Now that you've had time to digest our 30-team strong 2015 High School Football Season Preview it's time to start focusing in on the task at hand.
The new campaign kicks off in earnest for a handful of northeast Georgia-based teams this weekend. And among the contests are some mouth-watering encounters.
Featured on Friday is a showdown between teams separated by roughly 700 miles, a game between playoff teams from Class AAAAA and Class AAAAAA and three more area squads looking to jump their seasons off with a bang.
Yet perhaps the most intriguing contest will take place in the most northeastern tip of the state, as Jefferson travels to battle Rabun County.
Both teams are coming off impressive 2014 campaigns, the Dragons winning Region 8-AAA and reaching the Class AAA quarterfinals and the Wildcats winning Region 8-AA and reaching the Class AA second round. Both squads also feature plenty of talent and experience -- though it is where those players line up that presents an intriguing mesh of styles for this contest.
With 20 seniors, Rabun County boasts the type of senior class rarely seen in a Class AA school, let alone in Tiger -- and coach (and alumni) Lee Shaw says it is the biggest he's ever seen. Amongst those 20 are a wide range of explosive skill position players, including University of Georgia commit Charlie Woerner, receiver Alden Wright and linebacker/running back Eli Gipson.
Meanwhile, Jefferson -- despite graduating a number of standouts from last season's squad -- also returns plenty of upperclassmen. Yet the Dragons' strength is along it's offensive and defensive lines. In fact offensive linemen Caleb Chandler, Dontae Wilson, Alex Corbett and Jackson Bowen started every game in 2014.
The contrast in roster could make for a unique game on the field. And it is one that both are itching to win. Jefferson owns a 19-3 lead all-time in the series, including a 50-14 victory in the same contest last season. It is a record the Dragons want to maintain, and one the Wildcats are hungry to end.
Meanwhile, a journey down Hwy. 441 to Hwy. 365 to I-985, brings us to Buford, where the Wolves will play host to a team with nearly as many collegiate-bound alumni as themselves. Eastern Christian Academy -- located in Elkton, Md. -- currently has 18 former players competing in collegiate ranks. Granted, Buford inked 15 of last year's seniors to collegiate Letters of Intent, but the new crop of Wolves will want to prove themselves against an impressive program in Friday night's kickoff.
This is not the first time Eastern Christian has made a trek of this nature -- the school's willingness to play all over the nation has included a number of long road trips -- but it's not every day you see a high school contest with the road team having come over 700 miles.
Buford graduated 25 players from last season's all-conquering unit, and you can bet the Wolves' new starters are excited to show that this campaign will experience little drop off.
Neighbor Lanier also graduated a large senior class from 2014 -- 36 players to be exact. Yet the Longhorns, similarly, hope to prove they are just starting to build the kind of momentum the Wolves have grown accustomed to. Returning a talented group, which includes the state's top-ranked prospect (according to different recruiting services) in defensive lineman Derrick Brown, Lanier wants to build on last year's Region 8-AAAAA title and first round playoff exit. To that end, Brown and his teammates will tackle Class AAAAAA foe Lambert (a 2014 playoff squad) on Friday in Sugar Hill.
Elsewhere, Lumpkin County will look to get its season started right against Model at home in Dahlonega, while Johnson will play host to Madison County. East Jackson will also hit the road to battle Hebron Christian.
The contests aren't finished on Friday, however, as two area teams will kick their seasons off on Saturdat as part of the 2015 Corky Kell Classic. Mill Creek will get its first shot against a Brookwood team under a new head coach -- former Banks County head man Philip Jones at 11:45 a.m., while North Gwinnett will challenge preseason No. 1 and defending state champ Colquitt County at 5:45 p.m. Both games will take place in the Georgia Dome.
It's only a taste of what's to come -- as a full slate of games gets underway Aug. 28 in Week 1 -- but our mouths are already watering.
FRIDAY'S HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CONTESTS
East Jackson at Hebron Christian
Eastern Christian Academy, Md. at Buford
Jefferson at Rabun County
Lambert at Lanier
Madison County at Johnson
Model at Lumpkin County
SATURDAY'S HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CONTESTS
Mill Creek vs. Brookwood (Georgia Dome), 11:45 a.m.
North Gwinnett vs. Colquitt County (Georgia Dome), 5:45 p.m.
