Five things to know headed into Week 4 of the Savannah-area high school football season

Benedictine and Calvary Day, the two top high school football teams in the Greater Savannah area, are coming off important wins last week and looking to make a statement in Week 4 of the season.

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Here's a look at what to expect with BC and Calvary, and five things to watch for Friday night.

Benedictine (2-1) at Ware County (2-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday

This is one of the most interesting matchups in the state this week as Benedictine, ranked No. 1 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution among Class 4A teams, goes on the road to take on a Gators squad ranked No. 3 in Class 5A.

Benedictine coach Danny Britt wasn't happy with his team's performance in a 28-0 win over visiting Westminster last week in a game cut short by inclement weather. He was especially concerned with lack of execution on the offensive side of the ball as BC had two touchdowns called back by penalties.

Britt is a perfectionist and master motivator, and he will be on his team to play at a higher level as they travel to "The Swamp" to take on the Gators at Memorial Stadium in Waycross.

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This will be just the third meeting between the teams, who have played the last two seasons. Ware County beat the visiting Cadets 43-21 in 2020 behind a big-time performance by quarterback Thomas Castellanos, now at UCF.

The Cadets returned the favor last year as quarterback Holden Geriner, now at Auburn, helped lead the host Cadets to a shootout win over Ware County 49-42.

Ware County rolled to a 41-3 win over Baldwin on Friday as Nikao Smith was 13-of-18 passing for 184 yards and two touchdowns — both to Jarvis Hayes, whose offers include Minnesota and Georgia Southern. Dae'Jeaun Dennis rushed for 124 yards in the win, according to the Georgia High School Football Daily.

Benedictine's defense — led by lineman Cole Semien, linebacker Bryce Baker and free safety Za'Quan Bryan (committed to Minnesota) — will be focused on stopping the Gators. Against Westminster, the unit played well in allowing just 96 yards of offense over three quarters.

Junior quarterback Luke Kromenhoek was a bit off in the win over Westminster, but look for the Florida State commit to come on strong Friday night. Ack Edwards has been getting the tough rushing yards, with Na'Seir Samuel (two rushes for 80 yards and a score against Westminster), Thomas Blackshear and Bryan giving BC serious big-play ability.

Calvary Day (2-0) at Frederica Academy (1-2), 7:30 p.m. Friday

Calvary gets a bit of a breather as the Cavaliers go on the road to St. Simons Island to face Frederica Academy, a GISA squad.

The Cavs are coming off an exciting 28-21 win over Eagle's Landing Christian in a game that was cut short midway through the third quarter by a lightning storm.

The Cavaliers defense shut down the run against ELCA, as the Chargers had minus-23 yards on the ground when sack yardage was taken into account. Linebacker Kamerion Lanigan had three sacks, while Terry Simmons, Troy Ford, Buddy Mathis and A.J. Butts also got to the quarterback for sacks.

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Sophomore Doopah Coleman returned a kickoff 85 yards for a TD and also hit Noah Gilliam for a 60-yard score on a reverse pass called by offensive coordinator Russell DeMasi to provide the explosive plays the Cavs needed in the win.

ELCA quarterback Charlie Gilliam, who has committed to Wake Forest, had a great game against the Cavs, throwing for 306 yards and three scores. Frederica has Sutton Ellis, a transfer from Brunswick, at quarterback. The senior threw for 689 yards last year as Brunswick lost in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

Calvary Day junior quarterback Jake Merklinger threw a dart for a 73-yard touchdown to Michael Smith that gave Calvary the lead against ELCA before the storm hit. Earlier in the game, he was inserted at cornerback to slow down the Chargers' pass game. He responded with an interception and a textbook tackle to break up another pass. It's a safe bet that Merklinger will stick to offense this week.

Battery Creek (1-2) at Savannah Christian (2-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday at Pooler Stadium

Construction delays with Battery Creek's new field forced a change of venue and gave Savannah Christian an extra home game as the Raiders (2-0) are set to host the Dolphins on Friday at Pooler Stadium.

Savannah Christian has dominated early on but hasn't been tested as the Raiders outscored Islands and Hilton Head Christian 123-13 in their first two games.

This is a final non-region matchup for the Raiders, who will host Savannah Country Day before playing at Calvary Day in Region 3-3A matchups on Sept. 16 and Sept 23, respectively.

Sophomore running back Zo Smalls has been on fire, rushing for 255 yards and scoring eight touchdowns in the first two games. Classmate Kenry Wall is another big play man with 238 all-purpose yards and three scores. The SCPS offensive line, with all five starters returning from 2021, has been dominant.

David Bucey has been strong at linebacker, while doubling up as a big-play receiver with five catches for 152 yards and a score from quarterback Paulus Zittrauer. Sophomore defensive lineman Elijah Griffin has shown why is so highly recruited.

Bethesda (3-0) at Carolina Academy (1-1)

The Blazers continued in their turnaround season under coach Antwain Turner, in his 17th year at the helm, as host Bethesda beat Thomas Sumter 34-0 on Friday.

Sophomore running back Coray Stafford had his third straight game with more than 140 yards rushing as he ran for 167 yards and three scores on just eight carries in the win. He is averaging 14.9 yards per carry and 163 yards per game for the Blazers, with six touchdowns.

Junior quarterback Triston Randall has been very efficient, completing 14 of 26 passes for 244 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. He also plays linebacker and leads the team with 26 tackles.

Junior running back Noah Jenkins is adding 66 yards rushing per game for a squad averaging 266 yards on the ground.

Brantley County (3-0) at Johnson (1-1) at Savannah High, Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The Atom Smashers got their offense going behind a strong effort by their offensive line as Johnson scored 26 points in the second half Monday to beat Windsor Forest in a game that was suspended by weather Friday when 0-0 with 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

Now Johnson will face a test from a Brantley squad coming off a 17-6 win over Beach after dominating Groves 42-8 in Week 2.

The Herons are averaging 206 yards rushing per game, led by sophomore Kendall Wright, who has 213 yards and three scores on the year.

Jaden Boone stars on both sides of the line for Johnson, which has strong running backs in senior Amarion Scott and Samari Dowdy.

Sophomore quarterback Malachi Bacon was in on all four touchdowns for the Atom Smashers Monday night. He ran for a pair of short scores and hit running back Samari Dowdy with touchdown passes of 25 and 50 yards.

Linebacker Mikaree Stafford blocked a punt and had more than 10 tackles, while Jayden Jones had a key forced fumble to lead the defense.

PREP FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sept. 9

Southeast Bulloch at Effingham County

Bradwell at South Effingham

Benedictine at Ware County

Windsor Forest at Islands

New Hampstead at South Lake (FL)

Calvary Day at Frederica Academy

Groves at Claxton

Brantley County at Johnson (Savannah High)

Liberty County at Pierce County

Battery Creek at Savannah Christian (Pooler Stadium)

Savannah High at Butler

St. Andrew's at Hilton Head Prep

John Paul II at Memorial Day (Memorial Stadium)

Bethesda at Carolina Academy

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: High school football: Five things to watch this week in Savannah area