Cedar Grove, Oconee County and Peach County will play against ranked opponents from higher classes in the third week of the Class 3A season.
Seventh-ranked Oconee County will play host to Class 5A No. 9 Jefferson in the Drive for the GHSA State Title program broadcast on PeachtreeTV, and Class 5A No. 10 Jones County will travel to No. 8 Peach.
But no task seems taller – and no future goals loftier – than top-ranked Cedar Grove’s trip to 7A No. 5 Collins Hill (2-0).
“We have some really good competitive teams and really good programs on the schedule,” Cedar Grove head coach John Adams told Craig Sager II on the “Georgia Prep Sports: Drive for the GHSA State Title” podcast Wednesday. “We’ve got Collins Hill and Mill Creek and Colquitt … that’s some really good ballclubs. We just want to come out and compete each week and get better. We want to have a really good week of practice, and I tell my kids [if we do that] Friday is going to be easy.”
The defending-champion Saints have won four state titles since 2016, and the program wants more. Much more. And this stretch of facing top-tier opponents is the proving ground to see if lofty goals are reachable.
“These games are really going to prepare us for some of our goals,” Adams said. “The state championship is one of them. But I think if we run the table, we will have an opportunity for a national championship, as well. You are talking about three or four teams ranked in the top 100 in the country on our schedule, including us. So we are going to go out and play Cedar Grove football and be aggressive and play hard and fight to the end for all four quarters.”
Cedar Grove defeated Class 7A No. 10 Westlake 30-20 last week in the first leg of its schedule of four ranked Class 7A programs in a row, all on the road. Collins Hill is coming off a 16-13 victory against Brookwood. Senior quarterback Mikey Sheenhan is 27-of-49 passing for 280 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles.
The Saints will play Mill Creek on Sept. 16, Colquitt County on Sept. 23 and then will travel to Washington D.C. to play nationally ranked St. John’s on October 1 before entering region play in mid-October.
“We have been blessed to play higher-classed teams and national schedules,” Adams said. “We have had those athletes who have put us in the position to get those big games.”
Class 3A top-10 schedule
1. (1) Cedar Grove (2-0) Friday at Class 7A No. 5 Collins Hill
2. (2) Carver-Columbus (2-0) Friday at Northeast
3. (3) Carver-Atlanta (2-0) Friday vs. Stephenson
4. (4) Calvary Day (2-0) Friday at Frederica
5. (5) Sandy Creek (3-0) Friday at East Coweta
6. (6) Crisp County (2-1) Friday vs. Sumter County
7. (7) Oconee County (2-1) Friday vs. Class 5A No. 9 Jefferson (On WPCH at 8 p.m.)
8. (8) Peach County (1-1) Friday vs. Class 5A No. 10 Jones County
9. (9) Dougherty (3-0) Friday vs. Hapeville Charter
10. (NR) Stephens County (2-1) Friday at Dawson County
About the Author
