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Five games to watch for Week 2
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GPB’s Football Fridays in Georgia promises to be one of the most interesting games in the state for Week 2.
Cartersville, coached by Conor Foster, opened the season by hammering Columbia 40-0. Nate Russell threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns the Purple Hurricanes had a 33-0 lead at halftime.
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Rockmart, coached by Biff Parson, lost 24-3 to regional rival Cedartown in the opening week. Rockmart was trailing Cedartown 7-0 when a thunderstorm interrupted play and the teams came back to complete the game on Saturday.
Cartersville and Rockmart are only 20 miles apart and have been competing against each other on the football field since 1925, but they haven’t met since 2013. Cartersville leads the all-time series 37-29-4 and has won the last two games, when both were state ranked.
Here are four other games to watch this week:
Benedictine at Buford: This is a unique intersectional game that features Class 4A Benedictine at Class 6A Buford. The teams began the season as preseason No. 1 selections, but both lost their opening games. Benedictine was beaten by Rabun Gap 41-17 and Buford dropped a 13-10 contest to Class 5A No. 1 Milton, a game that was shown on GPB’s Football Fridays in Georgia. This is the first meeting between the two programs
Mays at Hughes: Mays got off to a good start under first-year coach Reginald Austin by beating Stephenson 16-6 in a weather-shortened affair in the 14th Inner City Classic. Class 5A No. 5 Hughes overpowered Class 6A No. 6 Westlake 52-21 in the renewal of their annual rivalry. The two have played every year since 2014. Mays leads the series 5-4, but Hughes has won the last three meetings, including last year’s 62-12 thumping.
Ware County at Coffee: South Georgia is excited about this game. Ware County, No. 9 in the initial GPB Class 4A rankings, travels to play Coffee, the No. 8 team in Class 5A. Coffee won the state championship last year and Ware County was a state champion two years ago. Ware County opened with a 40-10 win over Class 2A No. 7 Appling County, while Coffee hammered Bainbridge 59-6. Other than two years, the teams have met every season since 1970. Coffee won last year’s game 28-5 to end a three-game Ware winning streak.
Newnan at East Coweta: They’re playing for Coweta County pride on Friday night in what is one of the hottest rivalries in the South Metro. East Coweta lost 20-7 to Class 3A Sandy Creek on opening night. Newnan opened with a 20-3 win over Greater Atlanta Christian. The rivalry goes all the way back to 1992 and East Coweta leads the series 19-13. East Coweta has won the last five meetings, including 35-7 a year ago.
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