RABBITTOWN — Football fans across the area know all about Chestatee’s dynamic quarterback, Christian Charles.
But what they may not know much about, just yet, is East Hall sophomore QB Clete Cooper.
When East Hall and Chestatee take the field at East Hall Stadium tonight, all eyes will be on the quarterback position. You can hear the game live on 94.5 FM The Lake.
“Cooper’s progression over the past two weeks has been very noticeable,” Chestatee coach Shaun Conley said. “He is playing at a higher level each week, and that’s what you want out of your quarterback.”
Cooper is coming off a career-performance, completing 24-of-28 passes for 326 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-28 win over Woodland of Cartersville in Week 3.
“He’s really maturing and getting better and better every week,” East Hall coach Michael Perry said.
On the other side is Charles. The junior quarterback does things on the field most can’t, and his explosiveness on the field will fluster any defense. So far this season, he’s passed for more than 600 yards and six touchdowns, while rushing for another 116 yards and two scores.
“We’ve got to contain him and not let him get loose,” Perry said. “Some of those plays he made against Dawson were incredible. He’s just an exceptional athlete and does a good job of throwing the ball where it’s supposed to go.
But the War Eagles have failed to win a game this season, losing to two physical Region 7-3A teams, North Hall in Week 1 and falling in overtime to Dawson County in Week 2.
Conley said even though it’s not shown in the win column yet, the War Eagles are improving each week.
“I feel like we’re getting better each week,” he said. “I think we’re continuing to get better. I believe we’re close to being a pretty good football team.”
Chestatee hasn't played at East Hall since 2016, the last time the War Eagles beat the Vikings in one of three low scoring games between the two, 23-21. Otherwise, this series always provides plenty of fireworks on offense. As a matter of fact, both teams have combined for almost 200 points in the last two games and in the series, the combined average is 60 points score per game.
The War Eagles are focused on stopping East Hall’s air-raid offense, but they’ll have to hone in on more than that against the Vikings.
Mon Tabor busted on the scene last week, rushing for 111 yards for the Vikings.
“They have athletes all over the field and they throw it around,” Conley said. “We’re going to have to contain them, make tackles in the open field, not give up the big play and move the ball ourselves. We think this is going to be another tough fought game just like the other two.”
The lingo is much the same for Perry. He knows what Charles can do and also understands the War Eagles have a solid receiving corp.
They're focused on containing senior wideouts Seth Pressley and Caleb Carter. Those two have more than half of Chestatee’s 619 receiving yards.
“They have a really good receiver,” Perry said. “They are much improved from last year. They’ve done a tremendous job over there. They are much improved on both sides of the ball. It’s going to be an exciting game.”
NEED TO KNOW/CHESTATEE at EAST HALL
-- WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
-- WHERE: East Hall Stadium, Rabbittown
-- RADIO: 94.5 The Lake
-- CHESTATEE (0-2, 0-0 Region 7-4A): Off last week; lost 45-42 to Dawson County two weeks ago
-- EAST HALL (1-2, 0-0 Region 7-3A): Defeated Woodland-Cartersville 34-28 last week
-- NOTABLE: East Hall leads series 4-3. The Vikings won 56-41 in 2018. East Hall has won two straight in the series. ... Chestatee’s last win in the series came in 2016, 23-21 at East Hall Stadium. In fact, the War Eagles have won the last two meetings in Valhalla, 2016 and 2006. ... An interesting matchup between two offenses that have put up big numbers the last three seasons against a pair of defenses that gave up the most points in their respective classifications in 2018. ... The Chestatee defense has had trouble stopping the Vikings the past two seasons yielding 115 total points in the two losses. The Vikings finally got things rolling last week after scoring just 8 points in their first two contests. ... East Hall’s defense is still shaky giving up 127 points (41.7 ppg) so far in 2019. Chestatee finally got untracked over the final three quarters against Dawson County. ... Expect another shootout. The team with the ball last may have the advantage.
