Calvary stays perfect Calvary Day improved to 7-0 for the first time since 2016 and moved up one spot to No. 2 in the Private Top 10 after an impressive 42-6 drubbing of previous No. 10 Stratford Academy. The Cavaliers scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions in the first half to take a 42-0 lead by halftime. Along with the team being “perfect” to this point, sophomore QB Jake Merklinger was “perfect” as well Friday night, garnering a passer rating of 158.3, the highest measurement possible for the position. Merklinger completed 14-of-18 passes for 246 yards and 5 touchdowns (with no interceptions) to four different receivers – two to freshman Edward Coleman and one each to sophomores Michael Smith and Caden Arnold, and senior D Singleton Jr. Freshman RB Donovan Johnson was a “perfect” 10 as well, with 10 carries for 100 yards (10 yards per carry) and a touchdown.
Trinity makes a loud statement Private No. 1 Trinity Christian vanquished a bit of a demon and made an emphatic statement that it is the team to beat for the Private title, as the Lions rolled to a 34-3 win over previous No. 2 Eagle’s Landing Christian, dropping the Chargers to No. 5 this week. Trinity (6-0) had not beaten ELCA in four previous tries, prior to Friday night. The Chargers had beaten them by a combined score of 199-24, including a 34-0 beatdown last season. But the Lions enacted their revenge Friday as senior QB and Western Michigan commit David Dallas ran for a pair of touchdowns in the first few minutes of the game and the rout was on from there. ELCA got on the board early in the second quarter with a 24-yard field goal, but Trinity added two field goals of its own before halftime to build a 20-3 lead at the break. The Lions added touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter, and the defense blanked the Chargers in the second half. Dallas had 269 yards of total offense – 228 through the air, completing 14-of-23 passes, and 41 on the ground on 16 carries, including the two touchdowns. Senior RB Dominick Cosper chipped in with 87 yards on 14 carries, two of which went for scores. The Lions’ defensive effort, which limited ELCA to just 116 yards, was led by sophomore DL Cameron Matthews and senior LB Jimbo Bachelor, who had 11 and 6 tackles, respectively.
Wesleyan, Turner County grab upset wins Both Wesleyan and Turner County pulled upsets Friday. Wesleyan (4-2) moved up two spots in the Private Top 10, from No. 8 to No. 6, when the Wolves knocked off previous No. 5-ranked Athens Academy (4-2), 23-3. Wesleyan got two long pass plays for touchdowns and three field goals from senior Kicker Brooks Sturgeon to coast to victory. Both touchdowns came in the second quarter. Senior QB Jett Miller tossed a hitch to junior Thomas Cook, who then hit his brother Bobby Cook, a senior, down the field for a 68-yard touchdown. Just two minutes later, Jett hooked up with Thomas Cook on a 57-yard pass play and a 20-0 lead. The loss dropped the Spartans down to No. 8. Meanwhile, Turner County (2-4) isn’t ranked but the Rebels picked up a huge win over previously unbeaten Charlton County (5-1), 13-7, which nearly pushed Charlton out of the Public Top 10. They had been ranked No. 6 but fell to No. 10. The win was the third in a row for Turner over Charlton and would give Turner the tie-breaker in a battle for a playoff spot in rugged Region 2, where three of the seven teams in the league are ranked in the top 10. No. 1 Irwin County and No. 2 Brooks County are the other two, along with Charlton County.
Another year, another freshman takes the spotlight for Commerce Last season Commerce (3-2) made an impressive run to the Public state quarterfinals largely on the efforts of freshman RB/LB Sammy Brown. But when head coach Michael Brown went to join the staff at Class 4A Jefferson, he took his son Sammy with him. No problem. Another ninth grader has stepped in: Jaiden Daniels. At 5-foot-7, 160 pounds, he is not the physical specimen the 6-2, 220-pound Brown is. But Daniels has used his quickness, speed, vision and surprising strength to race to 518 yards and 5 touchdowns this season. In Friday’s 35-7 win over Greene County, Daniels racked up 220 yards on 23 carries and scored 3 touchdowns in the first half. He has been invited to participate in the Georgia Elite Classic freshman all-star game in December and has a 3.8 grade point average.
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