Today’s blog will take a look at the classification’s strongest contenders heading into Week 6 and will also examine the keys to each of their early successes. At the top of my list is No. 1 ranked Marist—which was forced to cancel its matchup with Chapel Hill this past week due to COVID and will not be back on the field until Week 7 against No. 8 ranked Hapeville Charter. The War Eagles have outscored their first three opponents this season by a whopping 111-3 margin (Holy Innocents' 43-0, Woodward Academy 23-3, Hampton 45-0). Hapeville Charter is ranked No. 8 in the AJC’s polls despite its 0-2 start due to the caliber of opponents it has faced. The Hornets have fallen to a pair of Class 7A schools (North Forsyth 28-14, Milton 43-18) and will square off with Mays this weekend in what will be Hapeville’s first game played within the classification.
No. 2 Jefferson has opened up a brilliant 4-0 start to the season and will take on No. 6 Flowery Branch on the road in a highly-anticipated matchup this Friday. Jefferson possesses one of the most effective rushing attacks in the entire state with Dragons' offense averaging 38.75 ppg behind it. The team has accounted for 1,345 rushing yards through its first four victories (336.3 yards per game) with an 8.2 average yard per carry. The passing game is also starting to get involved and the offense has now gone 7-of-25 passing for 225 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Jefferson’s run-heavy offense is in direct contrast with Flowery Branch’s high-powered passing game. With junior David Renard under center, the Falcons have already accounted for 1,324 passing yards (331 yards per game). When it comes to matchups, it does not get more interesting when you consider Jefferson’s 336.3 rushing yards per game and Flowery Branch’s 331 passing yards per game. Flowery Branch’s Renard has accounted for eight passing touchdowns and two interceptions so far and he will face a Jefferson defense that has five players that have hauled in interceptions through the Dragons' first four games. Flowery Branch opened its season with a 38-28 loss to St. Pius, but has scored victories over Dawson County (45-42), Gainesville (29-22) and Hiram (34-7) to improve to 3-1. This will be the third all-time meeting between the programs; Jefferson scored a 33-0 victory in 2016 and a 35-29 win in 2017.
At No. 3 in the polls in Benedictine, who has opened up an impressive 5-0 start and is getting set to take on an undefeated Ware County team this Friday. Junior quarterback Holden Geriner has been outstanding and highly-effective under center—accounting for 942 yards off of 50-of-73 passing with 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions. His top target is wide receiver Trent Broadnax who has hauled in 22 receptions for 430 yards and a classification-high nine receiving touchdowns. On the defensive side of the football, Holden Sapp is having an all-state season. Sapp has accounted for 53 total tackles so far, with 11.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 of the team’s 18 total sacks. Also, Justin Thomas has contributed on offense with nine catches for 213 yards and a pair of touchdowns while leading the Cadets with a team-high three interceptions.
Stephenson is currently ranked No. 4 and played its first game of the year this past week in a convincing 25-0 route over Lithonia. The Jaguars defense was absolutely dominant and held Lithonia to just 38 total yards of offense while forcing four turnovers. Offensively, running back Quashaun Johnson ran in two touchdowns. Linebacker Trenton Smith recorded an interception and returned a fumble for a touchdown, the Jags got a late safety off a mishandled punt and executed a successful field goal attempt. This Friday night, Stephenson will face off with Arabia Mountain in its Region 6 opener. The Jaguars are 4-0 all-time against the Rams and this will be the first meeting between the programs since 2015. Arabia Mountain was served a 22-7 defeat in its season opener against Decatur last week.
Sitting at No. 5 in the rankings right now is a Carver-Columbus team that has been utterly dominant over the course of its 3-0 start. More importantly, all three of the Tigers victories have come against Region 2 opponents. This trio of wins includes blowouts over Spencer (53-7), Kendrick (52-0) and Shaw (56-12). While Carver is lighting up the scoreboard at 54 points per game, the defense has already tallied 40 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. Carver will observe a bye this week before taking on a talented LaGrange team that has put together a strong 3-1 start and 2-0 record in Region 2 play. LaGrange and Carver-Columbus are the only teams in the nine-team region that are yet to be defeated in region action so this matchup will be huge for determining this year’s region champ.
Northwest Whitfield is off to its first 4-0 start since 2014 and is currently ranked No. 7 in the polls. The Bruins will be off on a bye this week to prepare for their Region 7 opener at Central-Carroll on Oct. 16. Leading this strong start has been the solid play of sophomore quarterback Owen Brooker. Through the first four games, Booker has completed 64-of-100 attempts for 912 yards (228 yards per game) with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. Junior Ray Morrison has racked up four of the 10 receiving touchdowns, including a 99-yard score in the 20-7 win over North Murray. Morrison currently has 343 receiving yards off his 13 catches.
Bainbridge is another team to keep an eye on this season and the Bearcats will be on a well-deserved bye this Friday night after taking on arguably the toughest four-game stretch out of any program in Class 4A thus far. Bainbridge is currently 1-3, but their first four contests came against Class 5A No. 4 Coffee, Class 6A No. 1 Valdosta, Class 2A No. 6 Thomasville and Class 5A No. 4 Ware County. Last Friday, Bainbridge came up short to Ware County in a 35-30 battle. Senior quarterback Quayde Hawkins completed 25-of-39 pass attempts for 341 yards and one touchdown, while rushing for three touchdowns in the loss to Ware County. Junior receiver Braxton Johnson also had a monster game with seven catches for 166 yards and a 57-yard touchdown. Defensively, outside linebacker Courtney Thomas registered 12 total tackles, including four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Through the first four games of the season, Thomas has accounted for 35 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks and one forced fumble.
The final team on this list is Islands, which unseated No. 6 ranked Jenkins 26-8 last Friday night in its season opener. The Sharks were led by quarterback Jadon Adams—who completed 9-of-15 attempts for 169 yards and two touchdowns while accounting for 93 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns off his 16 carries. Islands gets set to play Johnson-Savannah this Friday as the program competes in its abbreviated district-only schedule. Islands has won four-straight against the Atomsmashers—including last year’s 56-18 blowout.
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