Football: Scrimmages begin tonight around the area

Although high school football scrimmages are just a practice game for a few quarters, fans should get a glimpse of what to expect for the upcoming 2021 season.

The Georgia High School Association allows high school teams to hold either one spring scrimmage or two preseason scrimmages. If teams decide to play a spring scrimmage, they are only allowed to play one preseason scrimmage.

(CHECK OUT FRIDAY GAME NIGHT TEAM PREVIEWS HERE)

With that said, North Hall is the only area school playing two preseason scrimmages. Lakeview Academy had two slated but due to GHSA rule 2.62 on Page 28 of the constitution, the Lions were forced to cancel their scrimmage against the Georgia Force tonight. The rule basically states a member school cannot play a team that is not affiliated with the GHSA, GISA or GAPPS. Georgia Force plays in a home-schooled league. 

Regardless, four area schools -- Buford, Dawson County, Habersham Central and North Hall -- will get the shot to see how summer workouts and practices have prepared them against an outside opponent on Friday. Scrimmages will begin at 7:30 p.m.

For North Hall coach David Bishop, whose team will play Redan at Lynn Cottrell Stadium at the Brickyard, said he's hoping it'll be a good test to gauge their summer progress. 

"Redan is big and athletic," he said. "It will be a good test for us to see where we are fundamentally and physically. We are going to be looking at rotating some folks to work on our depth at several positions on O-line and D-line as well as the secondary."

The Trojans finished the 2020 season 7-5 and 5-1 in Region 7-3A, losing in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs to Greater Atlanta Christian, 33-0. North Hall will be a favorite to battle for the region title this season as the Trojans return a slew of starters, including quarterback-running back combo Bradford Puryear and Kevin Rochester, and defensive leader Jeremiah Telander. 

Cherokee Bluff, defending region champ, and White County are predicted to be in the fight as well. 

Fellow Region 7-3A foe, Dawson County, will travel to nearby North Forsyth tonight. The Tigers, who finished third in the region last season, made a second-round playoff appearance, losing to eventual state runner-up Oconee County, 42-7. They return Class 3A passing leader Zach Holtzclaw.

The senior signal-caller will be breaking in a whole new receiving corps and will be behind an inexperienced O-Line. The Tigers also have several newcomers on the defensive side of the ball. The Class 7A Raiders will give the Tigers a solid test to see how much the new guys have improved over the summer. 

In Class 6A, Habersham Central will host Class 4A North Oconee. The Raiders are coming off a 6-5 season that ended with a 35-14 loss to Rome in the first round of the playoffs. They'll have the task of replacing star quarterback Joshua Pickett and bruising running back Jackson Cloatre. The Raiders also will be filling holes on both lines of scrimmages. The Titans, no slouch, should give the Raiders a strong showing.

Coach Benji Harrison said he's excited to get to see his team in action. 

"I just want to see our kids play with great effort and do what they are coached to do," he said. "They need to look at this tonight as them proving themselves for playing time on Friday nights."

Buford, who also is housed in Region 8-6A with Habersham Central and is the defending state champ, has the most interesting scrimmage of the night against Cedar Grove. The Saints finished the 2020 season short of the Class 3A state title three-peat, losing to Crisp County by a field goal in the quarterfinals. 

The Wolves will be filling out their offensive line this season but have several skill position players returning, including the quarterback rotation of Ashton Daniel and Dylan Wittke. Colorado-commit Victor Venn and Power-5 recruit CJ Clickscales also return to the backfield. Isaiah Bond, a Florida-commit, is back at receiver, and Jake Pope, who's narrowed his Power 5 list down to five programs, will lead the defense and play receiver.