As usual, Gwinnett County is full of talented football teams. Buford is ranked No. 1 in Class 2A and is just as dominant as ever. North Gwinnett (No. 3) and Grayson (No. 7) are both ranked in the top 10 in Class 5A. Collins Hill is undefeated. There is no doubt Gwinnett County has some of the state’s most talented players on both sides of the football.
Much of Gwinnett County’s talent is at running back. Parkview senior Brandon Jacobs leads the group with over 900 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns through six games. The key to Parkview’s season has been evident. When Jacobs is successful, so are the Panthers. When Jacobs was held to 82 yards and no touchdowns against Collins Hill in Week 1, the Panthers lost 30-9. Jacobs bounced back in Week 2 against Chattahoochee with 190 yards and three touchdowns, and so did the Panthers, winning 49-12. Jacobs’s biggest game of the season came in a 65-20 win over Meadowcreek, as he ran for 217 yards and four touchdowns. He also plays linebacker for the Panthers and had a team-high 15 tackles in a 24-22 loss to Grayson.
Grayson is 6-0, ranked No. 7 in Class 5A and leads all of Gwinnett County with over 1,800 yards rushing. Ean Pemberton is the Rams’ leading rusher with 869 yards and eight touchdowns. Pemberton’s best game of the season came against Parkview on Sept. 26, as he racked up 253 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Wesleyan running back Kyle Karempelis, a sophomore, is the lone underclassman on this list. If anything, that says more of his accomplishments so far this season. “We ask him to do a lot. He gives us a lot of options and makes us hard to defend,” said Wesleyan head coach Franklin Pridgen. Karempelis has 638 yards rushing with nine touchdowns. He also has a receiving touchdown and a special teams touchdown that came in the first game of the season against Clarkston (a punt block returned three yards for the score).
HIGH-POWERED OFFENSES
The Buford Wolves are back at it again this season, undefeated and ranked No. 1 in Class 2A. Their offense is led by running back Storm Johnson and all-purpose back Cody Getz (pictured). Johnson has 582 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. His best effort came on Sept. 26 against Decatur with 182 yards and two scores. Meanwhile, Getz has done a lot of everything for the Wolves this season. When Buford traveled to Texas in Week 1 to play Mansfield Timberview, Getz had 139 all-purpose yards, including 64 yards rushing and two touchdowns, as well as a punt return for a touchdown. Getz has a total of 10 touchdowns this season.
Collins Hill has its offense to thank for a 5-0 start with an average of 26 points per game. Charles Perkins leads the Eagles’ attack on the ground with 554 yards and seven touchdowns. Perkins’s best game came in a 20-16 win over Chattahoochee on Sept. 12, as he posted 174 yards and three touchdowns, including a game-winning 2-yard score with 2:35 remaining in the game. Quarterback Michael Box has been just as solid for the Eagles this season with 721 passing yards, six touchdowns and only one interception. Box also has 100 yards rushing and one touchdown. His best game came in a 49-28 win over North Forsyth on Sept. 26, totaling 291 total yards and four touchdowns. “He gets better every week,” said head coach Billy Wells.
LEADING THE WAY
Much of last season’s Class 5A state runner-up North Gwinnett’s success can be attributed to third-year starting quarterback Michael Tamburo, who is 28-5 in his Bulldog career. “He makes everybody around him better,” said head coach Bob Sphire. North Gwinnett is 4-1 with its sole loss coming out of state to Byrnes (S.C.) on Aug. 29. Tamburo is a dual-threat quarterback. He has 753 yards passing with five touchdowns and 232 rushing with four touchdowns this season. Tamburo’s best game came in a 40-24 win over Mill Creek on Sept. 26, as he recorded 149 yards passing with two touchdowns, and 155 yards rushing with one touchdown.
Linebacker and fullback Blake Southerland does it all for Greater Atlanta Christian, leading the county in total tackles. In a 17-14 loss to No. 3-ranked Westminster on Sept. 26, Southerland had 13 total tackles. At fullback, Southerland scored a 2-yard touchdown on a critical fourth-down conversion to defeat previously undefeated Blessed Trinity 31-28 last Friday.
Wiley can be reached at dwiley@scoreatl.com.
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