Three of the six highest-scoring high school football teams in Georgia Class AAAA reside in Region 6, even though the region gets little respect from the folks at Maxwell Ratings.
The service ranked each of Georgia's regions this week, and Region 6 was ranked No. 8 of eight in AAAA, with Ridgeland the highest-ranked individual team at No. 18. The Maxwell folks don't put too much emphasis on scoring since Ridgeland is second in the classification with 46.3 points per game (Thomson is first at 46.6), Heritage fifth at 38 and Northwest Whitfield sixth at 34.2.
"Our region has some really good offenses," said Northwest coach Josh Robinson, whose Bruins visit Heritage tonight. "Heritage has a very dynamic offense with a great quarterback and two great receivers, while Ridgeland is very explosive and has more speed than any team north of Cartersville. As for us, our line play has been pretty good and we've got two really good receivers and a good quarterback. We are tough to handle and we have a lot of options. "
Two other of Georgia's most potent teams reside in 6-AAA, with Ringgold fourth statewide in AAA at 38.3 points per game and North Murray sixth at 35.8. The only area team ranked in a top 10 defensively is Dalton, which is sixth in 6A at 11.2 points allowed per game.
McClure getting offers
East Hamilton punter/kicker Jake McClure has been solid again this season and has received scholarship offers from Coastal Carolina and Colorado State, according to Hurricanes coach Ted Gatewood.
"He's been solid all year as a kicker and a punter. I'd definitely put him on a list," Gatewood said. "He's the best we've had. He does it all well. He's putting most of his kickoffs 8 yards deep (in the end zone)."
McClure has made 16 of 17 PATs, has converted five of six field-goal tries with a long of 41 yards, has put 18 kickoffs through the end zone and carries a punting average of 39.6 yards.
"One of the biggest parts of his punting is hang time. He typically puts the ball above the lights, which makes it very hard to handle. Eight of his punts have been fumbled and we recovered five," Hurricanes assistant Scott Moore said. "The only PAT not made was blocked because of penetration in the line."
'D' sets record also
It went unnoticed last Friday, and that's understandable considering school-record performances by quarterback Kolten Gibson and receiver Bryce Nunnelly, but Walker Valley's defense rebounded from a porous first half and limited Cleveland to one second-half touchdown.
Mustangs defenders came up with seven turnovers - another record - in the school's second straight win over Cleveland. Chris Crenshaw and Noah Davis recovered fumbles, and interceptions went to Logan Manning (two), Nunnelly, Cody Morfield and Zach Eslinger.
"If it's not a record, it's pretty doggone close," Mustangs coach Glen Ryan said. "Cleveland scored some points, but we held them under 300 yards. They gave the offense great field position early with some turnovers. We're getting closer and closer to being a pretty good defensive team, and that's what it's going to take if we're going to make a push."
More Cleveland woes
If everything evens out, then Cleveland's football team should be injury-free the next four or five years. Twelve players have now been lost to injury this season.
Already down to their fourth quarterback, the Blue Raiders lost two of their three starting defensive linemen last week. Out are 6-foot-3, 295-pound senior noseguard Nicolas Fennimore and senior defensive end Seth Garcia, leaving only sophomore defensive end Caleb Flickner in the lineup.
Additionally, senior Shai Greathouse, a reserve outside linebacker and member of the kickoff team, suffered a broken vertebra in his neck. Coach Scott Cummings said Greathouse is now in a neck brace and won't need surgery as long as nothing shifts.
Senior Dallas McCrary, who started the season at quarterback, was scheduled to have surgery on his torn ACL on Thursday. Another quarterback, senior Jashawn Hill, had surgery on the knee in which he tore his ACL, MCL, PCL and meniscus.
Losing Hill meant also losing the team's most highly regarded defensive back. Cummings said an earlier injury at right guard meant moving the center to guard and bringing in a new center.
"It's depressing," Cummings said. "We're constantly having to move kids around."
Tonight Cleveland hosts Region 4-5A opponent and No. 6-ranked Rhea County.
"We'll have to ask some young kids to do some big-boy stuff," Cummings said.
Trojans lose another
Injuries to key players also have made it tough on Soddy-Daisy this year.
The Trojans, who played at Walker Valley on Thursday night, have been playing as many as a half-dozen sophomores and lost a budding standout in last week's loss at Ooltewah. Freshman receiver Landon Reese underwent surgery Saturday morning to repair broken bones where the leg meets the ankle.
Coach Justin Barnes said Reese's father reported that surgeons implanted a plate and nine screws in Landon's leg.