Since week one of the season, Sandy Creek has been absolutely dominant on both sides of the football. With eight straight blowout wins, the Patriots of Tyrone have played themselves into the Region 5-AAAA title contest for the second consecutive season.
A year ago Creek took down Villa Rica to win the program’s third region title. On Friday, the Patriots will try for number four.
A talented Banneker team stands in the way. The Trojans were a popular pick to win the region in the preseason, but stumbled a bit out of the gate. After an impressive victory over Westlake to open the year, Banneker fell to a talented North Clayton squad and an up-and-down Villa Rica team. Tri-Cities and Mays helped the Trojans late in the season by knocking off Villa Rica in consecutive weeks -- handing Banneker the subregion 5B-AAAA title.
Starr’s Mill will host Villa Rica in the only other local game with playoff implications. The Panthers are trying to get back to the state playoffs for the first time since 2006. Starr’s Mill already beat Villa Rica once during the regular season, knocking off the Wildcats 20-13 in a game that sparked the Panthers’ return to prominence.
Fayette County, Whitewater, McIntosh and Mercy won’t be heading to the postseason this year -- a first for Whitewater. All four will try to end the season on a positive note, as they face other teams also eliminated from postseason competition.
McIntosh’s game versus Douglas County could be the most competitive of the bunch. A Chiefs win will get Coach Glenn Griffin to .500 -- a feat his three immediate predecessors at McIntosh never once accomplished. With four wins, the Chiefs have already secured their best record in five years. A fifth win will make the 2009 unit the best McIntosh team since 1995.
Here’s a closer look at this week’s games:
Banneker at Sandy Creek
One can forgive members of ‘Creek Nation’ for feeling some jitters heading into this contest. After all, a Region 5-AAAA championship and a valuable number one playoff seed is on the line.
Plus, Banneker is a bit of a wild card. The Trojans are the only team in the region that can come close to matching Creek’s talent level on the field. When Banneker executes, the team moves ball as well as any of Class AAAA’s elite programs. However, Banneker struggled against the most athletic defense they’ve faced this year -- North Clayton. The Trojans lost to North Clayton 28-6 back in early September.
While much has been made this season about the outstanding play of Creek tailback Rajion Neal, it is the Patriots defense that has really carried this team. Creek is right there with North Clayton and Griffin among AAAA’s top defenses. Major Division I prospects Isaiah Johnson and Lacy Coleman anchor Coach Chip Walker’s defensive unit, which is as good and experienced any that has ever played at Creek (which is saying a lot). While Johnson and Coleman are the flashiest prospects, they’re definitely not the only playmakers in Creek’s deep, talented and disciplined defensive unit.
Linebackers Mike Spaulding and Clinard Stokes have been outstanding. The two combined for 17 tackles against Starr’s Mill -- Creek’s toughest opponent since East Coweta in week one.
Bruce Dukes, Mike Hilton, Cedric Byrd and Sean Rowe team with Johnson to give Creek an intimidating secondary. Up front Gavin Rocker and Jamal Ware have made opposing teams pay for lining up their most experienced offensive lineman across from Coleman.
Creek’s defense should put the team in a position to win. Neal, improving quarterback Ronnie Bell and talented wideouts Alex Chisum, Jarrett Davis and Devon Hughes will do the rest.
If the game is close, kicker/punter Zack Lopez’s value only increases. The senior special teams standout has established himself as the region’s top punter and place kicker -- a tremendous asset at the high school level.
Despite the fact that Banneker and Sandy Creek are located less than eight miles from each other, this will be the first meeting between the two teams.
Villa Rica at Starr’s Mill
It’s never easy to beat a good team twice in one season, but Starr’s Mill will need to do exactly that Friday to return to the state playoffs for the first time in three seasons.
The Panthers held off Villa Rica 20-13 in week two. At the time, Coach Mike Earwood called the win “The program’s biggest in three years.”
The Panthers won by executing in the clutch and forcing Villa Rica to abandon the run. Gunnar Carson intercepted Villa Rica Quarterback Cody Sauls twice -- the second of which killed the Wildcats attempt at a last minute comeback.
Defensively, Ufomba Kamalu and the Starr’s Mill line did an outstanding job getting into the backfield, while the Panther secondary of Carson, Jeffrey Greene, Justin Smith and Trenton Edwards kept the Wildcats’ talented slotbacks from breaking long option runs to the outside.
A lot has changed since week two. Villa Rica is still loaded with talent, but Starr’s Mill has improved as well. Quarterback Adam Holley has emerged as one of the region’s best. Greene and Smith are legitimate home run threats on offense and tailback Zach Laskey has improved each week. Look for another epic battle at Panther Stadium. This one should be exciting. The all time series record between the two teams is 1-1.
Alexander at Whitewater
The Wildcats are finally playing the type of football most expected them to showcase from week one of the season. After losing five straight in September and early October, Whitewater has won two in a row by impressive margins. Last week tailback Josh Clemons became the first Whitewater runner to crack the 1,000 yard mark in a single season. His effort helped the Wildcats roll up a season high 45 points on a decent McIntosh team.
The defense looked solid as well. Lance White came up with the highlight reel play of the night, intercepting a Cam Porter screen pass and returning it for a score.
The Wildcats are playing for pride, which should be all the motivation they need to win one final home game for the team’s loyal legion of fans.
Alexander heads to southern Fayette County Friday licking its wounds. The banged up Cougars have been outscored 134-24 over the course of their current four game losing streak. Whitewater should have no trouble getting back to .500, but anything can happen under the Friday night lights. This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
Douglas County at McIntosh
The Chiefs are going for their fifth win Friday night -- a milestone the team hasn’t reached since 1995. Douglas County is also playing for win number five. Like McIntosh, the Tigers have plenty of reasons to be proud after rebounding nicely from a miserable 2008 campaign.
Andrew Graham, Sean Carney, Nick Morrow and the Chiefs defense will need to play like they did two weeks ago against Northgate to keep McIntosh in the game. Douglas County has scored at least 20 points per contest over the past four games -- something it failed to accomplish even once during weeks one through five.
McIntosh Coach Glenn Griffin has done an excellent job getting the most out of his players. If Cam Porter and the Chiefs offense can limit turnovers and establish a ground game with Darius Miliam, the home team will have a legitimate shot at knocking off the Tigers.
Tri-Cities at Fayette County
Coach Tommy Webb and the Fayette County Tigers desperately need a win. After an uninspired performance last Friday against Starr’s Mill, the Tigers hope to end the season with something to build on for next year.
They’ll host a talented Tri-Cities team that is coming off of an upset win over Villa Rica. Had the Bulldogs defeated Douglas County Oct. 23, they’d be playing for a state playoff berth this week. Fayette will need to refocus to have a chance. The Tigers were dominated on both sides of the ball last week. While redzone scoring haunted the team for most of the season, the Tigers barely sniffed the redzone against Starr’s Mill.
Injuries and fatigue have taken their toll, but this is not the way Fayette players and coaches expected this season to play out. The Tigers remain a talented team. Their remarkable come from behind victories at McIntosh and Luella attest to that. Fayette played valiantly on the road against Houston County earlier in the year as well. But last week was by far their worst performance of the season.
The line must play better on both sides of the ball, create pass protection for Jensen Floyd, open up running lanes for Armani Cato and Kendal Palmore and get pressure on Tri-Cities’ talented quarterback Jonte Davis.
Tri-Cities beat Fayette 34-30 last year -- the only previous meeting between the two teams.
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