After another fantastic season of county rivalries in Region 5-AAAA, two local teams remain with their championship dreams intact.
The Sandy Creek Patriots and the Starr’s Mill Panthers begin the state playoffs Friday with a pair of intriguing match-ups against tough north Georgia programs. The region champion Patriots host Region 8-AAAA’s fourth seed Loganville, while the red hot Panthers try to knock off the undefeated 8-AAAA champs Apalachee on the road in Barrow County.
Both contests should be thrillers, so be sure to head out to The Battlefield in Tyrone, or hit the road with the Panthers. Here’s what’s in store under the Friday night lights:
This contest has football fans and sportswriters across the state buzzing with excitement as it showcases two of Georgia’s elite ball carriers going head to head with the season on the line.
Sandy Creek’s Rajion Neal, a Mississippi State commit, has run for 28 touchdowns and well over 1,500 yards. Loganville’s Storm Johnson, a Miami University commit, is lightning quick and has piled up yardage and touchdowns at a clip that rivals Neal.
A year ago, Johnson led Buford to a Class AA state title before transfering to Loganville.
Of course, there’s much more to both teams than their star tailbacks. On paper, Sandy Creek’s supporting cast has a decided edge.
Loganville scored a ton of points this season, rolling up at least 27 in nine of their ten contests. Creek has matched that impressive feat, but unlike the Red Devils, Creek has also been extremely stingy on defense. Since week one, no team has scored more than 13 points against Isaiah Johnson, Clinard Stokes, Gavin Rocker, Lacy Coleman and the rest of the swarming Patriot defense.
Loganville’s opponents have been able to score with ease at times. Apalachee dropped 42 points on the Red Devils in week seven -- ruining a 280 yard, four touchdown performance by Johnson. In week nine, Rockdale County scored four touchdowns and a field goal in a win over Loganville.
Creek’s defense will likely be the strongest Loganville has encountered all season. The key to slowing Loganville’s Johnson-centered attack is to prevent the speedy back from getting into the open field. Once he breaks into the secondary, he’s tough to take down.
Creek has already seen a back with similar abilities in East Coweta’s Tay Willis. The Patriots stuggled to slow Willis in week one, but the defense has matured and improved since then. Linemen Jamal Ware, Rocker and Coleman will need to push Loganville’s offensive line back, while linebackers Mike Spaulding and Stokes fire the gaps.
Unlike Johnson, Neal does not need big creases to break long runs. Neal is tougher to tackle and he’s excellent at following and directing his downfield blockers. Plus, Creek’s offense has a second dimension that Loganville’s lacks. Quarterback Ronnie Bell and receivers Jarret Davis, Devon Hughes and Alex Chisum will force the Red Devils into coverage -- or the visitors will find themselves burnt over the top for big plays.
While Creek is the favorite on paper, anything can happen in the state playoffs -- a fact Patriots fans know all too well. Creek has suffered home playoff losses in the past, including last season against Rome in the second round.
This will be the first meeting between Creek and Loganville.
After blowing out Villa Rica last week in the emotional ‘Win for Weigand’ game, the Panthers find themselves in the state playoffs for the first time since 2006. And with the way they’re playing right now, there’s no doubt that the favorites from Apalachee are taking this contest very seriously.
The Wildcats are hosting their first ever state playoff game after wrapping up the program’s first region title and first undefeated regular season.
Apalachee coach Shane Davis runs a Wing-T rushing offense that has piled up yards and points this season. Quarterback Mike Norman runs the show. Slotback Jon Lee is the most prolific runner of the group, but fellow slotbacks John Ansley and Mike Norman get a lot of carries as well. And fullback Christian Hoard can smash it up the middle when defenses begin to cheat to the outside.
Starr’s Mill’s offense has proven that it can score points as well. With extremely talented wideout Jeffrey Greene lining up outside, Coach Mike Earwood has turned to the passing game more this season than he has in previous years. Greene isn’t the only weapon in Starr’s Mill’s air arsenal. Justin Smith, Trenton Edwards, Jake Thelan and John Trinquero are all capable receivers as well.
Junior quarterback Adam Holley continues to mature into a leader on the field. He rarely makes mistakes and his passing is accurate. He set a school record for passing yards in a game earlier this year with 252.
Of course, Earwood will be the first to tell you that the Panthers remain a running team, despite all the attention showered on Holley and Greene.
Zach Laskey has been the team’s primary ball carrier for most of the season and he’s played exceptionally well of late. Edwards also gets some carriers, especially on plays to the outside and fullback Derek Brown has proven that he can do the job in short yardage situations.
Like all football games, this one will come down to the defense. Both teams have been solid on that side of the ball for most of the year, with the Panthers really cracking down since the week seven loss to Sandy Creek. Loganville exposed some flaws in Apalachee’s previously air tight defense with a 41 point showing in week seven (Apalachee won that contest by scoring 42).
Starr’s Mill will definitely have its hands full with Apalachee’s big and physical offensive line, but if the Paanthers can get some early stops, they’ll put themselves in a position to pull off the upset. No doubt Earwood will be telling his defensive playmakers Ufomba Kamalu and Greene to be going after the ball to try to cause fumbles and picks.
This will be the first meeting between these two teams.
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