In what is shaping up as a classic offense vs. defense game, No. 8 Westminster will see how good its defense is when it travels to the Granite Bowl in Elberton to play No. 6 Elbert County.
Elbert County (2-0) has totaled 77 points in two victories over schools from larger classifications. Elbert’s offense is led by junior quarterback Mecole Hardman, who already has a mailbag full of offers from big-time programs like Penn State and Tennessee after running for 1,672 yards a year ago, and running back Rantious Reed, who ran for 980 yards in 2013.
“They’re outstanding at every position,” Westminster coach Gerry Romberg said. “You really can’t find a weakness on their team. We’ve got to find a way to not give up the big play. Right now we’re working to try and get better.”
Westminster (2-0) has totaled only 27 points and has relied heavily on its defense, which has allowed just 16 points. The Wildcats have gotten exceptional play and leadership from linebacker Charlie Trense, who is going to Notre Dame to play lacrosse. Trense had 14 tackles in the opener and 12 in the second game.
Elbert coach Sid Fritts said, “From what we’ve seen on film they look pretty good on offense, too, even in the points don’t really reflect it.”
Both teams are already starting to get chewed up after enduring two very physical games.
“We look more like a team at the Game 8 or Game 9 point than at Game 3,” Fritts said. “But we’re always excited about getting a chance to play a good football team.”
Westminster leads the series 3-2, but Elbert won the last meeting 33-14 in 2005.
Here are four other games of interest for AAA fans to keep an eye this week:
Ringgold at Adairsville: Ringgold and Adairsville, two programs headed in an upward direction, meet in an important Region 6-AAA game.
While both teams still have to play No. 2-ranked Calhoun, the winner of tonight’s game in Adairsville will certainly have a leg up toward the goal of hosting a first-round playoff game.
No. 7 Ringgold was idle last week after opening with victories over Northwest Whitfield and Heritage. Adairsville is 2-0 with wins over Ridgeland and Woodland, and have totaled 80 points.
“Adairsville has got a great football team,” said Ringgold coach Robert Akins. “They’ve got all their skill people returning and they’re much better than they were last year.”
And Adairsville wasn’t bad last year. Coach Eric Bishop’s team was 7-4 and made the playoffs for the third straight season.
Adairsville is led by quarterback Marcus Childers, who ran for 922 yards and threw for 772 a year ago, and tailback Sidnee Johnson, who scored 14 touchdowns in 2013.
Ringgold is led by quarterback Devin Lancaster and versatile running backs Kile Sholl and D.L. Goins.
The teams have met only four times, with the series deadlocked 2-2. Ringgold won last year 38-20 in the most one-sided of the meetings. The average margin of victory in the previous three games was 3.6 points.
Pierce County at Cook: If Pierce wants to regain the region championship (which Appling County wrestled away last year) the road starts this week against Cook. The Hornets are 0-2 under first-year coach Jon Lindsey, but considered a contender in a region that got a lot more difficult this year.
Pierce (2-0) lost quarterback Tyler Harris, now at Central Florida, and is splitting time between Stetson Bennett and JaMar Lincoln. Running backs Josh Bennett and Michael Bush combined for 227 yards in the season opener over Southeast Bulloch.
Cook is trying to make the switch from the Wing-T to the spread offense. The Hornets have a young offensive line, but a solid quarterback in Conner Hilliard.
Commerce at Jefferson: Back in the day this was one of the fiercest small-town rivalries in the state. Commerce was the power back then and won 12 straight meetings. But things tilted toward Jefferson in 2007 and the Dragons have won six of the last seven, including last year's game 40-0, the most lopsided score in the series since Commerce won by the same score in 1996. Commerce leads the series 42-21-5.
“But if you look at the year we won state, we went 14-1 and Commerce is the one that beat us,” Jefferson coach Ben Hall said. “It’s just a special game for our community and our school. We’ve got to eliminate the distractions and keep them focused.”
Jefferson, No. 4 in AAA, has been overpowering in its first three games behind quarterback Evan Shirreffs, who has thrown for 717 yards and five touchdowns. He threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns to T.J. Skelton last week against North Hall. The rushing attack is led by Colby Wood (336 yards, six TDs) and Sammy Williams (297 yards, five TDs). The Dragons have scored 41 or more points in each game.
Commerce has shaken off the loss of its two top rushers from last year to win its first two games. Cole Chancey has picked up some of the slack. The Tigers rushed for 350 yards last week against Hebron Christian in the Region 8-A opener, which was much better than the previous week when they fumbled five times and lost four of them against Banks County. The Commerce defense had two key goal-line stands in the win over Banks County.
“Our offense will see more multiple looks from them than anybody we’ll see,” Hall said. “We’re young up front and those guys have to be ready to make the necessary adjustments.”
Hart County at Thomson: Hart County is 2-0 with impressive wins over Clarke Central and Franklin County. Coach William Devane's Bulldogs has scored 75 total points and allowed only 14 points in each of the two games. Hart's defense is led by end Marterious Allen and cornerback Sean Harper, a pair of college prospects.
Class AAAA Thomson is trying to rebound from a disappointing 3-7 season under new coach Rob Ridings, who has installed the Wing-T formation. There’s much inexperience on offense, with nearly all newcomers at the skill positions. The defense is more experienced and returns leading tacklers Billy Youngblood and Ka’Wann Bell at linebacker and Nick Moss at end.
The series is tied 2-2. Hart County won the last meeting 24-6 in 2009.
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