By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

We are about one month away from the 2018 high school football season. North Gwinnett won the 7A state championship last season. The Bulldogs beat Colquitt County 19-17 on a last second field goal to win the game.

Coming into the season, they are ranked as the preseason No. 1 team. They will have a very tough time defending the title but I think it is possible.

The top recruit on the team is cornerback DJ Turner II. He’s a three-star prospect and committed to Michigan. He’s 6’0 tall so has good size for a defensive back. The other corner, Warren Burrell is also 6 feet tall and ranked the 66th recruit in Georgia. He received offers from Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, NC State, Georgia, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

There is another highly recruited member of the secondary, safety Quinton Newsome. He fits in the new mold of bigger safeties like Keanu Neal, standing at 6’2 and 180 pounds. He has 20 offers from schools like Georgia, Auburn, Ole Miss and Cal. North Gwinnett has one of the best secondaries in the state.

Running back Tyler Goodson is also a three-star player and he committed to Iowa. He’s 5’10, 192 pounds and he’s a quick, shifty back. Last year he rushed for 1,315 yards and 20 touchdowns. He also had 18 receptions and 4 receiving TD’s.

The season begins with a tough opponent, No. 3 Brookwood at Mercedes Benz Stadium. The Broncos were 11-3 last season and won their region. They advanced to the state semifinals, so they plan on building on that in 2018.

Both teams are very talented so I’m not sure who will have the advantage in this early season match up.

After a bye week, the second game is in Apopka, Florida versus Wekiva High School. The Mustangs should be a pretty good challenge and Florida teams are known for speed. I expect North Gwinnett to come out victorious.

Norcross comes to town the following week. The Blue Devils are looking to bounce back and return to being an elite team. After winning back-to-back state titles in 2012 and 2013, they’ve been relatively quiet. They are talented but I don’t think they have what it takes to beat North Gwinnett.

Game 4 is at Walton, a Cobb County powerhouse. Walton beat North Gwinnett in last year’s season opener, 31-28.

This should be a very tough game and the Raiders have one of the best players in the state, wide receiver Dominick Blaylock. He is the No. 4 prospect in the state and a four-star recruit. He committed to UGA and I know he will want to shine against this secondary. I think the Bulldogs will be too strong for Walton.

Discovery High is the next game. The school opened in 2015 so it’s one of the newest schools in Gwinnett County. The Bulldogs beat them 41-7 in 2017 and this year will be the same.

On September 28th they travel to Lawrenceville, GA to play Mountain View. The Bears are led by defensive tackle Jaelin Humphries.

The four-star recruit has committed to Florida and he’s one of the best defensive linemen in Georgia. This will be a close game.

The remaining four games are against Mill Creek, Collins Hill, Duluth and Peachtree Ridge. The only easy win in the group is Duluth. The remaining teams should compete and play well but I give the Bulldogs the edge.

They should finish the season 9-1, 8-2 at the worst. They will be in position to make another run in the playoffs to win the championship.