Semifinal Team of the Week: Northeast
Northeast just became the first Macon team to reach a state championship game in 49 years with a 46-14 victory over Fitzgerald in the Class A Division I semifinals. Nick Woodford, a 2,000-yard rusher again, rushed for 326 yards. Northeast is GHSF Daily’s Team of the Week.
Semifinal Player of the Week: Milton’s C.J. Wiley
C.J. Wiley was the state’s leading receiver last season. With "only" 1,064 yards this season, about 400 off his old pace, he might not defend that title with so many other talented weapons in the Milton offense, but he remains firmly in contention for the title of Georgia’s best wide receiver.
Flag Football Player of the Week: Blessed Trinity’s Maggie Sullivan
Maggie Sullivan, a junior running back and edge rusher for Blessed Trinity, is GHSF Daily’s Flag Football Player of the Week. Sullivan had eight receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown and a sack in a 13-7 victory over Woodstock in the Division 4 first round last week.
Quarterfinal Team of the Week: North Cobb Christian
North Cobb Christian coach Matt Jones called his school “a hidden gem” in September after his team beat Ringgold 41-39 in six overtimes. There’s nothing hidden now about the football team, only the spotlight of the quarterfinals’ most conspicuous upset.
Quarterfinal Player of the Week: Coffee’s Tyrese Woodgett
Upon further review, it was great blocking, speed and acceleration that best explained Tyrese Woodgett’s 605-yard rushing performance Friday. It set the single-game Georgia record in Coffee’s 72-48 victory over Sequoyah in the Class 5A quarterfinals. The previous record was held by Devyn Collins of Pepperell, who rushed for 485 yards against Rockmart in 2014.
Round 2 Team of the Week: Sprayberry
Sprayberry’s historic season collected more mementos last week in a 35-7 victory over Newnan. Earlier this month, Sprayberry clinched its first region title in 16 seasons with a victory over Woodstock that clinched Region 6. On Friday, the Yellow Jackets won their 11th game, setting a record for a school that opened in the 1950s.
Round 2 Player of the Week: LaGrange’s Malachi Fannin-Render
Malachi Fannin-Render played only four plays the first time that LaGrange played Sandy Creek, and the Grangers lost 27-7. Three months later, they played again. The senior running back got the ball 32 times. It made a difference.
Flag Football Player of the Week: Westside-Macon’s Zylea Dinkins
Zylea Dinkins, a junior middle linebacker for undefeated Westside of Macon, is GHSF Daily’s Flag Football Player of the Week. Dinkins intercepted three passes, returning two for touchdowns, in a 27-0 victory over Mary Persons that clinched the Area 5 Division I championship last week.
Week 14 Student-Athlete of the Week: Coffee’s Jahnias Wilcox
Jahnias Wilcox, a senior wide receiver at Coffee, is the scoutSMART Student-Athlete of the week. Wilcox has a 4.0 GPA and is also a member of the weightlifting team. “Jahnias is such a valuable part of our football team and school, quiet by nature and as hard of a worker as you can find, both on and off the field,” Coffee head coach Mike Coe said.
Round 1 Team of the Week: Sequoyah
Sequoyah is proud of its 38-28 victory over No. 6 Gainesville in the Class 5A first round. Just don’t call it an upset. “For our kids, they pretty much expected it, to be honest,” Sequoyah coach James Teter said. “Some people feel like we won in an upset, but our players felt like we had played well all year and that our region was tough enough.”
Round 1 Player of the Week: Archer’s Jonathan Do
Archer needed a Hollywood ending to beat Harrison last week, and Jonathan Do delivered on que, throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Tyree Begne with 13 seconds left to give the Tigers a 46-42 victory in the Class 6A first round. “He has the Rocky Balboa attitude,” Archer coach Dante Williams said of his junior quarterback.
Flag Football Player of the Week: Peach County’s Ariana Respress
Ariana Respress, a junior quarterback and safety at Peach County, is GHSF Daily’s Flag Football Player of the Week. Respress led Peach County to four victories last week and the program’s first area championship. Peach has improved to 12-3 this season after going 1-8 last year.
Week 13 Student-Athlete of the Week: Marist’s Drew Linnihan
Drew Linnihan, a senior kicker/punter at Marist, is the scoutSMART Student-Athlete of the Week. Linnihan is the leading scorer for the Class 4A No. 1-ranked War Eagles with 65 points. He has made 47 of 48 extra points and is 6-for-7 on field goals, and 49 of his 62 kickoffs have been touchbacks.
Flag Football Player of the Week: Milton’s Audrey Jensen
Audrey Jensen, a junior quarterback at Milton, is GHSF Daily’s Flag Football Player of the Week. Jenson was 30-of-40 passing for 481 yards and six touchdowns as Milton beat Johns Creek 27-12 and Blessed Trinity 28-27 last week.
Week 12 Student-Athlete of the Week: Woodward Academy’s Landon Walker
Landon Walker, a senior quarterback at Woodward Academy, is the scoutSMART Student-Athlete of the Week. Walker, who has a 4.37 GPA, has passed for 1,898 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 369 yards and eight touchdowns this season for the War Eagles, who won their fourth consecutive region championship.
Week 12 Team of the Week: Callaway
Callaway’s strategy was to keep the state’s leading receiver from deciding the game. The plan worked as Callaway conceded 245 rushing yards but held Morgan County's Jaylen Elder to four catches for 28 yards. Callaway scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 33-26 come-from-behind victory over a previously undefeated and second-ranked team.
Week 12 Player of the Week: Savannah Christian’s Elijah Griffin
There aren’t many high school goals left unchecked for Savannah Christian defensive tackle Elijah Griffin, the state’s consensus No. 1 prospect who committed to Georgia last month. A region title was one of them. Savannah Christian’s game last week against Toombs County would decide the Region 3-A Division I champion.
Week 12 Offensive Line of the Week: Westover
GHSF Daily’s Offensive Line of the Week is Westover’s unit of left tackle Vincent Tumblin, left guard Torian Chester, center Emory Clark, right guard Tanner Turner and right tackle Kyson Mallard with Corey Gardner and Jshawn Jinks assisting on heavy sets. They paved the way for Dominique Ball’s 302-yard rushing game in a 29-10 victory over eighth-ranked Cairo in a Class 3A game.
Flag Football Player of the Week: McEachern’s Chelsea Njoku
Chelsea Njoku, a quarterback at McEachern, is GHSF Daily’s Flag Football Player of the Week. Njoku was 67-of-103 passing for 884 yards and 15 touchdowns last week as McEachern beat Osborne 34-0, South Cobb 13-0, Hughes 25-0 and Walton 46-7 to improve to 11-0 on the season.
Week 11 Student-Athlete of the Week: Lambert’s Branson Brooks
Branson Brooks, a senior linebacker at Lambert, is the scoutSMART Student-Athlete of the Week. Brooks, who has a 4.1 GPA, has 91 tackles (56 solo, 35 assisted), two tackles for losses and three sacks through nine games. He also plays lacrosse and is a member of the Young Life Christian Group.