The last time Monroe Area and Jefferson played, it was roughly three years after the end of the Second World War. The date was Sept. 17, 1948, and at the time the country was collectively spending most of its time buying cars and building houses and families. That night, as Monroe Area built its lead on Jefferson in the season-opener, the NFL penalty flag was introduced in a game between the Green Bay Packers and the Boston Yanks.
Monroe Area won the inaugural game in blowout fashion, 26-0, in coach Bill Davies' first season. Frank Snyder, in his second season, was at the helm of the Jefferson program. After that blowout victory, the teams took a break in the series that has lasted all the way to Friday, when Monroe Area will travel to Jefferson for the first meeting in 70 years.
By the way, the Packers beat the Yanks 31-0 before losing the final seven games of the year to finish a dismal 3-9.
Now, back in the future, Kevin Reach is leading the third-ranked Monroe Area program against Gene Cathcart's Jefferson team. With both teams 4-0 in Region 8 and the nearest competition too deep in the loss column, this is the region title game.
On paper, Monroe Area is the favorite. Quarterback Chandler Byron, a 6-foot, 160-pound senior is 39-of-66 passing for 898 yards and 12 touchdowns. Byron leads Monroe Area in rushing yards with 1,632 yards on 150 carries with 23 touchdowns. Byron's favorite receiver is 6-3, 170-pound senior Emmanuel Okwudili, who has seven touchdowns and 385 yards on 13 catches. Isaiah Glasper has three touchdown receptions and 221 yards on seven catches.
Utilizing this potent combination, the Purple Hurricanes have shut out every opponent since entering region play – Morgan County (39-0), East Jackson (62-0), Jackson County (63-0) and Hart County (38-0). Against East Jackson, Jefferson managed a 70-0 shutout, besting Monroe Area's 62-0 effort.
Jefferson is facing an injury to its quarterback, junior Colby Clark, and will need every bit of offensive production to hang with high-scoring Monroe Area. But the Dragons are capable. Against Morgan County, Jefferson scored 35 points, but its defense allowed Morgan County 14 points; Monroe Area shut out Morgan.
Jefferson, which features a run-heavy offense anyway, only has relied on seven touchdown passes this season, three from backup quarterback Carter Stephenson. It has rushed for 31 touchdowns with the injured Clark leading with nine. Donsha Gaither, a 6-2 junior, adds six rushing touchdowns and 387 yards on 41 carries. Kade McNally has four touchdowns with 216 yards on 24 carries.
Here are some of the other top games:
Region 3
-- Southeast Bulloch at Benedictine: Two of the top-teams from Region 3 will battle for supremacy as the two remaining unbeaten (5-0) teams in the region. Jenkins, at 5-1, is still a challenger in that race.
Benedictine holds the margin 2-0 in the series. In 2016, Benedictine won 33-6. Last year, the Cadets won 48-7. Since joining AAA, Benedictine has dropped just one game to Class AAAA Blessed Trinity (38-7 on Sept. 7). The Cadets have two shutouts – Groves and Savannah in back-to-back weeks – and are coming off a 45-7 victory against Islands.
Southeast Bulloch is coming off a stretch of three games in eight days following weather interruptions from Hurricane Florence. The Yellow Jackets moved past Windsor Forest (16-9) on Oct. 1, Jenkins (9-8) on Oct. 6 and Savannah (40-0) on Oct. 9.
Region 5
– No. 2 Cedar Grove at No. 10 Pace Academy: The teams have met twice, and Cedar Grove has won twice. In 2016, Cedar Grove won 49-0 and last year the Saints won 28-7. Second-ranked Cedar Grove controls its destiny this season, and on paper, it could be argued that the Saints have the best team in the class. Cedar Grove is simply destroying the competition in challenging Region 5. Last week Westminster (30-3), with a field goal, scored the first points against Cedar Grove since the Saints entered inter-league play. It has shut out Lovett, Redan and Towers in Region 5.
Pace has shown scoring abilities. Against Stone Mountain on Sept. 28, Pace won 61-18 in very convincing fashion. It is coming off a 17-13 victory against Lovett, a team which Cedar Grove defeated 45-0.
Here's the Class AAA top-10 weekend:
1. (1) Calhoun (7-0, 5-0) – Travels to Coahulla Creek (1-6, 1-4) for a Region 6 game.
2. (2) Cedar Grove (7-1, 4-0) – Travels to No. 10 Pace Academy (5-3, 3-1) for a Region 5 game
3. (3) Monroe Area (8-0, 4-0) – Travels to No. 8 Jefferson (8-1, 4-0) for a Region 8 game. (see above).
4. (4) Peach County (5-2, 3-0) – Plays at home against Central-Macon (2-6, 1-3) in a Region 4 game.
5. (5) Westminster (Atlanta) (4-3, 2-1) – Travels to Redan (0-2, 0-6) for a Region 5 game.
6. (6) Greater Atlanta Christian (6-2, 4-0) – Travels to Cherokee Bluff (0-4, 0-8) for a Region 7 game.
7. (7) Benedictine (6-1, 5-0) – Plays at home against Southeast Bulloch (7-0, 5-1) in a Region 3 game. (see above).
8. (8) Jefferson (7-1, 4-0) – Plays at home against No. 3 Monroe Area in a Region 8 game. (see above).
9. (9) Dawson County (6-1, 2-1) – Travels to Fannin County (3-4, 2-1) for a Region 7 game.
10. (10) Pace Academy (5-3, 3-1) – Plays at home against No. 2 Cedar Grove for a Region 5 game.
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