When Georgia High School Football Daily previews for the AJC three Class 3A games in the Top 10 games of Week 8, you know the class is set for a large weekend.
The biggest statement that could be made in Fort Valley on Friday would be a Crisp County victory against No. 6 Peach County (3-2). The unranked Cougars fell from the No. 6-ranked team, to No. 10, to unranked after losses to Houston County (27-24), 4A No. 4 Perry (21-0) and A Private No. 2 ELCA (21-18).
Since then, the Crisp defeated Jackson 27-0, Upson-Lee 30-8 and Mary Persons 49-14 and will carry that momentum into the Peach game. With a chip on its shoulder after losing its first two games of the season (Phenix City 42-23, Northside-Warner Robins 28-14), Peach County is coming off a 62-0 victory against Pike County. The Trojans beat Mary Persons 35-13 Sept. 17 and Sumter County 59-0 Sept. 24.
The other big matchups include:
-- Top-ranked Cedar Grove (4-1) travels to Class 7A No. 7 Lowndes for the first meeting between the two storied programs. The Saints are coming off a 47-8 5-3A victory against Redan last week, and Lowndes is riding momentum from its 34-7 victory against Class 6A Alcovy.
-- No. 2 Oconee County (6-0) travels to No. 9 Hart County (6-0) for what could be the de facto 8-3A region championship game unless No. 8 Monroe Area has something to say about that. Hart, Monroe Area and Oconee currently lead the region standings at 1-0. Oconee County won last year’s game against Hart County 30-7.
(The GHSFD/AJC preview capsules for the three games are below.)
Here are some other noteworthy games:
-- No. 4 Appling County (6-0) enters region 6-3A play on the road against Long County.
-- Fifth-ranked Pierce County opens its region play as host to Brantley County (2-3) in a 1-3A game.
-- Thomson is 2-0 in Region 4-3A and travels to Cross Creek for another region game. The No. 7-ranked Bulldogs are tied with Harlem (2-0) atop the region.
-- Monroe Area hosts East Jackson in an 8-3A contest and is the favorite. The region – with No. 2 Oconee, No. 9 Hart County and Monroe – presents tough challenges. No other region currently has this many ranked teams.
-- No. 10 Rockmart (4-1) is 3-0 in 6-3A play and trails only Ringgold (6-0, 4-0). The Yellow Jackets travel to Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe for another region game this week. Ringgold, which faces Rockmart in the final game of the regular season on Nov. 5, hosts LaFayette (3-2, 2-1) this week.
-- No. 3 Sandy Creek is off and will travel to Greater Atlanta Christian on Oct. 15.
Follow the links to the MAXWELL PROJECTIONS and the PREP SCOREBOARD to keep up this weekend.
Week 8 Class 3A top-10 schedule
1. (1) Cedar Grove (4-1) – Friday at Class 7A No. 7 Lowndes, 8 p.m.
2. (2) Oconee County (6-0) – Friday at No. 9 Hart County, 7:30 p.m. (8-3A game)
3. (4) Sandy Creek (6-0) – Off.
4. (6) Appling County (6-0) -- Friday at Long County, 7:30 p.m. (1-3A game)
5. (3) Pierce County (4-2) – Friday vs. Brantley County, 7:30 p.m.
6. (5) Peach County (3-2) – Friday vs. Crisp County, 8 p.m.
7. (7) Thomson (5-0) – Friday at Cross Creek, 7:30 p.m.
8. (8) Monroe Area (6-0) – Friday vs. East Jackson, 7:30 p.m.
9. (9) Hart County (6-0) – Friday at No. 2 Oconee County, 7:30 p.m.
10. (NR) Rockmart (4-1) – Friday at Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, 7:30 p.m.
Here are the three games previewed by GHSFDaily/AJC.
Cedar Grove at Lowndes
When, where: 8 p.m. Friday, Martin Stadium, Valdosta
Records, rankings: Cedar Grove is 4-1 and No. 1 in Class 3A; Lowndes is 4-2 and No. 7 in 7A.
Last meeting: This is the teams’ first meeting.
Things to know: Cedar Grove is unafraid of Class 7A opponents. The Saints beat Milton 14-7 last season, though the win was overturned by forfeit because of ineligible players. Lowndes hasn’t lost to a school more than one class below it since 1987, when Camden County was in Class 2A. Cedar Grove is rich with major Division I recruits. RB Rashod Dubinion, an Arkansas commit, has rushed for 627 yards and 10 touchdowns. Also committed are WR Janiran Bonner (Georgia Tech), LB Carlton Madden (Georgia), CB Kayin Lee (Georgia) and DL Joshua White (Memphis). DL Christen Miller is a four-star recruit. Junior DL Adonijah Green, who has 10 offers, leads the team in tackles and sacks. Lowndes scores 34.3 points per game by averaging nearly identical yardage numbers rushing and passing. Jacurri Brown, committed to Miami, has thrown for 916 yards and rushed for 409. Lowndes has lost to Walton in overtime and to Lee County by three points. The Vikings allowed 139 points over their first four games but only seven in the past two.
Crisp County at Peach County
When, where: 8 p.m. Friday, Trojan Field at Anderson Stadium, Fort Valley
Records, rankings: Crisp County is 3-3 overall, 3-0 in Region 2-3A and unranked; Peach County is 3-2, 3-0 and No. 6.
Last meeting: Peach County won 14-13 in 2020.
Things to know: These are the only Region 2-3A teams without a region loss. Crisp and Peach are 55-0 in region games since 2016 when not facing each other. They became region rivals last year for the first time since 2009. Peach is 6-0 against Crisp since 1996. In the 2020 game, Crisp scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to get within 14-13 but threw incomplete under heavy rush on the two-point try in the final two minutes. Crisp suffered heavy graduation losses and is rebuilding a bit under first-year coach Miguel Patrick, formerly of Cedar Grove. One building block is four-year starter Marquise Palmer, who has rushed for 3,559 yards and 41 touchdowns in his career. Peach started 0-2 with losses to Phenix City, Ala., and Northside of Warner Robins but has won three games easily since then. Christian Martin has thrown seven TD passes the past two games. LaDaria Leggett had three TD receptions last week against Pike County.
Oconee County at Hart County
When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Pete Herndon Stadium, Hartwell
Records, rankings: Oconee County is 6-0 overall, 1-0 in Region 8-3A and No. 2; Hart County is 6-0, 1-0 and No. 9.
Last meeting: Oconee County won 30-7 in 2020.
Things to know: These are two of three 6-0, 1-0, teams in Region 8-3A. The other is eighth-ranked Monroe Area. Hart County has rebounded from its 3-6 finish of 2020 with its first 6-0 start since 2014. The Bulldogs have scored no fewer than 37 points in any game and average 50.0. J.L. Lackey rushed for 225 yards against Franklin County last week, putting him at 1,048 for the season in just five games, as one of Hart’s victories is by forfeit. Oconee County is more of a passing team. Jacob Wright has thrown for 932 yards and 13 touchdowns. Darius Johnson (17-366-5) and Jake Johnson (21-290-4) are the top receivers. Oconee County is the third-best Class 3A team at preventing points when considering strength of schedule, according to the Maxwell Ratings. Hart County had beaten Oconee County 15 consecutive times until 2020, though that was their first meeting since 2015.
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