The second week of area wide region play will feature what has become a rivalry game between Harlem and Hephzibah. The winner will keep pace with Morgan County at the front of the race in the area’s class 3A region. Meanwhile, Richmond will try to bounce back from a narrow defeat to Morgan County last week when the Musketeers visit Cross Creek ahead of upcoming games against Harlem (Oct. 14) and Hephzibah (Oct. 28).
Aiken will try to upset North Augusta for the first time in 14 years as that game’s winner will sprint to the top of their region’s standings. Elsewhere in the region, Midland Valley (3-3) will try to build on its best start since 2015 as it opens against Airport while South Aiken takes a bye week.
No. 6 Burke County (4A), Strom Thurmond (3A) and Lincoln County (1A Division II) will all leave the area to face top 10 opponents in a bid to take control of their respective regions. All three high profile games have interesting histories and easily qualify as rivalry games. But the century old “378 War” between Lincoln County and Washington-Wilkes belongs in a class of its own. We’ll take a look at its history below.
MORE: Chad Cook: North Augusta’s Jaydon Eason named Best of the Best for Week 7
Let’s go region by region and preview and pick week 8’s games. Remember that each region’s top four teams will qualify for the state playoffs. And the top two teams are guaranteed at least one playoff game at home. Currently, every team in the area is still alive in the race for a postseason spot. That won’t be the case for long, though.
Class 6A, Region 2
Lakeside (3-2, 1-0) at #9 Brunswick (6-0, 1-0)
Pick: Brunswick
The Panthers will ride the good vibes from last Thursday’s come-from-behind 22-20 win over archrival Evans into this Friday’s matchup against one of the state’s best teams.
Brunswick has piled up 111 points during its two commanding region wins. During last Wednesday’s 56-39 win over Grovetown, the Pirates sprinted out to a 42-18 halftime lead as quarterback Jarrod Elkins tossed five touchdown passes, including 4 to fellow junior TJ Mitchell.
If executed nearly to perfection, Lakeside’s approach seems specifically suited to pull off the upset Friday. The Panthers attempted only two passes last week, they possessed the ball for almost 75% of the game, and place kicker Will Hattaway can put points on the board. But a win on the road Friday might be too much to expect.
Grovetown (3-3, 0-2) at Effingham County (4-2, 2-0)
MORE: Yellow Jackets sting Thoroughbreds Thursday
Pick: Effingham County
While Lakeside tries to play giant killer and Evans (3-3, 1-1) takes a bye week, Grovetown will try to keep its playoff hopes alive on the road against the formidable Rebels, who have tallied region wins over South Effingham and Glynn Academy already. Junior quarterback Amare Clark stuffed the stat sheet in Grovetown’s loss to Brunswick by completing 24 of his 43 passes for 266 yards and 4 touchdowns, while also rushing for 120 yards and a score.
Class 4A, Region 3
#5 Burke County (5-0, 0-0) at #6 Benedictine (3-2, 0-0) – Thursday
Pick: Burke County
These powerhouses will meet each other for the fifth straight season, but this Thursday will be the first time they will meet in a region contest. Benedictine has won 3 of the 4 games during the recent series, including last season’s 59-28 victory in the Bear Den.
Thursday’s region opener has been circled on everyone’s calendar ever since the Cadets opened the season ranked #1 in the class. After beginning the season unranked, Burke County has steadily moved up in the polls after earning a season opening 24-20 road win over #5 Thomson (2A) and a 28-21 overtime win over #9 Oconee County (3A) during its undefeated run through non-region play. Benedictine’s only losses have come against two undefeated teams, #1 Ware County (5A) and Florida powerhouse Columbus (Miami).
Class 4A (South Carolina), Region 4
North Augusta (2-5, 1-0) at Aiken (1-5, 1-0)
Pick: North Augusta
After facing a combined five ranked teams during an unsuccessful run through the non-region schedule, both of these teams have to be happy to get back to their Aiken County based region schedule.
North Augusta’s defense played lights out during the final 23 minutes of last week’s 24-20 come-from-behind win over South Aiken, shutting out the high-powered Thoroughbred offense during the stretch. Meanwhile, Aiken’s offense had its best showing of the season when it posted 21 points in a victory over Airport.
MORE: Photojournalism: ARC vs Morgan County
I expect North Augusta’s defense to have the upper hand in that matchup Friday, but the confrontation between Aiken’s highly regarded defense and North Augusta’s well-balanced offense will be an interesting thing to watch. Junior Jayden Fuller, Aiken’s 6-foot-tall and 215-pound defensive terror, will spend a considerable amount of time in North Augusta’s backfield. We’ll look for whether Fuller and company can slow down North Augusta’s DJ Curry, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in every game but one this season.
But the deciding factor could be how senior quarterback Colson Brown takes advantage of the attention Curry brings. Brown did so beautifully during North Augusta’s 28-21 week 2 win over Lakeside, completing 10 of 15 passes for 130 yards, including three that went for 30 yards or more. More recently Brown found a way to impact the game three through the air, despite the heavy winds caused by Hurricane Ian, when he completed 10 of 13 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the win over South Aiken last week.
In a message Saturday, Brown explained to me how North Augusta’s coaching staff devised a plan to take advantage of South Aiken’s heavy concentration on Curry. Brown executed perfectly on both of his touchdown passes, first an 11-yarder to Taylon Washington on the first series of the game, and then another scoring strike to Evan Waldhauer early in the third quarter.
Here’s Brown about the short toss to Waldhauer that resulted in a 67-yard score that cut South Aiken’s led to 20-17:
“We drew this play up on the sideline where we knew the backers were heavily influenced on where DJ was going,” Brown explained. “So, when I faked the pitch, I saw the backers squeeze down and Evan was releasing on a pop pass. So, it left him wide open behind them and it was a catch and throw to the end zone from there. You can say it was a read, but we knew they were coming down regardless, so they made my job easy when they flew downhill playing the pitch.”
MORE: Chad Cook: The Augusta Press Best of the Best from Sept. 23 high school football
Brown’s ability to play off of Curry’s dominant rushing ability is the reason I expect North Augusta to make it 14 wins in a row over Aiken Friday. But a defender like Jayden Fuller can very easily blow up any plans made by the Yellow Jackets.
Airport (3-3, 0-1) at Midland Valley (3-3, 0-0)
Pick: Midland Valley
Class 3A, Region 4
Harlem (5-1, 1-0) at Hephzibah (4-2, 1-0)
Pick: Harlem
Harlem and Hephzibah have shared a region for five seasons now. The teams have split the last four meetings, with the most recent decision going Harlem’s way, a 23-12 result that handed the Bulldogs the final playoff spot in the region last year, leaving the Rebels at home during the postseason. Friday’s winner will take an inside track for a region championship, probably alongside Morgan County, which is expected to beat Salem. Richmond Academy, which is also expected to win Friday, will have its say too in this competitive region.
Friday’s game at Hephzibah will feature many of the area’s most exciting playmakers, like Johnathan Howard, Jason Williams and Ryan Newman of Harlem, and Jalen Patrick, Eric Grant and Telly Johnson of Hephzibah. I’ll have a full report from the action at “Big John McLeod Stadium” in Saturday morning’s edition of The Augusta Press.
MORE: Lakeside comes back to defeat Evans in a Thursday night thriller
Richmond (3-3, 0-1) at Cross Creek (1-5, 0-1)
Pick: Richmond
Class 2A, Region 4
Josey (2-4, 1-3) at Laney (5-0, 2-0)
Pick: Laney
Last season’s near upset by Josey against Laney (Laney prevailed 8-0) proves that anything can happen when these two arch rivals clash. Laney’s rushing attack propelled the Wildcats to another victory last Thursday, a 28-18 road win over Washington County. The Wildcats only attempted one pass, a 15-yard completion from Keshaun Sanders to CJ Holmes, because who needs to pass when you can average 8.7 yards per play on the ground? Sophomore James Pride rushed 15 times for 188 yards and four other players rushed for a touchdown, including Holmes, who broke a 49-yarder on fourth-and-short during the fourth quarter to give Laney a 16-point lead.
#5 Thomson (4-1, 2-0) at Butler (2-3, 0-1) – Thursday
Pick: Thomson
Westside (1-5, 1-2) at Washington County (1-5, 1-2)
Pick: Washington County
Glenn Hills (2-4, 1-2) at #7 Putnam County (5-1, 2-0) – Thursday
Class 1A (Division II), Region 8
Lincoln County (3-2, 0-0) at #5 Washington-Wilkes (5-1, 1-0)
Pick: Lincoln County
Both teams are loaded with playmakers, including Trey Huff, Semaj Jenkins, and Christian Crite of Lincoln County, and Desmond Cofer of Washington-Wilkes. And the game will surely factor heavily into the playoff race for this exciting region, which also features contenders like #9 Aquinas, Greene County and Warren County.
MORE: Augusta Preparatory Day School loses against undefeated foe
But what’s especially notable here is the historic nature of this rivalry, which is almost always referred to on any short list of the best in the history of the Peach State. The two teams will be meeting for the 85th time, dating back exactly one century when they first met in 1922. Lincoln County, the state’s third winningest program, leads the series 40-39. Washington-Wilkes, which is 13th on Georgia’s all time wins list, topped the Red Devils 44-36 last season. The series has included six ties.
Towns County (1-4, 0-1) at #9 Aquinas (4-1, 0-0)
Pick: Aquinas
I expect the Fightin’ Irish to earn a win in front of its home crowd to set up a thrilling final four weeks of the season against Lincoln County, Washington-Wilkes, Greene County and Warren County, in that order.
Warren County (2-4, 0-1) at Greene County (4-2, 1-0)
Pick: Greene County
More Week 8 Games and Picks
Class 5A, Region 1
Statesboro (1-4, 0-0) at Greenbrier (0-5, 0-0)
Pick: Statesboro
Class 2A (South Carolina), Region 3
Strom Thurmond (4-2, 1-0) at #1 Saluda (6-0, 1-0)
Pick: Saluda
Silver Bluff (2-4, 1-0) at Batesburg-Leesville (2-4, 0-1)
Pick: Silver Bluff
Fox Creek (1-5, 0-1) at Pelion (3-3, 0-1)
Pick: Pelion
Class 1A (Division I), Region 2
Jefferson County (1-5, 0-0) at #2 Swainsboro (5-0, 0-0)
Pick: Swainsboro
Class 1A (South Carolina), Region 4
Denmark-Olar (4-1, 2-0) at #7 Calhoun County (5-1, 1-0)
Pick: Denmark-Olar
Blackville-Hilda (1-5, 1-2) at Ridge Spring-Monetta (1-5, 1-1)
Pick: Ridge Spring-Monetta
Williston-Elko (0-6, 0-3) at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler (3-4, 0-3)
Pick: Hunter-Kinard-Tyler
MORE: Chad Cook: High school mid-season update
Georgia Independent Athletic Association
Briarwood (3-3) at Bulloch Academy (3-2)
Pick: Briarwood
Edmund Burke (4-1) at Brentwood (3-3)
Pick: Brentwood
8-man Football
Westminster Schools of Augusta (4-2) at Westminster Christian Academy (1-5)
Pick: Westminster Schools of Augusta
Chad Cook is a sports columnist who is known on the field and court as AugBball. Follow him on Instagram @AugBBall
