The playoffs inch closer with only a week left in the regular season with several contests Tuesday and a small schedule of games Friday to determine region pecking orders.
Several players put on strong performances in key victories for their teams last week as they tried to clinch region championships and build momentum going into the postseason.
Here are the players who stood out the most.
Sandy Creek QB Caleb Hill – Hill overcame a 28-0 deficit in the game and scored the game-winning touchdown run from 18 yards out with 21 seconds left in the game. Hill went 21-36 with 303 passing yards and four touchdowns. On the ground, he rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore quarterback led Sandy Creek to a 9-1 regular season record and finished with 1,900 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Grayson QB Travis Burgess – Grayson has certainly dealt with adverse circumstances this season not playing for a month and having to play three games in nine days, but that didn’t affect Burgess. In Thursday’s win against Archer, he had a 68-yard touchdown run. What was most impressive about the run, is that he was clocked at 21.16 MPH, which was the fastest on the team that night. He also threw a 75-yard touchdown pass on the very first play of the second half. Burgess finished with three total touchdowns and punished Archer with his arm and his legs. Burgess has thrown for 824 yards and eight touchdowns so far this season and has the Rams as a state title contender in 6A.
Colquitt County RB Day’shawn Brown – Brown was instrumental in helping Colquitt County clinch its third consecutive region championship. In a win against Richmond Hill, he rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns. He had touchdown runs from a yard, 75 yards, and 85 yards. To put it simply, he was electric. Richmond Hill didn’t have any answers for his dominance. Brown has rushed for 185+ in the past two games and surpassed 1,000 yards on the season after a great performance. Brown is an underrated running back but has been the most consistent player for the Packers offensively.
Brookwood RB Brayden Tyson – Tyson had an elite performance in a 25-13 win over Norcross that clinched Region 7-6A No. 2 seed. He rushed for 299 yards and three touchdowns in the win and had his third-longest run of the season at 77 yards. Tyson has put together a strong sophomore season and rushed for a career-high 362 yards and four touchdowns against Parkview on October 9th.. He has put himself into the all-state and potential region player of the year conversation. Tyson has rushed for 2,123 yards and 26 touchdowns. In the last two weeks when his team needed wins, he averaged 294.5 rushing yards and rushed for six touchdowns.
Westover RB Dominque Bell – He rushed for a career-high 302 yards and three touchdowns in a 29-10 win over Cairo. Bell has rushed for 100 yards in every game this season and has seven games with two or more rushing touchdowns. Bell has been a force in the open field and is a big play waiting to happen when the ball touches his hands. The sophomore running back has rushed for 1,793 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns through ten games this season.
North Cobb Christian WR DJ Huggins – Huggins is coming off his best game of the season where he contributed on special teams and in the passing game. He finished with seven catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 75 yards in returns on the night. Huggins is the leading receiver for the Eagles this season with 31 catches for 587 yards and eight touchdowns. I think what is most impressive about Huggins’ game is his versatility. He can stretch the defense with the go ball, he can beat you and be a consistent threat in the short and intermediate, and he can also line up in the slot and take advantage of coverage there. He’s been a go-to target for star quarterback Teddy Jarrard this season.
Jonesboro DL Jeremiah Ticket – The Toledo commit made game-changing plays in the upset win over previously unbeaten Starr’s Mill. On a critical third down late in the game, Ticket made a big hit against QB Logan Inagawa stopping him short of the first down and making the Panthers kick a field goal. Then as time winded down, Ticket took a direct snap and broke a tackle on his way to the endzone to score the game-winning touchdown for the Cardinals. He was a force on Thursday night in the win, staying in the backfield with tackles for loss and sacks. Ticket made it tough sledding in the run game for the Panthers all night and came up clutch when his team needed him the most.
Heard County LB Justin Hanson - In a 42-15 win over Pepperell, Hanson had three tackles for loss. He was swarming to the football and made it tough for the Pepperrell offense to get going. He finished his sophomore regular season with 66 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass deflections, and a forced fumble. He has three games this season with 10+ tackles and finished the regular season with nine tackles in two of the last three games. Hanson finished with the third most tackles on the team.
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