1,772 yards and 23 touchdowns, a rate of one touchdown for about every three completions. Marshall’s primary target is Asante Das, who has 1,084 yards and 15 touchdowns on 36 receptions (30.1 yards per catch).
“They don’t do a lot but are extremely sound and good at what they do,” Dalton head coach Matt Land said of the Buccaneers. “The repetitions of doing the same thing over and over allows them to be simple in their approach and at the same time predictable. However, just because you can predict where someone will be, you still have to beat them to the point of attack. Offensively, they come off the ball and try to hit you first. They never concede a negative play. They have just enough playmakers to make you pay when you get overly aggressive.”
Land got an up-close look at both teams as a fellow member of Region 6-AAAAAA. His Catamounts lost to Harrison 42-21 on Sept. 27 and Allatoona 17-14 on Nov. 1 but finished in fourth place in the nine-team region and advanced to the playoffs.
Allatoona’s Calvin Rucker and Cameron Carty lead a defense that is giving up 12.1 points per game, third-best in Class AAAAAA, and 8.5 per game in the playoffs. The Buccaneers have recorded two shutouts and not allowed more than 21 points in any game.
“Defensively, they attack, attack and the attack some more,” Land said. “You have to go right at them because they are so fast and will not give you the edge. We were most successful when we stayed between the tackles and threw play-action.”
Harrison’s offense is a bit more wide open despite the similar ratio of rushing and passing yards. David Roberts is the lead back with 1,524 yards and 19 touchdowns on 167 carries, but Jay Ziglor and Mason Babay have rushed for more than 600 yards each. Gavin Hall is 95-of-165 passing for 1,857 yards and 20 touchdowns. Marques Owens has 24 receptions for 727 yards (30.3 yards per catch) and nine touchdowns. Babay has 626 yards and eight touchdowns receiving.
“Their balance,” Land said when asked what makes Harrison so difficult to slow down. “It is extremely difficult to chart tendencies, much less trust tendencies, as you prepare for them. They play with a tremendous amount of confidence and appear to always attack where you’re not.”
The Hoyas’ defense ranks second in Class AAAAAA, giving up 10.7 points per game. Linebackers Marcus Bleazard and Caleb Williamson have combined for 153 tackles, 143 assists and 39 tackles for losses. The Hoyas have held nine of 14 opponents to 10 points or less and not allowed more than 25 points in any game.
“I think they play really fast and aggressive to the ball,” Land said. “They know where their help is and they play to that strength. They fly around and create plays. Plus, they have great depth on defense and were always fresh, it seemed.”
So which team has the advantage in the rematch? Land said it will come down to the teams’ health after 17 weeks, game plan and execution.
“I don’t think either team will make many, if any, errors that would beat themselves,” he said. “Each team must execute their game plan and then make halftime adjustments that will carry over from the locker room to the game field.”
About the Author
