Let’s take a look at some of the top Class 2A boys and girls games taking place this weekend.
We’ll start on the girls’ side, where this week’s marquee matchup takes place in Region 8 when the top-ranked Rabun County Lady Wildcats (11-1) play their first league game at the No. 4 Elbert County Lady Blue Devils (10-2, 1-0) on Friday.
The Lady Wildcats are 14-0 against the Lady Blue Devils dating back to the 2013-14 season.
They are also coming off their first loss of the season, which came on the road at the hands of 4A’s top-ranked Jefferson, 65-62. They had a chance to tie at the end of regulation but a 3-point attempt came up short, according to Jeff Hart’s writeup for accessWDUN.
The Lady Blue Devils rebounded from a 55-41 loss to 4A’s Cedar Shoals on Friday by blowing out Oconee County 49-19 on Tuesday. The previous Tuesday, they won their region opener 54-41 at No. 10 Banks County.
If the Lady Blue Devils win Friday, it will be the first time they’ve beaten Rabun County since Dec. 8, 2012.
In Region 3, the No. 3 Washington County Lady Golden Hawks (5-0, 3-0) travel to the No. 9 Northeast Lady Raiders (5-1, 3-0) on Friday.
Jakia Little, a junior guard, leads the Lady Raiders with 20.7 points and 9.3 rebounds and also has 5.7 steals. In their last game, a 64-39 win over Dodge County on Jan. 9, she had 26 points and sophomore Shadae Thorpe had 14 points, 10 rebounds and six steals.
The Lady Golden Hawks are led by senior guard Miracle parker (23.2 points). Their last game was also against Dodge County, but on Jan. 8, and they won 72-30, with Parker notching 31 points on 13-for-17 shooting (76 percent), including 5-for-8 from 3-point range.
On the boys side, the top-ranked Pace Academy Knights (14-1) will travel to play the Newton Rams (7-7) on Friday. Don’t let the Rams’ record fool you, however — MaxPreps has them as the No. 22 team in the state, regardless of classification.
Six of the Rams’ losses have come to ranked teams: 7A’s No. 2 Grayson, No. 3 Pebblebrook, No. 4 McEachern and No. 9 North Gwinnett, 5A’s No. 6 Woodward Academy and Houston (Tennessee), the No. 4 overall team in the state according to MaxPreps. They’ll also be looking to bounce back against Pace after losing a region game to unranked Parkview 64-62 on Tuesday.
The Knights, on the other hand, are riding high after a 56-44 win Tuesday over previously-undefeated Galloway, the No. 4 team in 1A Private. Matthew Cleveland paced Pace with 22 points and added 11 boards, but the story of the night was senior wing Cole Middleton eclipsing 1,000 points for his career. The Cleveland State signee finished with nine points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
Other notable games: Boys — No. 2 Swainsboro (7-1, 4-0 Region 2) at Vidalia (7-4, 2-2), No. 4 Woodville-Tompkins (10-1, 4-1 Region 2) at Bacon County (5-2, 2-1), No. 5 Washington County (5-0, 3-0 Region 3) at Northeast (4-1, 4-0), No. 6 Thomasville (8-1, 3-0 Region 1) at Berrien (4-2, 2-0); Girls — 3A’s East Jackson (5-1) at No. 10 Banks County (11-7), No. 5 Woodville-Tompkins (9-2, 4-1 Region 2) at Bacon County (4-2, 2-1), No. 6 East Laurens (7-2, 5-1 in Region 2) at Bacon County (4-2, 2-1), Alabama’s Sylvania (7-4) at No. 8 Dade County (5-2), 4 Elbert County (10-2) at Evans (7-3).
Note: All scheduled games mentioned here are subject to cancellation or postponement due to COVID-19 concerns. All stats, schedules and records are courtesy of information contributed to MaxPreps. All player ratings and rankings are courtesy of the 247Sports composite.
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