Lee County has won two consecutive Class AAAAAA football championships and 21 straight games against Georgia opponents, but the Trojans will face a different type of challenge Friday night when they host Life Christian Academy of Chester, Va.
Life Christian did not have a football program less than two years ago, but the school has since dedicated itself to building a football powerhouse, bringing in numerous players and playing a national schedule.
The Eagles finished 2-6 last year in their first season against a schedule that included opponents from Virginia, Texas, Maryland and Connecticut. This year, they have two games against Georgia teams (at Buford on Sept. 13), plus games against teams from Washington, D.C., New Jersey, Maryland and Florida.
Life Christian has three players among the top 41 seniors in Virginia, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, led by cornerback Joseph Johnson, the state’s No. 10 player and a Penn State commitment. The Eagles also have three juniors among the top 34 in their class in Virginia.
“I think they have 10 players with Power 5 scholarship offers right now,” Lee County head coach Dean Fabrizio told Joe Whitfield of the Albany Herald. “They have 10 more with other Division I offers. They are building a program on the IMG or St. Frances Academy model, and they play a national schedule instead of playing for a state championship. If you are going to schedule teams like they have, you have got to have some talented players.”
St. Frances Academy, of Baltimore, beat Lee County 43-14 in a postseason bowl game in December and is ranked No. 1 nationally this week by CalPreps. St. Frances beat Life Christian 51-6 during the regular season last year.
Lee County is 1-0 after a 28-0 victory over Dougherty last week that was stopped in the second quarter because of the weather. Life Christian is playing its season opener.
Lee County is one of seven Class AAAAAA teams that will play out-of-state competition this week. The others include:
- Bartram Trail, Fla. at Brunswick (Friday)
- Evans at North Augusta, S.C. (Friday)
- South Aiken, S.C. at Lakeside-Evans (Friday)
- Midland Valley, S.C. at Grovetown (Friday)
- Mays vs. Carver-Birmingham, Ala. (Saturday at Lakewood Stadium)
- Jones, Fla. at John’s Creek (Friday)
Here are five other games a little closer to home involving AAAAAA teams to keep an eye on this weekend:
*Alpharetta at Milton (Thursday): These north Fulton rivals will kick off the Freedom Bowl, a series of six games being played over three days at Milton. Teams from Ohio, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee also will participate, with two games Friday night and three games Saturday. Milton beat Alpharetta 37-27 last year and went on to finish 13-2 and win the Class AAAAAAA championship.
*Lovejoy at Mundy's Mill (Friday at Twelve Oaks Stadium): Region play in 4-AAAAAA begins with a bang as two of the region's four playoff teams from last year meet in Week 2. Lovejoy stopped a late two-point conversion attempt in last year's game to preserve a 36-34 victory, its 11th consecutive win in the series. Lovejoy finished third in the region in 2018; Mundy's Mill was fourth.
*Mill Creek at Dacula (Friday): Dacula will try to end a four-game losing streak against its Gwinnett County rival, which has won four consecutive games (including 49-21 last year) in a series it leads 9-4. Dacula QB Jarrett Jenkins and RB Trenton Jones are among eight returning starters from an offense that helped lead the Falcons to their first 11-win season and semifinal appearance since 2005.
*Stephenson at Southwest DeKalb (Friday at Hallford Stadium): Southwest DeKalb broke a seven-game losing streak against Stephenson with a 21-14 overtime win last season. Stephenson got a boost in its 27-14 victory over Columbia last week. Deondre Jackson, a Texas A&M commit who missed most of last season with an injury, rushed for 149 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
*Peach County at Northside-Warner Robins (Saturday): Peach County, which beat Northside 27-24 last year, is ranked No. 1 in Class AAA after losing in the state finals the past two seasons. Northside is No. 4 in Class AAAAAA after beating Centennial 46-13 last week. Mason Ford, the Eagles' new starting quarterback, ran for 178 yards, passed for 76 and had a hand in four touchdowns.
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