At nearly the halfway point in the 2022 campaign several trends have started to develop around the Northeast Georgia area.
Class 7A has not slowed down Buford, which is ranked No. 1 and is undefeated (3-0). The preseason hype around Gainesville was no fluke as the Red Elephants are 4-0 for the first time since 2009.
The offensive machine that is Rabun County is still clicking despite the graduation of Gunnar Stockton. The Wildcats (3-0) are averaging 45 points/game and new quarterback Keegan Stover is 13th in the state overall and third in Class A Division 1 with 963 yards, with one game fewer than most of those ahead of him. And receiver Jason Gibson, who is chasing the state’s all-time yardage record, leads Class A Division 1 with 493 yards and is second overall in the state, just 65 yards behind Harrison’s Brady Kluse.
SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE: Without having opened up region play yet, Region 7-3A already looks like it will be a wild ride in 2022. Preseason favorites Dawson County (2-2) and Wesleyan (1-3) have struggled while Gilmer, picked to finish fifth, is 3-1 and Lumpkin County, picked to finish sixth, is unbeaten at 4-0 and has been dominating its early-season competition.
The other two preseason playoff picks -- White County (2-1) and Pickens (0-3) -- have been up-and-down for sure.
The same will probably be able to be said about Region 8-6A, which opens its region schedule tonight. Gainesville, the preseason favorite, looks strong at 4-0. The rest of the region, however, is a combined 6-15.
Jackson County has led at halftime in all four games but is 1-3. North Forsyth, projected to finish second, has been up-and-down and sits at 2-2. Habersham Central is 1-2 but has led all three games in the fourth quarter. Apalachee is 0-4 but the combined record of their non-region opponents is 12-3.
This will be a fun region to watch.
THIS ALSO COULD BE FUN: Region 8-4A opened with some head-turners the past two weeks. Preseason favorite North Oconee (2-0) gets under way this week but Cedar Shoals, Madison County, and North Hall -- picked to finish third, fourth, and fifth in a very tight vote -- are a combined 1-8 overall and 0-3 in region play. Cherokee Bluff, picked to finish second, needed a late comeback against Madison County to win its region opener last week.
Walnut Grove and newcomer East Forsyth, picked to finish seventh and eighth in the nine-team league, opened with wins last week, as did Chestatee, picked sixth, which won its region-opener for the first time since 2013.
This could be a much more fun region to watch than originally thought.
AREA TOP PERFORMERS: As mentioned earlier, Rabun County’s Jaden Gibson leads his classification in receiving and is second in the state overall.
But Jefferson’s Elijah Dewitt made the biggest move jumping nearly 10 spots on the state list and is now ninth overall with 427 yards and is second in Class 5A behind Decatur’s Kedric Lackey (446). North Forsyth’s Logan Curry is 18th with 374 and Habersham Central‘s Zeke Whittington is 30th with 317 yards receiving.
On the rushing list, Banks County’s Andrew Shockley sits ninth overall with 677 yards, which is second in Class 2A behind Keyjuan Brown of South Atlanta (751 yards). Jefferson’s Sammy Brown is 27th with 544 yards.
On the passing list, North Forsyth's West Roberts is 19th overall with 862 yards passing and is fifth in Class 6A. Gainesville’s Baxter Wright is 24th overall and seventh in Class 6A.
Union County quarterback Caiden Tanner is 23rd overall with 832 yards and is third in Class 2A in passing.
