Like points? If so, the serene setting at North Murray is the place to be Friday night when the GHSA Region 7-AA championship will be decided.
While the surrounding mountains offer peaceful fall views, the action on the field promises to be hectic as two of the state’s highest-scoring teams go at it. Rockmart (7-2, 5-0) enters having averaged 40 points per game, while the host Mountaineers (6-3, 4-1) are even better with a 42-point clip.
The Yellow Jackets are a track team in football gear, with multiple players capable of ripping off big plays at any moment. The great majority of the damage comes on the ground (the team has only 773 passing yards), but the problem for defenses is that Rockmart has four players who have rushed for more than 330 yards each.
That list doesn’t include quarterback J.D. Davis, whose running has been scaled back a bit since a leg injury a year ago. Rockmart’s 2,338 rushing yards are split equally among a group that includes Cam Ferguson, JoJo Haynes, Lanear McCrary and Brent Washington (also one of the top linebackers in the state).
“They just get big plays,” North Murray coach Preston Poag said. “They are faster than everybody they play. They’ve always had great speed, but this is the fastest team they’ve had.”
The Mountaineers will go about it a different way, and Poag hopes their offense has the versatility to keep Rockmart’s defense off balance.
A key to that is multitalented junior Judson Petty, who has produced close to 1,300 yards of offense and scored 18 touchdowns entering the final week of the regular season. Poag will use the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder in the slot, out wide or in the backfield. He even passed for a touchdown in a recent game.
“He’s my toughest player,” Poag said. “Against Model we started him at receiver and then put him at running back, and the first time he touched it, he went the distance. He was dragging guys down the field. He’s very valuable to our team.”
Part of what makes Petty such a threat is the presence of senior quarterback Seth Griffin, who has 2,411 yards passing, 611 rushing and 36 total touchdowns, and big-play receiver Jadyn Rice, who has 51 catches for 905 yards and seven touchdowns.
While the winner is the 7-AA champ, there are different scenarios for the loser. Rockmart would be the No. 2 seed, but North Murray would fall to No. 4 if Fannin County defeats Haralson.
Other title fights
Two other GHSA region championships will be on the line Friday for area teams. The Trion at Darlington winner will be the Region 7-A (Division I) champion, while the Coahulla Creek at Adairsville game will determine the 6-AAA champ.
Adairsville wins the title outright with a victory over the Colts, but Coahulla Creek would need a win and a Gordon Lee win over Ringgold to win it outright. Coahulla Creek and Ringgold wins would create a three-way tie for first where, if the Colts don’t win by 12 or more points, Adairsville would still be champion due to the region’s tiebreaking procedure.
A Coahulla Creek win by more than 12 and a Ringgold win over Gordon Lee by more than 12 would give Ringgold the No. 1 seed.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.