GHSA Football Week 4 Top 5 Preview - Game of the Week Whitefield Academy vs Wesleyan
1. Our Game of the Week, will feature the Whitefield Academy Wolfpack and the Wesleyan Wolves. Once both members of the Georgia High School Association 1A Private classification, while the Wolfpack remains in the now divisional 1A classification, the Wolves have been bumped up to 3A, so what would have been a potential playoff preview in years past, is now just a great non-region matchup and Whitefield head coach knows the Wolves will be at their best come Friday. “We’ve got so much respect for Coach Pridgen and Wesleyan,” Joiner said of the Wolves, praising them for their longevity of being one of Georgia’s top programs and Coach Pridgen’s long tenure with the Wolves.
“They have just been this pillar of consistency in Georgia high school football the last 17 years with coach Pridgen and really Georgia high school private school football, that we know they’re coming in and they’re going to have a great plan and those kids always play hard and they expect to win,” Joiner added. And with the understanding that the Wolves will come into Friday’s game with a mission to pick up the win, Joiner says the message this week has been to “continue to prove that they belong in that conversation with a great program like Wesleyan”. Joiner says he and his staff have also told their players that it will also be important for them to “match their level of energy,” as he acknowledges that the Wolves are much better program than their early record indicates.
2. After opening their season with a loss to Dutchtown, the Stephenson Jaguars picked up a 20-6 bounce back win over Arabia Mountain last week and will look to carry that momentum into their matchup on Friday with the Carver-Atlanta Panthers. Off to a 2-0 start, the Panthers look to be back in the same stride from the 2021 season that landed them in last season’s Georgia High School Association state championship game.
3. Both at 3-0, the River Ridge Knights and North Atlanta Warriors will collide as both teams will look to walk away still unbeaten. For the Warriors, who have been rolling since their season opening win over North Forsyth in their first ever Corky Kell Classic appearance, a win would give them back to back seasons of 8-0 starts in over five years. Meanwhile, the Knights look to channel their 2020 since that saw them run off 11 consecutive wins before a third round playoff loss to Lee County.
4. Although they are neighbors, one of Georgia’s biggest rivalries will take place in North Fulton as the Milton Eagles will host the Roswell Hornets. While the Hornets have gotten off to a 3-0 start, the Eagles are looking to pick up their first win of the season. However, do not let Milton’s start fool you. The Eagles first two games were up against national opponents so Friday will mark their first interstate match up and oh, don’t forget what I mention earlier, “rivalry”.
5. The Columbia Eagles are off to a remarkable start at 3-0 after opening the season with a 13-10 win over Camden County and now the Eagles will fly north to take on the Cartersville Hurricanes, who also sit at 3-0. While some may view this as a tall task for the Eagles, two of their three wins have come over opponents at least two classifications or more higher than them, including Camden County, a 7A team.
