There are numerous intriguing matchups around the state this week, but it is hard to look past the showdown between Eric Godfree’s North Gwinnett Bulldogs and Josh Lovelady’s Mill Creek Hawks as the Bulldogs travel to Hoschton to face the Hawks in an exciting battle of undefeated teams.
Both programs are coming off victories from a week ago with North Gwinnett going on the road to defeat a tough Colquitt County team, 14-3 and Mill Creek defeating Archer at home, 48-14.
The season’s clash between the Bulldogs and the Hawks marks the 18th meeting between the two programs as North Gwinnett holds a 13-4 all-time series record against Mill Creek. The Hawks are on a two-game win-streak against the Bulldogs, defeating them last year 49-14, and 36-17 in 2021.
“Two seasons plus this season, they have a 30-1 record, so they are really good,” said Godfree on ‘Georgia High School Sports Daily’ Wednesday while previewing the matchup. “Their front-seven on defense is phenomenal, really really good. There isn’t a weak link in there and most of them are going to play beyond high school football.”
On yesterdays episode of ‘Georgia High School Sports Daily’@NGHSFootball head coach @ericgodfree joined the show to talk about this weeks big matchup with @MCFootballCoach!
The show starts every weekday from noon to 1 on the Peachtree Sports Network and will be streamed… pic.twitter.com/XLKwRLxbQi
— SCORE Atlanta (@scoreatlanta) September 5, 2024
The Mill Creek defense has been the story of the season so far for the Hawks as they have shown their physicality and their depth through the first three games of the season. The Hawks defensive-unit is led by multiple Power 4 commitments including Alabama-commit, 4-star linebacker Luke Metz and UNC-commit, 3-star defensive lineman Devin Ancrum lead a talented Hawks-defense that continues to fly sideline-to-sideline to make tackles.
On offense for Mill Creek, senior quarterback and Penn-commit, Shane Throgmartin leads the offensive flock for the Hawks, with a handful of talented skill position players around him to keep the chains moving. Senior running back Daniel Smith has made a name for himself with multiple impressive rushing performances thus far into the season, putting his skills on full display. The pass catchers for the Hawks make life easier for Throgmartin during his second season as a starter. Senior wide receiver Trey Walker, junior wide receiver Shawn Cummings along with senior tight ends, Miles Gindlesperger and Metz give Throgmartin dependable targets downfield to get the ball too.
“Same thing offensively, their offensive line, running back and quarterback combination is really good,” said Godfree. “This is going to be one of those games where we are going to have to get our tough yards, get our tough yards running, and we have got to be able to pass protect well to open up the pass game.”
For the Bulldogs, quarterback Ryan Hall will be going into his third season with the keys to the North Gwinnett offense. The senior quarterback has led the Bulldogs to the postseason twice, making into the second round a year ago and the quarterfinals in 2022. Hall and the Bulldogs have much larger sights set on the 2024 season with playoff aspirations and more on the table.
Offensively for North Gwinnett, senior running back Tommy Lafayette along with senior wideouts Erik Ronning and Nicholas Bookman keep defenses on their toes with their versatile skill set causing problems for anyone who lines up against them. Bookman and Ronning give Hall experienced targets on the outside to throw to, with Lafayette carrying the workload on the ground for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs defense has been nothing short of impressive. North Gwinnett’s defensive unit has given up just 20 points through the first two games of the season, including only allowing three points last week on the road against Colquitt County.
Their defense is led by Godfrey’s son, sophomore linebacker Jake Godfree, senior defensive end Cole Funderburk and senior defensive tackle, Rutgers-commit Braxton Kyle lead a stout Bulldog-defense that has been relentless throughout the first few weeks of the season. North Gwinnett’s defense has already forced four turnovers on the season with plenty of action left in the young season.
Kickoff scheduled for Friday at 7:30 p.m.
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