Sports

Top AAA games: From North to South

By Stan Awtrey
Sept 10, 2015

Here are five games worth keeping an eye on in Class AAA this week:

Adairsville (2-0) at Ringgold (1-1) : The winner of this game will become the team that No. 1-ranked Calhoun must likely beat in order to win Region 6-AAA. Adairsville beat Ringgold 35-0 in 2014 and leads the series 3-2.

Adairsville’s top threat is running back Sidnee Johnson. The senior has carried 40 times for 326 yards and six touchdowns. The defense is led by lineman Drake Green, linebackers Daelen Harrison and Dallas Cannon and safety Torrey Hale.
Ringgold is led by quarterback Devin Lancaster, who threw for 1,574 yards and 17 touchdowns. He threw for 376 yards against Heritage in the opener. The Tigers lost their two most productive running backs, but expect big things from transfer Dee King.

Cook (1-1) at Pierce County (1-1): This is first of many interesting matchups in Region 1 Div. A, which is among the deepest leagues in the state.

No. 10 Cook forced four turnovers against Berrien and turned them into 17 points in the 20-0 win. Trea Jackson had an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown that set the pace. The Hornets are led by quarterback Connor Hilliard and have a big weapon in kicker Noe Moreno.
Pierce has a strong offense; the Bears have scored 40 points in each of their first two games. Junior quarterback Stetson Bennett leads the Pierce offense.
Pierce County leads the series 3-2 and won last year’s game 35-0.

Elbert County (2-0) at Westminster (1-1): No. 4 Elbert County quarterback Mecole Hardman has been a handful this season. He ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns in Friday's 34-30 win over Stephens County, and has rushed for 236 yards and four touchdowns and thrown for 159 yards and two touchdowns. No. 3 Westminster, which lost 10-3 to Laney on Friday, beat Elbert a year ago, but the Blue Devils were without Hardman, who had sustained a knee injury.

Jefferson (3-0) at Commerce (2-0): This is one of the most fierce rivalries in Northeast Georgia. Commerce leads the series 42-22-5, but Jefferson has won the last two meetings and seven of the last eight.  Commerce will need to find a way to slow Jefferson tailback Colby Wood, who rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns on Friday against North Hall and has 615 yards rushing and nine touchdowns in three games.

Morgan County (0-2) at Greene County (2-0): These two Lake Oconee rivals have been playing for a long time. This may be Greene County's best chance to end a six-game losing streak to Morgan County, which leads the series 26-23-1. Morgan County won 32-22 a year ago.

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Stan Awtrey

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