The opening weekend of the high school football season is finally here, and we enter the season with many questions.
As the expectations are high for all 26 area teams, only some will achieve those expectations. What we do know is Gainesville's defense should be fire. Commerce could be the most complete team, and if the Tigers have successfully added the passing game to the playbook, oh boy, that will be nasty. Will Buford, after a two-year drought, make a return to the finals this season?
There are other questions: Has North Hall reloaded, or are they rebuilding after losing several key starters to graduation? What is Rabun County cooking in Tiger? Is Region 6-3A a toss-up between GAC, Lumpkin County, White County, and North Hall? Are West Hall and East Hall dark horses in a loaded Region 8-3A? Will Jackson County and Habersham Central rule Region 8-6A. These questions will not be answered this week, but we'll eventually know the answers.
Regardless of the outcomes, we're finally happy to kick off the 2024 high school football season. Three games will be on the Jacobs Media airwaves and streaming live on AccessWDUN.com.
Lumpkin County at Cherokee Bluff—Both teams have many unknowns heading into the season, making this one of the most interesting games on the schedule. What is known is Georgia Tech commit and Lumpkin County quarterback Cal Faulkner. As he goes, so go the Indians, and if the Bears' young defense allows Faulkner to roam freely, it could be a long night. The Bears offense is under the direction of new QB Brooks Brien, who transferred back to Bluff in the offseason and has shown he can make plays. This game could be, in the words of legendary broadcaster Keith Jackson, a barn-burner, or it could be a blowout. We're hoping for a barn burner. The game can be heard live on WDUN AM 550 (Click to listen live).
Jefferson at Marist—It's the official start of the Sammy Brown-less Jefferson Dragons, which has many folks wondering how good the Dragons will be without their leading rusher and tackler. However, Jefferson has a solid nucleus of players returning, including quarterback Gavin Markey, to add some stability to the offense. Expect an experienced defense, led by linebackers Rett Hemphill and Jaden Yang, that gave up under 12 points per game to lead the way early on. The Dragons will get tested right off the bat with a solid Marist team on the road, giving the fans a true litmus test of what to expect from the Dragons this season. The game can be heard live on FM 102.9 WDUN (Click to listen live).
Gainesville at Marietta – Gainesville's defense will be nasty, but how good will the offense be? Big Red's most significant losses were on offense, but they've done a really good job of filling those holes. They'll send sophomore quarterback Kharim Hugley into the fire from the start. He responded well to the pressure during fall practice and performed well in the scrimmage against McEachern two weeks ago. All eyes will be on this game as Gainesville begins a brutal non-region schedule -- all on the road. Although the outcome of this game won't control how the season goes, it'll give everybody a taste of what's to come from the Red Elephants this season. The game can be heard live on FM 94.5 The Lake (Click to listen live).
PREP FOOTBALL SCHEDULE, Friday, August 16
Banks County at East Hall
Buford at Milton
Chestatee at Franklin County
Forsyth Central at East Forsyth
East Jackson at Winder-Barrow
Gainesville at Marietta
Habersham Central at Stephens County
Jackson County at Flowery Branch
Jefferson at Marist
Lakeview Academy at Lanier Christian
Lumpkin County at Cherokee Bluff
North Forsyth at Wheeler
Rabun County at White County
Rock Springs Christian at Riverside Prep
Seckinger at West Hall
Towns County at Murray County
Wesleyan at Commerce
(Dawson County, Johnson, North Hall and Union County are off)
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