By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Marietta High School is not a traditional football powerhouse. They have one state championship and that is from 1967. Recently they have been in the news for the wrong reasons.

The Blue Devils had a great year in 2017, finishing the regular season 8-2. They were forced to forfeit all of their eight wins after an investigation by the Georgia High School Association determined two of the players were ineligible.

The program also got a $1,500 fine and was placed on “severe warning status” for the 2018 season.

Marietta began the 2018 season ranked in the top 25 nationally of multiple national polls and No. 1 in Georgia’s Class AAAAAAA.

Marietta’s star quarterback and wide receiver were lost to injury late in the season, and two other Division I recruits never took the field, declared ineligible by the GHSA in preseason.

Marietta finished 5-6 and unranked.

“Our season ended in a disappointing way,” Marietta coach Richard Morgan said. “But the way they came back to work, instead of sulking, showed me we’ve got a shot to be really good. Based on the work ethic I’ve seen in the off season and the commitment and dedication; I’ve got real high expectations for this team.”

On paper, this is the most talented team in the state. The 2019 Blue Devils have nine seniors ranked among the top 100 prospects in Georgia. No other Georgia school in the highest classification has more than four.

Tight end Arik Gilbert, who had 88 catches for 1,210 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, is a five-star recruit.

Quarterback Harrison Bailey, defensive end/tackle B.J. Ojulari, tackle Jake Wray and defensive back Rashad Torrence are consensus four-star prospects.

Running back Kimani Vidal, defensive back Dawson Ellington and wide receivers Taji Johnson and Kobi Stewart all have offers from ACC and SEC schools.

How confident are they? On the school’s website they have all playoff dates including the state championship listed on their schedule.

The Blue Devils start the season August 22 on the road at Rome. The Wolves had their 40-game win streak snapped in the 5A semifinals. They are a good team but I expect a talented 7A team like Marietta to win.

St. Joseph’s (PA) comes to town the next week. I don’t know anything about them but I give the edge to Marietta.

The next two weeks are on the road against Gwinnett County teams. They play Collins Hill and Grayson.

Collins Hill struggled last season so this should be an easy win. Grayson on the other hand will be a tough game. The Rams advanced to the state quarterfinals in 2018. Their head coach resigned at the end of the season so having a new coach might put them at a disadvantage.

After a bye week, the last non-region game is against Edgewater (FL). The Eagles were 12-2 last year and advanced to the Class 7A state semifinal. This game could go either way.

The first region game is at North Paulding and this is an easy win.

That is followed by a rivalry game versus McEachern. The Indians are always one of the best teams in Cobb County and anything can happen when rivals play. This is too close to call.

The toughest remaining game is against last season’s region 3-AAAAAAA champion, Hillgrove. The Hawks are playing on the road and Marietta wants revenge. They lost in 2018 48-24. The Blue Devils will get revenge.

Marietta has so much talent that I expect them to advance to the state championship at the very least.