Here's a look at five things we learned from Week 1 of the 2017 high school football season...
1. Yet another weapon emerges for the East Hall offense
We already knew that quarterback Austin Parker and a receiving crew that included a mix of big plays, sure hands and experience -- in the form of Sedrion Morse, Tripp Rider and Amir Ellison (amongst others) -- would be a handful for any defense faced this season. (Look no further than Week Zero's performance in which Parker racked up six touchdowns and over 500 yards of offense in a 72-55 loss to Habersham Central.) But, over the past two weeks, we've also seen that the Vikings also have a legitimate standout running back in Cambren Harrison. And his rise gives East Hall both balance and the type of physical presence that will only make the Vikings that much tougher to stop. Harrison was nearly unstoppable in Friday's 59-37 defeat of Chestatee, his 6-foot-2, 230-pound frame pounding through the middle of the War Eagles defense, while also catching seven passes and ripping off several big plays. In fact, Harrison finished with 150 yards receiving and 155 yards rushing -- something East Hall coach Bryan Gray said has never happened under his watch in Valhalla. If the Vikings can just start making a few plays on defense, as they did on Friday, this team will be an absolute handful.
2. Branch shows glimpses of what's to come
It wasn't perfect -- opening games almost never are -- but the new-look Falcons showed enough promise to get fans excited about what is to come under a new coaching staff headed by Ben Hall. It started with a physical rushing attack, which was a trademark of Hall's teams at Jefferson. On Friday, the Branch put up 213 yards against North Hall to lead the way to a season-opening win. Malik Damons was the wrecking ball for the Falcons, rumbling for 136 yards and three touchdowns. New Falcons quarterback Elijah Gainey showed the tools for success in his first start, and, if he can improve each week, the pieces are in place for an impressive Branch offense come season's end. It will be intriguing to watch the group this weekend against a Chestatee team smarting from last week's defeat to East Hall, as the 1-1 War Eagles make the trek south to face the Falcons.
3. Lakeview flashes some intriguing potential
The Lions ended five years of season-opening frustration in style last week, pouncing on East Jackson for a 42-13 win. The game re-inforced what we thought preseason: this team could be very good offensively. Certainly a key part of that is the play of quarterback Alec Bornhorst. The senior signal caller is a dual threat, and riddled the Eagles with his arm and legs, passing for 226 yards and two scores and also rushing for 110 yards and a score. The emergence of junior receiver KJ Millwood and senior running back Dillon Knepp should make this Lakeview attack fun to watch. The test gets much tougher this week on the road at Athens Academy, and it will be interesting to see if the Lions can build on last week.
4. Commerce has reloaded its backfield
After graduating almost 90 percent of their offensive production from 2016, we were intrigued to see how the Tigers would respond with a completely new set of faces in their offensive backfield. As we saw on Friday, the answer looks to be: just fine thank you. Commerce's triple option attack churned up 416 total yards, including 347 yards rushing en route to a 42-13 defeat of Banks County. And the Tigers did it in typical fashion, splitting carries between a number of capable runners. Players like Easley Smith (17 rushes, 94 yards, TD), Dylan Deaton (12 rushes, 85 yards, TD) and Caleb Mason (4 attempts, 49 yards, 2 TDs) impressed, as well as quarterback Nate Ray and other Tigers like Sam Roach (4 rushes, 75 yards) and Nick Patrick. The Tigers will switch to a stout Region 8-A test this weekend against Hebron Christian, but don't be surprised to see more of the same from Commerce.
5. Rabun picks right back up where it left off
It seems the more things change in Tiger, the more things stay the same. The new normal for the Wildcats is explosive offense, and, even after graduating some potent weapons from last year's team, Rabun County's offense picked right back up where it left off in its season opener. Mt. Pisgah Christian was supposed to represent a tough opener, and yet the Wildcats made it look relatively easy, as they piled up 299 yards rushing and 203 yards passing en route to a 62-21 victory at home. Senior quarterback Bailey Fisher has been a key part of two straight state quarterfinal teams, and he looked just like it on Friday, passing for 131 yards and two touchdowns while attempting just eight passes -- he connected on six of them for 21.8 yards per completion. Six different Wildcats players caught passes, and running back Mason Sprinkle flashed his own big-play ability, rushing six times for 140 yards and a TD -- 23.3 yards per rush. The Rabun defense also limited Mt. Pisgah dual-threat quarterback Jacob Cendoya to 162 yards passing and 41 yards rushing and just two scores, while intercepting him once (Rabun ended with two interceptions on the night). The Wildcats also scored touchdowns on special teams -- one on a blocked punt and one on a punt return -- and connected on two field goal attempts, including one from 50 yards for Andrew Barnes. This week's game against Stephens County represents another step up, and it will be interesting to see how Rabun's offense responds.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES, WEEK 1, Aug. 25
Alpharetta 29, Gainesville 7
Buford 34, Melbourne Central Catholic (Fla.) 17
Commerce 42, Banks County 13
Dawson County 9, Forsyth Central 0
East Hall 59, Chestatee 37
Flowery Branch 38, North Hall 0
Jackson County 12, Madison County 6
Jefferson 50, Riverwood 13
Lakeview Academy 42, East Jackson 13
Mill Creek 31, Stephenson 13
North Forsyth 28, Johns Creek 6
North Gwinnett 31, Milton 28
Prince Avenue Christian 56, Riverside Military Academy 13
Rabun County 62, Mt. Pisgah Christian 21
River Ridge 54, Apalachee 13
South Gwinnett 17, Lanier 3
Stephens County 28, Franklin County 0
Union County 56, Gilmer 14
West Hall 59, Johnson 7
White County 66, Lumpkin County 14
Winder-Barrow 47, Walnut Grove 22
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEUDLE FOR WEEK 2 (Sept. 1)
Chattooga at Dawson County
Chestatee at Flowery Branch
Commerce at Hebron Christian
Fannin County at Ringgold
Gainesville at Clarke Central
Hillgrove at North Gwinnett
Jefferson at Thomson
Johnson at Banks County
Lakeview Academy at Athens Academy
Loganville at North Forsyth
Lumpkin County at Jackson County
Mill Creek at Dacula
Northview at Winder-Barrow
Rabun County at Stephens County
Riverside Military Academy at Providence Christian
Towns County at George Walton Academy
Union County at Hayesville (N.C.)
Union Grove at Apalachee
Washington-Wilkes at West Hall
White County at Habersham Central
