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High school football previews: Week 4
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Johnson at East Hall When: 7:30 tonightWhere: Viking Stadium, GainesvilleCoaches: Johnson, Jason Roquemore; East Hall, Bryan GrayRecords: Johnson (2-2, non region schedule); East Hall (2-1, 0-1 Region 7-AAA)Key players: Johnson, RB Cedric Harris (6-0, 200 Sr.); OL/DL Mason Borders (6-2, 315 Sr.); TE/LB Jose Martinez (6-1, 210 Sr.). East Hall, FB/LB Edward Vergara (5-5, 162 Jr.), OL/DL Devonte Benton (6-5, 263 Sr.), RB/CB Austin Mahaffey (Sr.).Outlook: This game features a pair of teams intent on running the football.Johnson features the area leader in rushing yards, Harris (100 carries, 622 yards and seven touchdowns), and an explosive second option in Luis Hernandez (seven carries for 227 yards and three touchdowns).East Hall’s leader, Vergara, has rushed for 189 yards and two scores on 27 carries, but running backs Quay Jarrells (23 for 161) and Mahaffey (24 for 158 and three scores), along with quarterback Devin Watson (26 for 127) are also dangerous.Last week, with Mahaffey rushing for over 100 yards, and five surpassed 50 yards rushing in a 50-20 win over East Jackson, the Vikings second consecutive win.Johnson, which is already playing its fifth game of the season (both teams played in “Zero Week,”) lost its second straight last week, 27-13 to North Murray, after opening with a pair of wins.While Johnson holds a 21-12-1 advantage overall against East Hall dating back to 1958 (courtesy of the Georgia Football Historians Association), the Vikings have won two consecutive games in the series, including a 41-17 win last season.Prediction: EAST HALL. The Vikings offense looks dangerous, and should compliment an already solid defense.Apalachee at Gainesville When: 7:30 tonightWhere: City Park Stadium, GainesvilleRadio: 1240-AMCoaches: Apalachee, Shane Davis; Gainesville, Bruce MillerRecords: Apalachee (1-1, 0-0 Region 8-AAAAA); Gainesville (2-1, 1-0)Key players: Apalachee, DE Johnny Thompson (6-3,205 Sr.); LB Rakim Peters (6-2, 225 Sr.); RB Eric Tanner (5-10, 200 Sr.). Gainesville, QB Deshaun Watson (6-3, 195 Jr.); WR Tray Harrison (5-7, 150 Sr.); LB Devan Stringer (5-11, 180 Jr.).Outlook: The Red Elephants certainly made a statement last week in their Class AAAAA debut. Watson threw for seven touchdowns and completed all 18 pass attempts for 350 yards — all in the opening half — in a 69-0 win against Winder-Barrow. Gainesville’s defense was just as good, holding the Bulldoggs to negative yardage for the game.For the season, Watson had completed 61 of 88 passes for 861 yards and 12 touchdowns.
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