Five things to watch in Week 9 of high school football in the Greater Savannah area
There were some big region wins last week as Benedictine knocked off previously undefeated Burke County in Region 3-4A action, while Savannah Christian held off a strong defensive challenge from Johnson to prevail in a Region 3-3A matchup.
The stakes get higher as the end of the regular season nears and teams battle for playoff positioning. Here are five things to watch for in Week 9 of the high school football season in the Greater Savannah area.
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Johnson at Calvary Day, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Johnson is coming off a hard-fought 14-6 loss to Savannah Christian as the Atom Smashers defense played an impressive game.
Johnson (4-2, 2-1 in Region 3-3A) is allowing just 15 points per game behind a veteran defense led by senior linebacker Mikaree Stafford. Ronald Smith had a pair of sacks against Savannah Christian. The Johnson defensive line features Malon Petty and Jaden Boone, both seniors that are also standout offensive linemen.
Johnson has picked off six passes on the year, led by senior Jayden Jones, who has a pair of interceptions. The defensive unit will face another stiff challenge going on the road to face a Calvary Day team ranked No. 3 among Class 3A teams in the state by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Cavaliers (5-0, 3-0 in Region 3-3) are coming off a 49-8 win over Groves, where the reserves saw plenty of action in the second half.
Four-star quarterback Jake Merklinger has thrown for 619 yards with 12 touchdowns and just one interception. He hasn't seen as much action as he usually would due to lopsided wins, a game canceled by weather and another shortened by a storm. Merklinger has plenty of weapons on his offense, including four-star tight end Michael Smith and receivers Doopah Coleman and Caden Arnold, who have combined for more than 500 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns.
The Cavalier sdefense allows an average of 18 points per game and has plenty of star power of its own in linebacker Troy Ford Jr. (committed to UCF) and defensive tackle Terry Simmons (Duke). The teams have a common opponent in Savannah Christian, as Calvary beat the Raiders 34-28 on Sept. 23.
Johnson is hoping that senior running back Samari Dowdy, who left in the first half of the loss to SCPS with a knee injury and didn't return, is healthy enough to suit up for this one.
SE Bulloch at Benedictine, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium
The Cadets made a statement last week as they dominated previously undefeated Burke County 28-3 in their Region 3-4A opener at Memorial Stadium.
BC (4-2, 1-0) moved up a spot to No. 5 in the Class 4A rankings. But they arguably should be higher as their two road losses came against a Columbus of Miami squad that is 7-0 on the season and to Ware County (5-0), the No. 1 team in Class 5A, who edged the Cadets 14-10 in a rain-slogged battle.
Junior quarterback Luke Kromenhoek completed 15 of 20 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 48 yards and two scores in the victory. Na'Seir Samuel came on strong in the second half — rushing for all of his 86 yards on 11 carries.
La'Don Bryant had four catches for 95 yards and a score, and Thomas Blackshear caught a touchdown pass.
The BC defense, allowing just under 11 points per game this season, was excellent once again. Wilkes Albert had 12 tackles and Jonathan Hardy had 10 stops, with Alijah Alexander and Herbert Scroggins III adding eight each. Jeremiah Thomas and Cole Semien did a great job up front for the Cadets.
SEB (2-5, 1-1 in Region 3-4A) is coming off a 34-22 loss at New Hampstead. The Yellow Jackets offense is led by junior running back Kyon Taylor (521 yards rushing) and senior quarterback Gage DiGiovanni, who has thrown for 698 yards and six touchdowns.
New Hampstead at Wayne County, 7:30 p.m. Friday
New Hampstead looked solid after a two-week layoff in the win over Southeast Bulloch.
Senior quarterback Pauly Seeley, who has committed to Wofford, has thrown for 1,031 yards with 15 touchdowns and four interceptions (stats not including the SEB win).
Kaleb Smith has rushed for 528 yards on the season in a balanced offense for the Phoenix. The defense features Georgia Southern commit Alijah Lacey, who recovered a bad snap on a punt for a score in the win over SEB. Sophomore Kamren Mazes leads the team in tackles.
Wayne County (5-1, 1-0) is ranked No. 9 among Class 4A teams by the AJC. The Yellow Jackets average 203 rushing yards per game behind junior Matthew Fuller, a 6-foot, 215-pound junior who has rushed for 761 yards and 12 touchdowns. He had 200-yard games in wins over Jenkins and Statesboro.
Evans at Effingham County, 7:30 p.m. Friday
The Rebels are rolling as Effingham County (5-2, 3-0 in Region 2-6A) won its fifth straight in 28-14 region win over Grovetown last week.
Three-star recruit Keion Wallace, a senior receiver, has six touchdown receptions on the year and ran back a punt for a score last week to go along with a scoring catch.
Junior Nate Hayes went over 1,000 passing yards on the season in the win, and is also the team's second-leading rusher behind Jayden Evans, who had his second 100-yard performance of the season against Grovetown.
Linebacker Luke Roberts leads the Rebels with 53 tackles (stats through six games), and Ashley Thompson and Timmy Brown are part of one of the top defensive backfields in the area.
Evans (3-3, 1-1) is coming off a 21-20 loss to Lakeside. The Knights have a a talented dual-threat quarterback in Deangelo Walton (812 yards passing, nine touchdowns, one interception), who also leads the team with 563 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
Richmond Hill at Valdosta, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Richmond Hill loses tough one to Camden: Richmond Hill suffers costly loss in Class 7A debut. Why region opener was a must-win.
Richmond Hill opened Region 1-7A play last week with a 21-14 home loss against Camden County. The Wildcats need a win badly to secure a playoff spot.
The Wildcats (3-4, 0-1) have a pretty balanced offense with senior Zion Gillard leading the run game with 697 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.
Ty Goldrick has thrown for 1,072 yards and eight scores, with Ravon Grant his favorite target with 46 catches for 511 yards and five total touchdowns.
Richmond Hill's Grant having great season: A Wildcat or a cheetah? Speedy wide receiver carrying Richmond Hill in Class 7A.
Valdosta (7-0, 1-0) is ranked No. 4 among Class 7A teams in the state by the AJC. Ahmad Denson had an 80-yard touchdown run in a 13-6 win over Lowndes last week. He is one of three Valdosta running backs with more than 300 yards rushing on the season. The group includes sophomore quarterback Todd Robinson (397 yards rushing and six touchdowns to go along with 548 yards passing and seven touchdown throws) and Charles Williams Jr., who has rushed for 373 yards and six scores.
Friday, Oct. 14
Richmond Hill at Valdosta
Evans at Effingham County
Lakeside Evans at South Effingham
Ware County at Bradwell Institute
Greenbrier at Jenkins (Savannah High)
Johnson at Calvary Day
Southeast Bulloch at Benedictine (Memorial Stadium)
Islands at Burke County
New Hampstead at Wayne County
Appling County at Windsor Forest (Islands)
Bryan County at Screven County
Savannah High at Metter
Northside Christian at Bethesda (Daffin Park)
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: Savannah high school football: Five things to watch for in Week 9
