Prolific passers and other stat stuffers: Area athletes all over state's high school football statistics leaderboard
Nov. 18—The most prolific passer in three classifications of Georgia High School Association football in 2022 all suit up for schools in adjacent counties.
That's probably not an uncommon occurrence in counties that house larger cities or in metropolitan Atlanta.
But the regular season passing kings in Classes 2A, 3A and 4A all hail from either Whitfield or Murray counties.
North Murray High School's Seth Griffin finished with the most passing yards in Class 2A during the 10-game regular season with 2,620.
Northwest Whitfield's Owen Brooker had 2,413 to lead 4A.
And Kace Kinnamon, the QB who led Coahulla Creek to its first ever playoff appearance this season, did so with his Class 3A-leading 2,190 passing yards.
The trio of senior slingers at times dominated defenses with the passing game this year. Griffin's 2,620 yards were good for 10th in the state overall. Prince Avenue Christian's Aaron Philo passed for 3,143 yards to lead all classifications.
The passers were far from the only local products to make a mark on the statewide stage.
Despite only appearing in nine of Dalton's 10 games, senior Catamount running back Tyson Greenwade ran away with the top rushing total in Class 5A with 1,839 rushing yards.
Greenwade started the year with 371 yards and six touchdowns in his first game and powered Dalton's return to the playoffs in 2022 all season. Greenwade's rushing total was seventh in the state overall, and had he appeared in every game he might have made a run at the 2,262 yards of Northeast's Nick Woodford that led the state.
Christian Heritage School's Eli Thomason didn't lead Class A Division II — Johnson County's Germivy Tucker piled up 2,373 yards — but Thomason was one of several who crossed the 1,000-yard mark with his 1,067 yards in the regular season.
Several local receivers benefited from their gunslinging quarterback to finish among the best in the state. Griffin's two go-to targets were the top two receivers for yards in Class 2A.
Jadyn Rice led the classification with 930 yards, and Judson Petty was right behind with 915. The pair beat out Union County's Jensen Goble, who was 2A's next most prolific pass-catcher with 905.
Kinnamon's top receiver, Manny Dominguez, caught passes for 810 yards for Coahulla Creek, which was less than the 1,005 of 3A leader Andrico Jackson of Monroe.
Hudson Gray caught passes for 808 yards from Brooker for Northwest, which trailed the 1,028 of the 4A leader, Perry's Dakarai Anderson.
