A battle featuring Fitzgerald, No. 1 in Class AA, and Macon County, No. 1 in Class A Public, along with several private vs. public matchups are the top games of this weekend in Class A. Here are a few:
No. 1 in Class AA Fitzgerald (1-0) at No. 1 (Public) Macon County (2-0)
(Preview courtesy of Georgia High School Football Daily) This game originally was to be played on Friday but was rescheduled as an indirect result of the bad weather in south Georgia last week. Macon County's game last Friday against Irwin County was postponed until Monday, so the Fitzgerald game was pushed back a day. Irwin County has played both teams this season and lost by similar scores - 56-19 against Fitzgerald and 57-15 against Macon County. Fitzgerald has had two off weeks in the first three weeks of the season. The Purple Hurricane rushed for 366 yards against Irwin County, led by RB J.D. King's 119 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. QB James Graham rushed for 75 yards and was 4-for-7 passing for 81 yards and three TDs. Macon County QB K'hari Lane is 32-for-52 passing for 593 yards and nine touchdowns in two games. He threw for 329 yards and five TDs against Irwin County. WR Trey Brown had three touchdown receptions and RB Jared Daniels rushed for 131 yards in a 45-0 win over Dooly County in the opener.
No. 10 in Class AA Heard County (3-0) at No. 6 (Private) Darlington (1-1). (Preview courtesy of Georgia High School Football Daily) Heard County's Austin Miller had six receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns and returned a kickoff 83 yards for another score in a 38-28 victory over New Manchester last week. He also returned the opening kickoff 84 yards for a TD the previous week in a 47-6 win over Greenville. QB Emory Jones (committed to Ohio State) has five TD passes in the past two games. Darlington runs the ball about 80 percent of the time in an offense that features RB Tijai Whatley, who has rushed for 205 yards and three TDs on 28 carries. He had 1,190 yards last year in a sophomore season that was limited to eight games because of injury. Elijah McKoy has 154 yards rushing and a team-leading three catches for 54 yards. This is the first game between the schools, which are located about 80 miles apart in west Georgia, and it is a rare meeting with a private school for Heard County. The Braves haven't faced a private school since beating Wesleyan in the first round of the 2014 playoffs. Their last regular-season game against a private school came in 2003.
Class AAA Hart County (1-1) at No. 1 (Private) Eagle's Landing Christian Academy (2-0). This is ELCA's final non-region game before it begins its Region 5 schedule next week. All three of the Chargers' non-region games are against teams from larger classifications. ELCA has been led so far this season by its defense, which held Class AAAAA Eagle's Landing to just 13 points and less than 100 yards of offense, and kept Class AAAAAA Joneboro's offense out of the end zone in an 8-2 Charger win. This is the first time ELCA has faced Hart County, a perennial playoff contender that finished 7-4.
No. 3 Landmark Christian School (2-0) at Brookstone (1-1).
This game will most likely be a quick one, as both teams feature a power running game. Landmark’s is led by all-state senior RB/LB Lofton Tidwell, who gained more than 1,800 yards last season. The War Eagles picked up a big win over Stratford Academy of Macon last week, 13-3. Tidwell has been a stalwart on defense as well, where he is aided by Joey Blount, Brandon Stone, Luke McLain and Nicolas Toomer. Brookstone of Columbus is paced by 6-foot-1, 300-pound lineman William Nana-Fabu, who holds an offer from Marshall as well as Abilene Christian, Dartmouth, Kentucky Christian and Stetson. The Cougars ground game features QB Russell Blanchard and RB Josh Long. The all-time series is tied 4-4, though Brookstone has won the last two meetings, 34-14 in 2008 and 31-17 in 2009.
Other games of note:
No. 6 (Private) Calvary Day (2-0) at No. 10 (Private) Aquinas (1-1)
Athens Christian (1-1) at Athens Academy (2-0)
Greenville (0-3) at Bowden (1-1)
Our Lady of Mercy (1-1) at Fellowship Christian (2-0)
Hawkinsville (2-0) at No. 9 (Private) First Presbyterian Day (2-0)
Gordon Lee (2-0) at Class AAA Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe (0-2)
Johnson County (3-0) at Wilkinson County (0-2)
No. 5 (Public) Marion County (2-0) at Pacelli (0-2)
Charlton County (0-1) at Savannah Christian (1-1)
Stratford Academy (1-1) at Atkinson County (1-1)
Class AA Toombs County (1-1) at Telfair County (1-0)
No. 10 (Public) Trion (2-0) at Class AAA Bremen (0-2)
About the Author
