The Georgia high school football season kicks off tonight, and enough gridiron excitement is in the air that it’s palpable! Some of the top teams in the state square off this weekend in the Corky Kell and Erk Russell Classics along with a litany of intriguing cross classification games. Speaking of classifications, this 2018 season seems to be a toss-up among among championship contenders. In prior years, most recently the 2016 season, there was clear dominant powers at the top of the state’s various classifications, but in 2018, there is strong potential for a dark horse team coming out of relatively nowhere, and winning the state title. Here are five teams that could potentially do just that. Note: teams in the top 5 of our Power Rankings are disqualified from being a dark horse candidate.
Valdosta – It’s been a pretty wild ride the last few years over at Valdosta High School. Following a state title versus Tucker in 2016, the Wildcats suffered a let down season where they finished 4-7, and were blown out 27-3 in the first round of the playoff by Glynn Academy. They played a tough schedule, no doubt, going up against 7-A powers Tift, Colquitt and Lowndes to go along with the “Region of Doom” schedule, in which they finished 2-2, earning a playoff birth. Their SOS was probably the toughest in 6-A for the 2017 season.
Junior QB Tate Rodemaker is taking full time duties this year, he got his ears wet some last season under center (or really in the gun), and early accounts from fall camp indicate that a big junior year is up ahead. His top targets will be receivers JR Jaheim Bell, SR Tay Berrian and SO Aalah Brown. The aforementioned Bell is a physical beast standing 6’3″, and weighing over 200 lbs – he should be a matchup nightmare for smaller CB’s. The Valdosta passing attack seems to have really come together, and if you believe the hype from the Glynn Academy scrimmage where they scored 70 points, then their offense should be humming in 2018.
Desmond Johnson is a Western Kentucky safety commit and an impact tackler on defense, but for the most part, Valdosta was wildly inconsistent in 2018. Shoring up their defense that gave 23.5 is by far the biggest question heading into the 2018 season. If they can do that well enough, then Valdosta could very well end up out scoring teams all the way to the state title in 6-A.
Kell – The Longhorns have been a steady team for the last few years playing some of the most competitive ball in Class 5-A. They always have a dependable defense, and offensively they spread the ball around to a multitude of play-makers. A clear and evident part of the program is how their seniors really grow into leadership roles, it’s something we have seen each year, and it has kept the Cobb school at the top of the heap in 5-A.
This year, they are headlined by App State QB commit Evan Conley. The young signal-caller is an excellent quarterback, that was not healthy 100% last season, which really diminished his ability to hurt a defense escaping out of the pocket and making plays. This year, Conley is prime for a big senior season, and after watching him throw this summer, his consistent tight spiral is equal or better to any of the “elite quarterbacks” in the state of Georgia. A two-headed monster at running back with Ebony Jackson and BJ Abson should do a great job of supplanting multi-dimensional back in Josiah Futral, who graduated last May. Of note, Jackson ran a sub-10.6 100M last spring, which is impressive considering his 6′ 200 lb. frame.
Nicholas Ross is one of the biggest hitters in Georgia at the safety position, and just like his teammate Evan Conley, Ross is also an App State commit. Branson Hall is a promising young middle linebacker that will be patrolling the middle of the defense, while last year’s state runner-up in sacks Justin Talley will look to have another major impact in 2018. The offensive line will be key for their dark horse state title run. If that unit can really gel, then the running game can get going, and that will open up the passing game for Conley to do what he does best, find open receivers.
Cedartown – One of the more dynamic running back parings in Georgia is Cedartown’s Tony Mathis Jr. and Kobe Pryor. The two have tremendous size weighing over 200 lbs, and their ability to make cuts in tight spaces, while maintaining their balance through a tackle is nearly unstoppable at the HS level.
No doubt, Cedartown will have to replace some talent from last season’s roster in order to fulfill this dark horse prophecy. Losing QB Trevon Wofford, a 6’5″ athlete who literally jumped over a defender last season, absolutely hurts. Cruz Rodriguez and Steven Howard, a pair of +300 lbs. lineman who graduated last May, did not get enough credit opening up holes for their elite backs, but this season they could be sorely missed. Young players like sophomore OG/DT Kanyan Diamond and others will have to emerge on the offensive line for their rushing to attack to ever meet their true potential in 2018, but if it does, the ‘Pryor & Mathis Express’ could very well be unstoppable.
Consider this, Marist was 2nd hottest team in Class 4-A last season, basically dominating every opponent leading up the state title game vs Blessed Trinity, outside of one opponent, which you guessed it, was Cedartown. In fact, Cedartown’s 18 points was the most points Marist gave up to an individual opponent for the entire 2018 playoffs. With another year under their belts, the dynamic duo could be in store for a special 2018 season.
Bremen – Bremen ended up 11-2 in Class 3-A, where they averaged 27 points per game, and they are now dropping down to Class 2-A. With a team returning a ton of starters and experience, they are an easy pick to be the darkhorse in Class 2-A.
Senior’s Jalen Dallas, Kade Berry, Campbell Sweatt, Brant Ivey, Jason Houston, Wade Cartwright; honestly the list goes on, but point being, Bremen is returning a lot of seniors with a ton of experience. Couple that group with a talented lot of juniors too, and it’s clear that Bremen can be a force to be reckoned with this fall in Class 2-A. This experienced group has worked hard this offseason in the weight room, and that hard work should pay dividends in the result column too.
The emergence of basketball talent turn edge rusher/tight end Jason Houston could end up being a real x-factor for Bremen. Looking at their results from last season, and their worse games consistently came against teams with talented quarterbacks. In a final 3-game stretch, Bremen gave up 108 combined points to Calhoun (Gavin Gray), Ringgold (Cole Kibler) and Lovett (Blaine McCallister). The prior 8 games they had given up a combined 96. A potential edge-rusher like the 6’5″ Houston could very well be the cure, and apply pressure in opposing team’s backfield.
An early test for Bremen will be this weekend in a top 10 showdown in the Erk Russell Classic against pass-happy Rabun County, who will be breaking in freshman QB sensation Gunner Stockton.
Washington-Wilkes – Tempo is coming to Class A Public like you have never seen before, and if you don’t believe it, then you don’t follow coach Chad Alligood on Twitter. The fast-paced spread scheme will be splitting defenses a part this year with junior QB Donovan Anthony set for a big season. From around the program, the 2020 star has continued to grow into his big 6’2″ frame, and should be a serious threat running the ball to go along with his talented arm.
Washington-Wilkes is coming of a 7-5 season, and honestly most media outlets have tamed their 2018 expectations, but with Class A Public seemingly wide open, anything can happen. The same classification that premiered two run-heavy teams in Clinch County and Irwin County in the state championship game, could very well be turned upside down with Washington-Wilkes’ up-tempo offensive attack.
Anthony will need help, and he will look to lean heavily on All-State wide receiver Dre Lester as his primary target. The two paired up for over 900 yards last season, and getting the ball into his hands as much as possible will be at the top of their gameplan. Their offensive line continues to progress, and Dez Anderson is a very underrated pass blocker at LT. On defense, they will have to replace several seniors at linebacker, but you can expect ‘Iron Man’ D’Mytri Wiggs to hold things down in the middle. Young defensive lineman like junior Jaden Benson and sophomore Reginald Luke could end up being pivotal pieces in stopping the run-heavy offenses that dominate Class A Public all the way to a state title. No matter how far they make it this season, Washington-Wilkes is sure to be a competitive bunch that will push their opponents to the limit.
