Marietta Blue Devils
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron September 15
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron September 8
The Last Team Standing
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The GHSA Championships are over and we have champions for each division. Let’s take a look at each one.
AAAAAAA Marietta 17, Lowndes 9: I said before the season started the Blue Devils are loaded with talent. Despite that, they lost two games during the season. Lowndes (14-1) was undefeated before the game and nationally ranked in the top 10.
Marietta scored all of their points in the first half. Five-star tight end Arik Bailey dropped a pass in the end zone before halftime and the Blue Devils had to settle for a field goal. Bailey had a big game with 11 receptions for 146 yards.
The season is not over though because they will play in the GEICO State Champions Bowl Series against Eastside Catholic from Sammamish, Washington.
AAAAAA Harrison 20, Allatoona 7: The No.2 Hoyas (15-0) converted two blocked field goals and an interception into 17 points and turned what otherwise had been a tight game into a win.
Both teams are from Cobb County and in the same region so this was a rivalry game. The two games against Allatoona were Harrison’s two closest games of the season.
The No. 7 Buccaneers, playing in its second state final in five seasons, finished 11-3-1.
AAAAA Buford 17, Warner Robbins 14: The win gave No.5 Buford (14-1) its 12th state championship and first since 2014. It marked the third straight season that No. 2 Warner Robins (13-2) has fallen short in the title game.
The game went to overtime and Jamarius Isaac got an interception on Warner Robbins first possession.
The Wolves ran two plays and advanced the ball to the 7 before calling on Hayden Olsen, who drilled the ball through the uprights for the winning 24-yard field goal.
AAAA Blessed Trinity 17, Oconee County 14: The Titans (14-1) won their third consecutive championship in a very tough game. Tailback Elijah Green, a North Carolina commit rushed 21 times for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores came in the final two minutes of the first half.
Green’s most important carry may have been his last. On fourth-and-2 at the 6 late in the game, Green plowed off tackle for a first down, which enabled BT to run out the clock.
AAA Cedar Grove 21, Crisp County 14: The Saints (13-2) defended their 2018 title. This is their third championship in four years. This is coach Miguel Patrick’s first year, replacing Jimmy Smith, who became an assistant at Georgia State.
Running back Chavon Wright finished with 20 carries for 140 yards and two scores.
AA Dublin 42, Brooks County 32: The No. 5 Fighting Irish (14-1) won a slugfest without attempting a pass and scoring six rushing touchdowns spread across three running backs and their QB. This is Dublin’s first title since splitting AA with Charlton County.
A Private ELCA 33, Wesleyan 13: Behind the four-touchdown performance of running back Keaton Mitchell, the No. 3-ranked Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy Chargers won a record fifth straight state championship on Friday, a 33-13 victory over No. 5 Wesleyan in the Class A Private championship at Georgia State Stadium.
ELCA (13-1) became the first GHSA team to win five straight titles, breaking a tie with West Rome (1982-85) and Buford (2007-10). ELCA’s graduating class finished with a 54-2 record and the team’s record over the last five seasons is 65-5.
A Public Irwin County 56, Marion County 14: The Indians (13-0) won their first title since 1975. In six seasons coach Buddy Nobles, who is battling Stage 4 stomach cancer, has led the Indians to the state finals five times.
No Time To Be Blue
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.
