Here's a look at five things we learned from Week Zero of the 2017 high school football season...
1. Chestatee looks ready to take the next step
We knew the War Eagles had potential thanks to the return of standouts like Nick Lyles, Storm Yarbrough and Reggie James. But we also wondered about Chestatee's offensive line and defense, which each entered the 2017 season with new faces and plenty of change. As the entire program showed on Friday nigh in a 42-12 win over longtime tormentor North Hall, there is plenty of reason for optimism in the Sardis Community these days. Not only did Lyles play like a star, rushing 15 times for 132 yards and 3 touchdowns -- plus a 32-yard screen pass -- to help Chestatee notch its first win over the arch-rival Trojans since 2005 -- and second ever in the series -- but the entire team stepped forward to put on an impressive display. Quarterback Storm Yarbrough also starred, rushing for 96 yards and a touchdown while completing 7 of 11 passes for 103 yards -- which shows that the offensive line is ready to go. Meanwhile, the Chestatee defense also stepped up, holding North Hall to 284 total yards, which, for a team like the Trojans -- a squad that thrives on big plays and scoring in bunches -- is impressive indeed. Chestatee faces another explosive offensive squad this week in East Hall -- the Vikings put up 55 points in a loss to to Habersham Central in week zero -- so it will be interesting to see how the War Eagles defense copes, but it's obvious that Chestatee is focused in on taking some big steps in 2017.
2. Gainesville has a quarterback...
The Red Elephants have played through, and largely, excelled through a succession of starting quarterbacks following the four-year reign of collegiate champion and current Houston Texan Deshaun Watson. And while Gainesville has found ways to win (often impressively) while rotating starting signal callers the last three seasons, it could not have been easy on players and coaches to deal with continual changes at the most important position on the field -- the last three starters have all spent one year at the helm. Without resorting to hyperbole, most successful teams need both talent and continuity at the quarterback position in order to sustain success. Gainesville has had talent (Mikey Gonzalez and Messiah Dorsey in particular performed admirably), but continuity...not so much. On Friday, Gainesville opened the 2017 season with both talent and the hope of a career at the quarterback spot. Junior Tre Luttrell had a few first-start jitters at the position, but he displayed enough talent, grit and play-making to get Red Elephants' fans salivating for more. Luttrell rushed for 81 yards and threw for 172 yards and three touchdowns in a 20-0 win over West Hall. And, while he did suffer some mistakes, inlcuding turnovers, his refusal to let that bring him down and natural athleticism showed that Gainesville could have something big in store as he grows into the position.
3. ...So too does Buford
We watched freshman quarterback Aaron McLaughlin in the Wolves' scrimmage against Tucker and left believing he was most assuredly the starter for new Buford head coach John Ford. That said, scrimmages are still scrimmages, and we wondered whether McLaughlin was ready to assume the leadership role of quarterback on a team stacked with veterans. Ummmm...yeah. McLaughlin is not only ready to start, he is ready to be a standout -- as he showed in Friday's 48-17 comeback win over Hillgrove in the Kell Kickoff Classic. McLaughlin's debut included 143 yards and two touchdowns passing, as well as a 6-yard touchdown run that helped complete the game's momentum swing after Hillgrove took an early lead (and looked good in doing so). Playing in his first start, as a touted freshman on a big stage on television in Atlanta, could have ovewhelmed the Buford quarterback. Instead, he looked like a veteran. Anyone who has watched Buford over the past two campaigns knows the Wolves have talent. If they have the type of quarterback we think McLaughlin might be on top of that... well, it could be quite interesting in 2017 in Buford.
4. White County has a renewed vigor
Just talking with Tim Cokely in the preseason made it obvious: White County would play with fire in 2017. The Warriors' new coach got us fired up, and it was easy to see why the roster was bigger this time around, despite tough back-to-back campaigns in Cleveland. A veteran coach, Cokely also showed us on Friday that his teams will play with more than just fire. White County dominated its season opener against 2016 Class AAA state playoff team Franklin County, winning 33-0. The Warriors allowed just 48 total yards to the Lions, yielding just two first downs all contest, those coming in the third quarter. Last season, White County fell 26-7 to the Lions. Obviously things change, and it's not fair to compare results season to season. But we can make one emphatic observation from last week's game: White County is not the same team as last season -- not the team that went 1-9. The Warriors (1-0) new spread offense put up 237 yards rushing, including 126 yards on 22 carries from Kaleb Crane. Crane also scored two touchdowns, while quarterback J. Ben Haynes added 63 yards rushing and a touchdown to go along with 91 yards passing and a score, completing 11 of 18 attempts. White County faces another telling showdown this week versus a renewed Lumpkin County program, and it will be interetsting to see if the Warriors can continue their ascent.
5. There are points and yards aplenty in life after Davis for Fannin
We'll be honest, we worried about Fannin County heading into 2017. That's not to say that we did not believe in coach Jim Pavao and his staff -- or that the players on the Rebels roster were somehow unworthy. We just knew how much talent graduated from Blue Ridge after 2016, and we wondered how the Rebels would manage to replace a quarterback like Brad Davis, who seemingly rewrote every record in Fannin history. There were also significant graduations at receiver. And yet there was Fannin County on Friday, posting its most lopsided win in its long rivary with Gilmer, 42-0 (a game played in 42 years straight). Considering the changes underway in Blue Ridge, that's prettty incredible. Cody Jacobs ran wild, including three touchdowns and almost 200 yards, while going for well over 100 yards. New quarterback Tyler Norton also connected on four touchdown passes, including two to Luke Cowart and one to Dawson King. It's just one game, but wow that was a promising start, and Rebels fans have pleny of reason to hope for more down the road.
AREA PREP FOOTBALL SCORES, AUG. 18-19
Buford 48, Hillgrove 17
Chestatee 42, North Hall 12
Fannin County 42, Gilmer 0
Gainesville 20, West Hall 0
Habersham Central 72, East Hall 55
Hebron Christian Academy 48, East Jackson 22
Jackson County 21, Banks County 17
Jefferson 43, Discovery 0
Lanier 33, Northview 24
Mill Creek 23, McEachern 19
Sequoyah 30, North Forsyth 28
Social Circle 42, Johnson 13
Towns County 38, Hayesville N.C. 21
Walton 31, North Gwinnett 28
White County 33, Franklin County 0
Winder-Barrow 35, Clarke Central 28
AREA PREP FOOTBALL SCHEDULE, Aug. 25
Apalachee at River Ridge
Commerce at Banks County
Dawson County at Forsyth Central
East Hall at Chestatee
East Jackson at Lakeview Academy
Flowery Branch at North Hall
Franklin County at Stephens County
Gainesville at Alpharetta
Jackson County at Madison County
Jefferson at Riverwood
Johns Creek at North Forsyth
Johnson at West Hall
Lumpkin County at White County
Melbourne Central Catholic (Fla.) at Buford
Mill Creek at Stephenson
Mt. Pisgah Christian at Rabun County
North Gwinnett at Milton
Prince Avenue Christian at Riverside Military Academy
South Gwinnett at Lanier
Union County at Gilmer
Winder-Barrow at Walnut Grove
