It’s already a big showdown week for Region 4, where the four unbeaten teams in the league all play each other. It’s the first step in determining the pecking order for the postseason playoffs.
Mays (3-1, 1-0) plays at Creekside (1-2, 1-0), while Maynard Jackson (4-0, 1-0) travels to Drew (4-0, 1-0). The losers won’t be eliminated from championship contention, but the winners will definitely have a leg up in determining who gets the top seeds.
Creekside, which reached the Class 5A championship game last year, won its region opener last week against Forest Park, 65-0. Coach Maurice Dixon’s team lost its first two games to South Carolina power Westside and Texas Desoto, ranked No. 1 in some national polls.
The Seminoles have a four-star receiver in Dylan Vickerson, whose offers include Tennessee and Missouri. Junior quarterback Cayden Benson has thrown for 504 yards and five touchdowns, with Vickerson catching 12 passes.
The secondary is outstanding with Fenix Harper, Zack Carter, Sean Williams, Tyree Colzie, Hayden Dixon and Nash Johnson.
Mays has shown it can win some close games. The Raiders have beaten Stephenson, Douglass and Pace Academy by a combined 18 points. Their only loss came to Class 5A powerhouse Hughes.
Mays has a big offensive line led by Jaden Veal (6-4, 245) and Jaheem White (6-3, 305); both have college offers. Clayton Coppock is a two-way standout at wide receiver and cornerback and junior Jamarion Dowdell is a big-play receiver.
The Creekside-Mays game will be broadcast statewide on GPB-TV.
Credit: Sam Crenshaw, GPB
Credit: Sam Crenshaw, GPB
Maynard Jackson has decisive wins over South Atlanta, Morrow and Redan and last week eked out a one-point victory over King. The Jaguars got a 42-yard touchdown run from Jacob Jackson and an pick-six from Mikel Miller to spark the 28-27 comeback win over King. Head coach Eric Williams needs two more victories to reach the 100-win mark for his career.
Drew is 4-0 for the first time in school history, beating Clayton County rival Riverdale and North Clayton, along with South Cobb and Midtown. Running back Jaylin Aquino ran for 248 yards against Midtown and combined with QB Zachery Still to produce 342 total yards in last week’s 19-0 victory over Midtown. The defense produced four takeaways.
This will be the first meeting between Drew and Maynard Jackson.
Five other games to watch:
Blessed Trinity at Hebron Christian: No. 4 Blessed Trinity (3-1) hung tough against Class 5A No. 1 Milton last week before losing 28-14, a one-score game late into the third quarter. It doesn’t get any easier for the Titans this week when they face Hebron Christian (4-0), the No. 2-ranked team in the Private rankings. This is the first meeting between the two schools.
Blessed Trinity is led by quarterback Brooks Goodman, who has thrown for 416 yards and three touchdowns, and running back Ahmontae Pitts, who has rushed for 337 yards and four touchdowns and has seven receptions for 137 yards and one touchdown.
Hebron quarterback Thomas Stallworth has thrown for 642 yards and five touchdowns. The Lions split the rushing duties between Adrian Hollingshed Jr. (302 yards, three TDs) and Devon Caldwell (334 yards, eight touchdowns).
Cedartown at Cass: No. 7 Cedartown (5-0, 1-0) faces off against Cass (3-2, 0-1) in a key Region 7 contest between two Northwest Georgia powers. The two teams began playing in 1966, but haven’t played since 2013. Cedartown leads the series 26-4.
Cedartown remains a run-first team. Tae Harris (451 yards, seven TDs) and Jueiz Davis (205 yards) lead an offense that averages 220 yards per game. Cass threw for 273 yards in its 41-28 loss to Hiram.
North Oconee at East Forsyth: These two undefeated teams will determine who gets a leg up in Region 8. No. 5 North Oconee (4-0) is coming off an impressive win over Jefferson and East Forsyth battered Chestatee. This will be a showcase game for two fine quarterbacks – Harrison Faulkner of North Oconee and Bryce Baker of East Forsyth, who has thrown for 1,075 yards and 10 touchdowns with only one interception.
St. Pius vs. Southwest DeKalb, at Godfrey Stadium (Thursday): The St. Pius defense will be challenged to slow down Southwest DeKalb’s prolific offense. St. Pius (3-1) has won three straight since losing its opener to Blessed Trinity. The Golden Lions prefer to keep the ball on the ground; they ran for 460 yards last week against Druid Hills. Southwest DeKalb (3-1) is led by quarterback Braylon Carter, who has thrown for 776 yards and 15 touchdowns, and receivers Samuel Turner (18 catches, 251 yards, seven touchdowns. St. Pius leads the all-time series 6-0.
Westminster at Benedictine: Westminster (3-2) plays its final non-region game before embarking on a difficult Region 8 schedule. No. 3 Benedictine (1-2) lost its opener to nationally ranked Rabun Gap and Buford, then the No. 1 team in 6A, on a last-minute two-point conversion. This is the third straight season the teams have played, with BC winning the first two.
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