For a second straight year, East Forsyth kicked off the Region 8-4A schedule, and for a second straight time, the Broncos came away with a win over Cedar Shoals last week.
However, for the rest of Region 8-4A, including Cherokee Bluff, Chestatee, East Hall, and North Hall, Friday night will mark their openers.
Prevailing thoughts coming into the season have not changed among area coaches and those who follow Georgia football. North Oconee (2-0, 0-0 Region 8-4A) is ranked second in Class 4A and is an overwhelming favorite to repeat as region champ for a third consecutive year.
Based on early returns in non-region play, Madison County (2-0, 0-0 Region 8-4A), who finished third last year, may be ready to challenge the powerful Titans and are chewing up opponents on the ground.
From there, it seems to be a wide-open field. Walnut Grove (1-1, 0-0 Region 8-4A), the runner-up in 2022, graduated the bulk of their offensive production while East Forsyth (2-0, 1-0 Region 8-4A) has the experience and is off to a strong start. The Brncos should be in the middle of the race to challenge for a playoff spot. North Hall (2-0, 0-0 Region 8-4A) is vastly improved in Sean Pender’s second season, while Cedar Shoals (0-3, 0-1 Region 8-4A), a playoff team in 2022, is struggling early in 2023.
Cherokee Bluff (0-2, 0-0 Region 8-4A) has played a brutal opening schedule while East Hall (1-1, 0-0 Region 8-4A) and Chestatee (0-2, 0-0 Region 8-4A) are looking to rebound from losses in some huge 8-4A openers on Friday. It figures to be a tension-filled night as teams have quick starts on their minds.
Chestatee coach Stuart Cunningham summed it up for virtually every coach in the region.
“I still think North Oconee is the team to beat with the folks they have back,” he said. “I do think there's some parity in the region, especially in the middle. How that plays out in the next couple of weeks will be huge. I think it's going to be a close race, especially for the last couple of spots.”
Offense is the name of the game in the region in the early going. Three teams are in the top six in Class 4A in scoring average. Madison County is second, averaging (96 points, 48.0 points/game). North Hall sits third (89 points, 44.5 ppg) and East Forsyth is sixth at 39.5 ppg (79 points) on the young season.
Which means, the defense that can generate the most stops will give their team a huge advantage.
Pender takes his high-flying Trojan offense into Walnut Grove looking to flip a loss from 2022. North Hall is led by senior quarterback Tanner Marsh (39-of-52, 428 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT) and senior receiver Ryals Puryear (16 rec., 187 yards, 2 TD). The Warriors, however, are yielding just 10 ppg so far.
“We're doing pretty good,” Pender said. “We still have a long way to go, though. Tanner is doing an amazing job. He's a very good athlete, he's learned a whole bunch throughout this offseason and you know, he continues to grow every day.
“I think we had 13 different receivers catch balls (last week). Ryals is on pace for over 100 yards every time he steps out on the field. He had 10 touches last week, including running the ball. But it’s a group effort overall.”
As for the keys against Walnut Grove?
“They formationed us a lot last year and got us into mismatches where they were able to get us out of the box with some creative things that they did,” Pender said. “We’re aware of that now so we're not gonna allow them to do that to us this year.”
Cherokee Bluff coach Tommy Jones also knows a quick start is imperative. His Bears open against Madison County at home and are trying to put a rough start behind them.
The Bears knocked off the Red Raiders on the road in 2022 (20-19) and Jones said the key will be trying to slow down their explosive triple-option offense.
“They're really hitting on all cylinders right now,” Jones said of Madison County. “I thought that they were really good last year. They're a true old-school throwback triple-option team, in the likes of what Georgia Southern used to do. And most of the guys they have offensively are veterans.
“I don't know if there's any secret on how to slow them down or stop them. It just takes a great deal of discipline. (Defensive coordinator) Chris Griffin and our defensive staff have done an excellent job preparing our kids. We know that they're going to come to play and play hard.”
Defensively, Bluff has played better than its 30.5 ppg average. They gave up two special teams touchdowns in a loss to Class 7A West Forsyth and gave up just 214.5 yards on average against the Wolverines and Adairsville, two strong rushing teams.
Another intriguing, and important game for both teams, has Chestatee visiting East Hall as both teams look to rebound from disappointing losses last week. Traditionally it has been an offensive shootout. With both defenses struggling some early, fans should expect both to light up the scoreboard once again.
“As far as it being a shootout and scoring points, I don't know,” Vikings head coach Matt Turner said. “Chestatee has had some issues on defense. We have as well. But Chestatee is still learning that new offense and getting it going, so it’s hard to say. To me it's gonna come down to who plays a good, clean, fundamentally sound football game. Not turning the ball over, which was our problem last year.”
Cunningham said slowing down East Hall quarterback Jamarcus Harrison is a must for them.
“The key is just to contain (Harrison),” he said. “He's a very good player. He's coached very well. They have some receivers that are threats that are athletically hard to manage in open space. We have to be sure tacklers and control the ball on offense. That's our game plan.”
However, quick starts did not necessarily translate into playoff runs in 2022. Both Madison County and Cedar Shoals opened last year with region losses then went on to qualify for the postseason. Cherokee Bluff, Chestatee, and East Forsyth all won their openers last season -- none made the playoffs.
(Cedar Shoals, East Forsyth, and North Oconee all are off this week. The Titans will be the last team in the region to begin and will open their region schedule next week on the road against Madison County.)
