Top 10 games of Week 3

Last meeting: Walton won 42-35 in 2017.

Things to know: Brookwood has won four of the seven previous meetings, most of which were part of the season-opening Corky Kell Classic. Both teams won their games in the event this year in dramatic fashion. Brookwood got a game-tying 34-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Lonergan to Denylon Morrissette with 1:03 remaining in regulation, then went on to beat Dacula 40-34 in four overtimes. The Broncos, long known for their running game, were held to six yards rushing on 21 carries, but Lonergan was 28-of-43 passing for 433 yards and four touchdowns. Morrissette, a transfer from St. Frances (Md.), had 12 receptions for 215 yards and three TDs. Walton trailed Kell in its opener 28-16 late in the third quarter but scored the game’s final three touchdowns to win 35-28. Sophomore Braylen Stokes had two of the scores and finished with 156 yards rushing. Junior quarterback Zak Rozsman, who has offers from Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt, passed for 130 against the Longhorns and followed that up with a 320-yard outing in a 34-10 victory over Pope last week.

Clarke Central at Oconee County

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Warrior Stadium, Watkinsville

Records, rankings: Clarke Central is 1-0 and No. 9 in Class 5A; Oconee County is 2-0 and No. 3 in 3A.

Last meeting: Clarke Central won 28-21 in 2019.

Things to know: Clarke Central’s next two opponents, Oconee County and Buford, both reached the state finals last season, and both lost to the Gladiators. Clarke Central handed Oconee its only loss of the regular season on Aug. 30 and beat Buford, which went on to win the 5A title, 31-28 in the regular-season finale to claim the Region 8-5A championship. Clarke Central opened 2020 with a 10-3 victory over Cedar Shoals. Will Richardson rushed for 103 yards and scored the game-winning points on a 15-yard run with 3:25 remaining. Jairus Mack (committed to Charlotte) had 131 yards on three receptions, one a 65-yarder to set up the touchdown. Oconee County has beaten North Oconee (27-7) and Cedar Shoals (35-0) for its first 2-0 start since 2016. QB/LB/KR West Weeks (Virginia) plays all over the field for the Warriors and was named preseason all-state as a linebacker. He passed for 107 yards, ran for 49 and had 10 tackles and a forced fumble against North Oconee. WR Jake Johnson (15 FBS offers) and OL Carsen Stocklinski also made preseason all-state.

Collins Hill at Grayson

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Grayson Community Stadium, Grayson

Records, rankings: Grayson is 2-0 and No. 1 in Class 7A; Collins Hill is 2-0 and No. 6 in 7A.

Last meeting: Grayson won 32-7 in the first round of the 2011 Class 5A playoffs.

Things to know: Collins Hill is ranked this season for the first time since 2013, also the last season that the Eagles beat a No. 1-ranked team (North Gwinnett). QB Sam Horn (578 yards passing) and WR Travis Hunter (305 yards receiving) are consensus top-100 national recruits in the junior class. Leading tackler Rich Dorsey and leading rusher Spenser Anderson also are juniors. Grayson, meanwhile, hasn’t been out of the rankings since 2014, which represents the longest active streak among Class 7A schools. The Rams have scored 51 and 55 points in wins over Jones County and McEachern, teams that were ranked in preseason. The last Grayson team to put up 50-plus points in consecutive games was the 2016 state champion. Grayson’s projected starting quarterback, Florida commit Carlos Del Rio, failed to gain his eligibility, but De’yon Cannon, a star baseball player, has stepped up ably. He’s 24-of-34 passing for 354 yards and four touchdowns. Phil Mafah rushed for 222 yards against McEachern last week. Mafah, committed to Clemson, is one of six Grayson seniors pledged to ACC or SEC schools.

Commerce at Athens Academy

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Slaughter Field, Athens

Records, rankings: Commerce is 2-0 and No. 7 in Class A Public; Athens Academy is 1-0 and No. 2 in Class A Private.

Last meeting: Athens Academy won 21-14 in the 2018 Region 8-A championship game.

Things to know: Last year was the first time these teams didn’t face other since 1998. Athens Academy won 12 of the 20 meetings during that stretch, but Commerce leads the series 14-13. They played in Region 8-A together since 2002, but that ended this season when the GHSA decided to split the Class A public and private schools into separate classes. Commerce has its traditional strong running game. Junior Dreylan Martin has rushed for 219 yards, including 106 in a 32-14 victory over Union County last week, and scored four touchdowns. Freshman Sammy Brown ran for 116 yards in a season-opening 41-18 win at Banks County and has scored five TDs. OL Payton Freeman and K Eryck Diaz made preseason all-state. The best-known player in this game is Athens Academy WR/DB Deion Colzie, an AJC Super 11 and preseason all-state pick who is the No. 11 player in Georgia and No. 14 wide receiver nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings. Linemen John Ferguson and Virginia commit Hugh Laughlin also were preseason all-state.

ELCA at Pace Academy

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Walsh Field, Mableton

Records, rankings: Eagle’s Landing Christian is 2-0 and No. 1 in Class A Private; Pace Academy is 1-0 and No. 4 in 2A.

Last meeting: Eagle’s Landing Christian won 49-0 in 2019.

Things to know: This is the third consecutive season in which these private schools have met. ELCA dominated in 2019, but Pace won 17-16 in 2018 in a game that ended ELCA’s 37-game winning streak. It was ELCA’s only loss across a 53-game stretch from 2015 to 2019. ELCA improved to 2-0 last week with a 58-0 victory over Heritage of Newnan. Josh Rogers rushed for a school-record 420 yards and scored seven touchdowns. ELCA has attempted only 13 passes in two games, but QB Philip Massengale has rushed for 194 yards. The impressive run totals are coming despite three sophomores starting on the offensive line. Pace won its opener 14-7 over Holy Innocents', which coincidentally is the only other school that has beaten ELCA since 2015. That took place last season. Pace QB M.J. Morris, a transfer from Carrollton and four-star recruit, did not play, and coach Chris Slade said was unsure if Morris would play Friday. Evan Smith-Rooks threw for 215 yards against Holy Innocents', though he struggled with accuracy. Pace was better on defense, where Frank Caldwell III, a sophomore defensive end, had two tackles for losses and a team-leading eight solo tackles.

Jefferson at Rabun County

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Frank Snyder Stadium, Tiger

Records, rankings: Jefferson is 1-0 and No. 2 in Class 4A; Rabun County is 2-0 and No. 1 in Class 2A.

Last meeting: Jefferson won 19-7 in 2015.

Things to know: Jefferson has won 17 consecutive games in the series dating to a 13-7 loss in 1955, but this will be a different Rabun County program, one riding wave of unprecedented success. The Wildcats have five consecutive 11-win seasons and quarterfinal appearances after reaching those heights just once in their history. Rabun County is led by Gunner Stockton, the nation’s top-ranked dual-threat quarterback among juniors and a South Carolina commit. Stockton passed for 187 yards, rushed for 189 yards and threw a game-winning 32-yard TD pass last week in a nationally televised 38-31 victory over Prince Avenue Christian and its five-star QB, Brock Vandagriff. Now the Wildcats will face a five-star QB for the second consecutive week. Jefferson’s Malaki Starks, who is being recruited as a running back or defensive back, is rated the nation’s No. 16 overall junior prospect by 247Sports. He rushed for 117 yards and three touchdowns in a 61-7 season-opening victory against Central Gwinnett last week. Jefferson ran for 576 yards and didn’t complete a pass.

Johns Creek at Milton

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Eagles Nest, Milton

Record, rankings: Milton (8-4 in 2019) is unranked in Class 7A. Johns Creek (10-2 in 2019) is unranked in 6A.

Last meeting: Milton won 56-13 in 2013.

Things to know: This is one of several openers involving Fulton County teams, whose school district delayed games for two weeks. Johns Creek and Milton each had prominent out-of-state opponents on their original schedules until Fulton County in May banned inter-state games because of the pandemic, and that prompted Johns Creek and Milton to get together. They’ve played each other only twice, splitting non-region games in 2012-13. Both won region titles last season, Milton in 5-7A and Johns Creek in 7-6A. Milton returns seven all-region players that include QB Devin Farrell and TE Jack Nickel (committed to Notre Dame), who are juniors, and CB Bryce Thornton, a sophomore. Johns Creek was hit harder by graduation, but TE/DL Cole Nelson is a Georgia Power 100 player committed to Virginia Tech. He’s projected in college as a rush end but should excel as a receiver this season. Also outstanding is DB John Stegenga, the team’s defensive MVP as a junior.

Marist at Woodward Academy

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Colquitt Stadium, College Park

Records, rankings: Marist is 1-0 and No. 1 in Class 4A; Woodward Academy is 0-1 and No. 7 in 5A.

Last meeting: Marist won 34-17 in 2017.

Things to know: The Marist-Woodward series, which Marist leads 27-23, dates to 1922, when Woodward was known as Georgia Military Academy. The schools have met only three times since 1995. Marist, ranked No. 1 in preseason for the first time since 2004, opened with a 43-0 victory over Class A opponent Holy Innocents'. Marist returned about eight starters on each side but had to replace two-year starting quarterback Connor Cigelske, now at Georgia Southern. New starter Hayden Richardson, running the wishbone option, was 6-of-7 passing for 74 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 59 yards on seven carries. Marist is especially good on the lines of scrimmage. LB Tyler Hare was his region’s defensive player of the year in 2019. TE/DE Derek McDonald is committed to Syracuse. Woodward was shut out 14-0 in its opener by Eagle’s Landing Christian despite 302 yards of total offense. Five trips inside ELCA’s 20-yard line netted no points. Damari Alston rushed for 164 yards. A junior, Alston is one of several major Division I prospects that include DB Khari Gee (committed to LSU), Alan “Taco” Wright (Vanderbilt) and DE Ozzie Hoffler (Kansas State).

Newnan at Sandy Creek

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, The Battlefield, Tyrone

Records, rankings: Newnan is 1-0 and unranked in Class 7A: Sandy Creek is 1-0 and No. 5 in 3A.

Last meeting: Sandy Creek won 34-0 in 2015.

Things to know: Sandy Creek won the four previous meetings in the series, played between 2012 and 2015, by a combined score of 158-49. The Fighting Patriots' head coach in those four games was Chip Walker, now in his fourth season at Newnan. Walker was 127-26-1 at Sandy Creek with three state titles in 12 seasons. Sandy Creek opened its season last week, rallying for a 28-24 victory over Northgate. Sophomore Geimere Latimer threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Kaleb Cost for the lead with 1:20 remaining. Latimer was 10-of-17 passing for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Dorien Graham had 101 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. Newnan’s game last week was canceled by Carrollton over COVID-19 concerns. The Cougars opened the season with a 42-17 victory over Whitewater. QB Michael Maginnis, a three-star recruit committed to Samford, was 11-of-18 passing for 168 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 25 yards on three carries. RB Bryson Moss (committed to Eastern Michigan) ran for 90 yards and three touchdowns.

Parkview at North Gwinnett

When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Tom Robinson Memorial Stadium, Suwanee

Records, rankings: Parkview is 1-0 and No. 3 in Class 7A; North Gwinnett is 2-0 and No. 4 in 7A.

Last meeting: Parkview won 28-16 in the first round of the 2005 Class 5A playoffs.

Things to know: These Gwinnett County schools have played only five times, with Parkview winning three. This is their first meeting when both are ranked. Parkview opened its season last week with a 33-16 victory over Mountain View. AJC Super 11 RB Cody Brown (committed to Tennessee) rushed for 245 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. He’s 61 rushing yards short of 4,000 for his career. Tyler Curtis rushed for 166 yards in the victory. Parkview was only 7-of-17 passing for 51 yards. North Gwinnett has won 26 consecutive home games dating to 2016. The Bulldogs have beaten McEachern (35-7) and Jones County (44-21) this season. Marcus McFarlane has rushed for 211 yards. WR Bobby Ezzard (Liberty) has nine receptions for 103 yards. LB Barrett Carter (Clemson) had seven solo tackles, three for losses, and returned an interception for a touchdown against McEachern but did not play against Jones County. His status this week is uncertain.

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