Chris Whitfield: This picker ready for a grid harvest

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends! We’re so glad you could attend! Come inside! Come inside!

— Emerson, Lake and Palmer

It’s Friday in Georgia! School is back in session (for the most part), uniforms are bright and clean, and the tubas are shined and ready for display.

Cheerleaders are getting their 18-story run-through signs ready for presentation, moms are clipping their kids’ photo buttons to their shirts and trainers are taping ankles. Hot dogs are boiling, fans will be sweating, officials will blow calls and radio announcers will be sending prep football poetry across the airwaves tonight.

Homecoming queens will be singing national anthems, students will paint their bodies and flag girls will whip their flags back and forth to the beat of the band. Batons will be tossed high into the evening sky.

It’s Friday in Georgia, and all hail the return of high school football, that most hallowed ground of community pride and internet fanaticism.

And Friday night in Georgia means The Daily Citizen debut of me, your peerless prep pigskin prognosticator. The guru of gridiron guess. The fearless forecaster of football ferocity. The … well, you get the point.

Welcome to the Friday night lights, my name is Chris and I will be your host for this week’s predictions. Please make sure your tray tables are put away and your seat backs are in the upright position.

Every week, we will convene here to share a few laughs, share a few outrages and revel in the fun and fury that is high school football.

Some weeks I will make you chuckle, some weeks I will make you mad. Some weeks I will be called a Dalton homer, and others people will say, “It’s quite clear that your name is WHITFIELD.”

That comes with the territory because every time you pick a winner, that means you’re also picking a loser.

So strap in, hold on. It’s going to be a long season, but a really fun ride.

• Calhoun at Dalton (Game of the Week): Face it, Dalton fans. Calhoun has supplanted you as Northwest Georgia’s most powerful program. Sure you have 50 years of winning tradition that is as impressive as anything, but Calhoun has success where it matters right now — in the playoffs. Back-to-back trips to the Class 2A state title game, a region winning streak that is older than my sons’ combined age and having only one coach during that time adds up to success and stability. And while Dalton teams have been successful by winning-season standards, the bar is a little higher at Calhoun right now.

Now, new coach Matt Land is old school. You gotta like that if you are a Dalton fan. However, how will that translate on the field in the first game of the year against a Class 2A team that is anything but a patsy? Pretty well, but not well enough to earn a victory. Even with the seven-point advantage that playing at Harmon Field gives the Cats, the crystal ball gives the win to the visitors from Gordon County.

Whit’s Pick: Calhoun 24, Dalton 20

• Lambert at Northwest Whitfield: Lambert sounds like the leader of the debate team, not a football powerhouse. However, this Lambert has a pretty sound leader in former Sequoyah coach Sid Maxwell and is in an area that has produced some pretty good football in recent years. However, the second-year Longhorns aren’t quite ready for the big time, and playing in the season opener at Bruin Stadium against this year’s version of the Bruins is the big time.

Whit’s Pick: Northwest 28, Lambert 14

• Murray County at Southeast Whitfield: Murray sounds like the guy that does your taxes ... oops, I already used a version of that joke. For the sake of those loyal fans in Chatsworth, I hope they are rewarded for their perseverance through the Class 5A and Class 4A years with a season that has more rivalries and more meaningful games. Now in Class 3A, Murray County should have a more legitimate shot at notching some ‘W’s. But there is a hunger growing at Southeast, too.

In the short time I have been around here, I have been impressed with coach David Crane, and this year’s version of the Raiders seem hungry and anxious to make a statement. I think the rest of the region will get the message after this game.

Whit’s Pick: Southeast 28, Murray County 7

• Heritage-Coosa at North Murray: Welcome to the real deal, North Murray. Your gift to start the season? A Heritage team that like you is young and is still trying to find its identity. Unlike Lambert, you don’t jump into the season facing a playoff team. Instead, you get a third-year program that went 2-8 last year. Consider this your house-warming present and take care of business like you did in the first quarter of your preseason scrimmage against Murray County.

Whit’s Pick: North Murray 14, Heritage-Coosa 12

• Christian Heritage at Crown Athletics: How do I face my Sunday school group when I am picking one Christian-based team to pummel another? God doesn’t take sides in football contests. Amen.

Whit’s Pick: Christian Heritage 31, Crown Athletics 14

Chris Whitfield is a sports writer for The Daily Citizen. You can write to him at chriswhitfield@daltoncitizen.com.

Sports Columns

Search Results

Discussion

Site Map

Contact Us