The biggest storyline in Class 4A this week will be the 10 programs opening their seasons this week. This group includes Region 1′s Dougherty, Monroe and Westover, Region 3′s Islands, Jenkins and New Hampstead and Region 6′s Druid Hills, Stephenson, Arabia Mountain and Miller Grove. Before I get into some of the top matchups on the slate, there are two other overarching themes that I want to point out. The first is that the action will start early with four Thursday night matchups. This lineup includes No. 5 ranked Carver-Columbus taking on Shaw in Region 2 play, Luella and Mt. Zion-Jonesboro squaring off in Region 5, and Region 6′s Druid Hills (vs. Redan) and No. 4 ranked Stephenson (vs. Luella) also taking the field on Thursday. The next storyline to keep an eye on will be how the classification fares with its six matchups against ranked opponents from outside classifications. Bainbridge will challenge Class 5A No. 4 Ware County, Thomas County Central plays Class 6A No. 1 Valdosta, Westover faces Class 2A No. 7 Early County, Perry plays Class 5A No. 5 Veterans, Cedartown plays Class 2A No. 6 Heard County and Heritage-Catoosa faces Class A-Private No. 10 Darlington.
As for the top matchups to watch this week, here’s my two favorites:
Islands vs. No. 6 Jenkins: The Sharks will take on Jenkins in the season opener for both teams on Friday. This past season, Jenkins scored a 20-7 victory and proceeded to sweep its way through Region 3-AAA with an 8-0 record before making a run to the state quarterfinals where they fell 14-6 to Crisp County. Jenkins has a 6-0 all-time record against Islands, but the last two meetings have been much more competitive than the first four with last year’s 13-point margin and Jenkins scoring an 18-14 victory over Islands in 2018.
No. 2 Jefferson at Class 3A Hart County: Jefferson has been absolutely dominant over the course of its 3-0 start, topping Class 7A opponents Central Gwinnett 61-7 and Mountain View 40-7 and defeating Class 2A No. 1 Rabun County 28-14. Now, the Dragons will take on a Hart County team that will play their third ranked opponent of the season. Hart County opened its season with a 29-13 loss to Class 5A No. 7 Wayne County and then lost in a 60-47 shootout with Class 3A No. 8 White County. Prior to their Week 4 bye, the Bulldogs dominated North Hall 55-22. This past season, Jefferson won the matchup 28-23 and the Dragons have won five of the last six meetings between the school. Driving Jefferson’s success has been a rushing attack this is currently pacing the entire state. The Dragons have racked up a whopping 400 rushing yards per game. Junior Malaki Starks leads the ground game and has accounted for 462 yards off 38 carries (12.2 yards per carry) with seven of the team’s 17 rushing scores.
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