Prince Avenue Christian lost some key players from its Class A Division I state championship team, but senior quarterback Aaron Philo is back and expecting to lead the way.
Philo, a three-star quarterback recruit who committed to Georgia Tech, led the Wolverines to a 52-34 victory against Swainsboro in the championship game last season. He was 21-of-32 passing for 447 yards and six touchdowns in the title game.
“He’s just a great kid and is easy to like,” coach Greg Vandagriff said. “He’s easy to pull for, and you want him in your huddle. He is uncannily accurate, and I’d say he’s a better athlete than you think. And that’s not a knock on anyone.”
The Wolverines won their first state title in 2020 in Class A Private, and Philo’s return has Prince Avenue looking for another deep postseason run.
Philo was 274-of-397 passing for 4,598 yards and 54 touchdowns last season, while rushing 68 times for 361 yards and eight touchdowns
“He does a really good job of extending plays and eluding pressure,” Vandagriff said. “He keeps his eyes downfield and hits his guy and really does it well. He’s just a calm kid, regardless if he’s playing in a big game. I remember his first game … we traveled to Savannah to play Calvary Day and he threw four (interceptions) and one was the ugliest (interception) I have ever seen. And we still had a chance to tie the game at the end.”
With a short memory, Philo made up for it the following week.
“He came back the next week and passed for 557 yards, fifth-most in state history,” Vandagriff said. “That just goes to show the resilience he has.”
And Philo will need resilience entering the season without his three 1,000-yard receivers from last season – Bailey Stockton (22 touchdown receptions), Josh Britt (17 TDs), Ethan Christian (12 TDs). The three accounted for 51 of the team’s 54 touchdown receptions.
“If I hadn’t (regrouped) a few times before, I might be nervous,” Vandagriff said. “But we rotate them out every two years, it seems. They’ll start as juniors, then when they’re a senior, we just kind of flow with them like you saw with the three last year.”
Running back Mac Bradley, who had 70 carries for 375 yards and six touchdowns in the championship season, also returns.
The new-look Wolverines take the field at Hammond, a program from Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 18 and will play Nashville Christian (Tenn.) on Aug. 25.
In Class A Division II, defending champion Bowdon is reloading after losing quarterback (Robert McNeal, 19 touchdown runs), leading rusher (T.J. Harvison, 23 TD runs) and leading receiver Cameron Holloway (four TD receptions).
But Bowdon, which defeated Schley County 39-31 in December for the program’s third state title, brings back junior Jordan Beasley, who had 74 carries for 380 yards and 16 touchdowns last season; junior JaMichael Jones, who had 43 carries for 311 yards and two touchdowns and Kaiden Prothro, who had 10 receptions for 216 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman.
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