Here’s a look at the top five games of Week 2:
No. 1 (Private) Eagle's Landing Christian (1-0) at Class AAA No. 6 Pace Academy (1-0)
(Courtesy of Georgia High School Football Daily) Pace Academy won 17-16 in 2018, ending ELCA's 37-game winning streak, tied for eighth-longest in GHSA history. Pace trailed 16-0 in the first half but held ELCA to one first down and 14 yards of total offense in the second. ELCA gambled and lost on a fourth-and-2 play on its 29-yard line in the third quarter, and Pace gambled and won by going for two and the win in the fourth quarter. ELCA went on to win the Class A private-school championship for the fourth consecutive season. ELCA opened the 2019 season with a 55-13 victory over Morrow. Keaton Mitchell, a 2,000-yard rusher last season, ran for 145 yards. Gabe Wright, replacing three-year starter Brayden Rush at quarterback, was 16-of-20 passing for 223 yards and four touchdowns. Pace won 7-6 against New Manchester, a team it beat 31-0 last season. Pace scored its touchdown on a 10-yard drive following a blocked punt in the first quarter. New Manchester missed an extra point. Pace's best players are WR Jayden Thomas (four-star recruit) and CB Mibiti Williams (committed to Navy).
No. 2 (Public) Irwin County vs. Class AA No. 4 Fitzgerald
(Courtesy of Georgia High School Football Daily) Irwin County won 16-10 last season, its first victory over the Purple Hurricanes since 1999, breaking an 0-17-1 drought. Irwin held Fitzgerald to 175 yards of total offense. Both teams won easily last week. For Irwin, Zach Smith was 8-of-10 passing for 171 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-7 victory over Berrien. The varsity allowed only 51 yards of total offense and no points before being pulled. Irwin's all-state running back, D.J. Lundy, missed the game with a knee injury and won't return for several weeks. Fitzgerald QB Rashad Davis was 6-of-7 passing for 69 yards and rushed for 33 yards on four carries in limited work last week in a 46-3 win over Bacon County. Fitzgerald's strength is in defensive linemen Maucarie Holmes (6-2, 260), Tony Duffie (6-0, 340) and Dequavion Harper (5-11, 240). The teams know each other well. Irwin coach Buddy Nobles was a Fitzgerald assistant from 2007 to 2011, and his son Kaleb was an all-state quarterback for Fitzgerald.
No. 7 (Private) Savannah Christian (0-1) vs. Oceanside Collegiate (SC) The Raiders will look to bounce back from a 35-7 thumping at the hands of last year's private school state runner-up, Athens Academy, in Week 1. The lone bright spot was a 60-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter by senior RB Marquell Brown. Last season, Savannah Christian smashed Oceanside, 54-14. The Landsharks program is just four years old. The school is located in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, along the coast just northeast of Charleston. Oceanside went on to make the South Carolina state playoffs last season and won its season opener last week, 58-12, over Baptist Hill. The Landsharks are loaded with seniors this season, including QB Sean Cooney (6-5, 195), RB Keegan Williams (5-9, 180), WR Walker Rhue (5-7, 155), and DB Gray Sobel (5-11, 180).
No. 8 Hebron Christian (0-1) at Holy Innocents' (1-0). The Lions gave up three scoring plays of 70 yards or more in a 46-28 loss to No. 1 and defending public champion Clinch County in the opener. Hebron trailed 20-0 at the half but rallied for four touchdowns in the second half. Meanwhile, Holy Innocents' offensive line of center Conor Swennumson, guards Charlie Hawk and Hall O'Neal, tackles Blake Dobbs and Mac Mitchell and tight end James Gleeson cleared the way for 430 rushing yards in a 28-0 victory over Mount Pisgah Christian in their opener last week. Hebron defeated the Golden Bears 38-14 in last season's matchup.
Bowden (1-0) vs. Class AA Breman (0-1). This rivalry between west Georgia schools is one of the state's best kept secrets. Bowden and Breman have been going at each other since 1936, and at least once every year since 1954. Bowden leads the all- time series, 44-28, but Breman has won the last two meetings, including last year's 41-7 blowout. Bowden is coming off of a 14-10 win over the Valwood School from the Georgia Independent Schools Association (GISA), while Breman fell to Class AA No. 7 Rabun County, 34-13.
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