The Daily Citizen
—
Dominion Christian (0-1) at Christian Heritage (1-0)
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
• WHERE: Christian Heritage Stadium, Dalton
• RADIO: WBLJ-1230 AM
• LAST WEEK: Dominion Christian lost to Georgia Force, 28-12; Christian Heritage beat Crown Athletics, 21-14
• LAST TIME: Christian Heritage won, 27-12 (2009)
• THE SERIES: Christian Heritage leads, 2-0
• KEY PLAYERS: Dominion Christian — QB Dewayne Carroll (Jr., 5-11, 180), RB/LB Christian Tucker (Sr., 5-9, 215), C/LB Keylon Carpenter (Sr., 6-0, 185); Christian Heritage — QB/DB/K Daniel Pierce (Sr., 5-11, 160), WR/DB Mason Sikes (Sr., 5-9, 155), RB/LB Ethan Turnmire (Sr., 6-0, 180)
• NOTES: In 2009, his first football season since youth ball, Dominion Christian quarterback Dewayne Carroll, a junior, threw for 1,700 yards, Knights coach Javier Jenkins said. … Jenkins believes the school’s second-year football program is headed in the right direction. After one season in the Glory For Christ Football League, the Knights are now competing as a Class 3A team in the Georgia Indepenent School Association. … The Lions defeated Dominion twice in 2009, the schools’ only other meetings, with Christian Heritage winning 27-12 in the regular season and 56-20 in the GFCFL playoff semifinals. … Christian Heritage rolled up 368 yards of total offense in last week’s season-opening victory, including 280 on the ground. Quarterback Daniel Pierce rushed for 111 yards and passed for 88, accounting for more than two-thirds of the offense.
• WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “When you’re moving the ball against Dominion, their solution to that is to stunt. They’ll have nine or 10 people within 5 yards of scrimmage and challenge you to throw deep. In (last year’s) playoff game, we had a lot of success against them throwing the ball. Mason Sikes set a school record with nine receptions for 100-plus yards and two touchdowns.” — Christian Heritage coach Mike Vaden.
Dalton (0-1) at Murray County (0-1)
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
• WHERE: Murray Field, Chatsworth
• RADIO: WYYU-104.5 FM
• LAST WEEK: Dalton lost to Calhoun, 27-14; Murray County lost to Southeast Whitfield, 35-6
• LAST TIME: Dalton won, 48-0 (2009)
• THE SERIES: Dalton leads, 43-8
• COACHES: Dalton, Matt Land (0-1, first season); Murray County, John Zeigler (2-9, second season)
• KEY PLAYERS: Dalton — RB Tre Beck (Jr., 5-10, 170), OL Watts Dantzler (Sr., 6-8, 330), LB Toombs Norman (Sr., 6-2, 185); Murray County — LB/OL Jake White (Sr., 5-11, 209), OL Blade LeQuire (Jr., 6-3, 225), QB Taylor Patterson (Sr., 6-6, 190)
• NOTES: Dalton vs. Murray County is the area’s oldest rivalry, with 51 games dating all the way back to 1953. The only stretch the two programs haven’t faced off in football was from 1970-75. They haven’t missed an annual date since the series resumed in 1976. … Both teams come into the second game of the year off of disappointing performances in season-opening losses last week. … Both offenses will look to have a breakout game after similar performances last week. Both teams managed less than 156 yards of total offense in the opener. … Another area the Indians will try to cut out is penalties. Murray County was flagged 11 times in the opener. … Dalton has won nine straight in the series between the two teams and hasn’t lost at Murray County since 1997. ... Dalton’s defense has shut down Murray County’s offense more than a few times over the years. In addition to being shut out last year, the Indians have scored 10 or fewer points in every game since 2004.
• WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “We are definitely never going in overconfident. It was disappointing. The kids were disappointed, and the coaches were disappointed, but it is a new week now, and let’s forget that. Let’s lick our wounds and correct mistakes.” — Murray County coach John Zeigler.
North Murray (0-1) at Rockmart (1-0)
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
• WHERE: The Rock, Rockmart
• LAST WEEK: North Murray lost to Heritage-Catoosa, 27-7; Rockmart beat Cedartown, 14-0
• THE SERIES: First meeting
• KEY PLAYERS: North Murray — LB Trevor Maddron (Jr., 5-10, 180), ATH Jacob Mays (So., 6-1, 180), OL/LB Dallas Bowers (Jr., 5-9, 195); Rockmart — QB Roshmel Young (Sr., 5-9, 170), DB LaDarion Morris (Sr., 6-0, 180), RB Quitman Berry (Jr., 6-1, 195)
• NOTES: Last season, for the second time since 2005, no team finished with a better record than Rockmart in its sub-region, but the Yellow Jackets did not make the state playoffs. Rockmart lost 25-13 to Chattooga in the Region 7-2A playoffs during the final week of the regular season. ... At more than 60 miles, North Murray’s trip to Rockmart is the longest on the regular schedule this year. The Mountaineers will travel to Trenton later in the season to face Dade County at closer to 60 miles. North Murray rounds out its away slate by making two trips to Calhoun to face both Calhoun and Gordon Central. … The Mountaineers have spent time improving their special teams after yielding an onside kick last week and missing two field goals and misplaying a punt snap. One of their best moments also came on special teams, though, as they recovered the opening kickoff when Heritage fumbled.
• WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “There was so much buildup to our first time at our field. We had to bus them to the game. It was almost an away game. I think (traveling to Rockmart) will be better for us.” — North Murray coach Larry Cornelius on last week’s season-opening loss to Heritage.
• DIRECTIONS: Take I-75 South to Exit 288 (GA-131 West) turn right onto GA-113. Travel about 18 miles into Rockmart. Turn left at Old Cartersville Road. Travel about one mile at the school and stadium will be on the left.
Northwest (0-1, 0-1) at Creekview (1-0, 1-0)
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
• WHERE: Creekview Stadium, Canton
• RADIO: WSAA-93.1 FM
• LAST TIME: First meeting
• LAST WEEK: Northwest lost to Lambert, 14-0; Creekview beat Sequoyah, 17-13
• THE SERIES: First meeting
• KEY PLAYERS: Northwest — DB Luke Woodason (Sr., 6-0, 175), OL Josh Andrews (Sr., 6-3, 295), WR Zach Sloan (Sr., 6-1, 190); Creekview — QB Cody Allen (Sr., 5-8, 155), OL Hunter Tuck (Sr., 6-1, 245), LB Tanner Gilleland (Sr., 6-2, 210)
• NOTES: The Grizzlies passed a tough test last week, rallying from a 10-point deficit against a big rival — Creekview draws its students from an area formerly zoned for Sequoyah — in front of a pumped-up crowd. Creekview’s comeback touchdowns were supplied by junior wingback Jay El-Amin. “It’s good to win one like that anytime, but especially early,” Creekview coach Al Morrell said. ... Northwest will need a much better offensive effort this week. The Bruins mustered just 69 total yards a week ago, with Nathan Sistrunk’s 11 carries for 64 yards leading the way. ... Reading keys and minding responsibilities will be crucial tonight for Northwest defenders, who can expect to see plenty of the buck sweep and jet sweep.
• WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: “(Creekview’s) line is big like the teams we saw in camp at West Georgia. They look like they can hit us pretty hard if we’re not on our P’s and Q’s.” — Northwest linebacker Trevon Tucker.
• DIRECTIONS: Take I-75 South to Exit 290 (Rome/Canton) and turn left onto GA-20 toward Canton. Follow for about 16 miles to GA-140 East/GA-20 East, turning right, then merging onto I-575 North toward Cumming. Take Exit 19A and turn right onto Cumming Highway, following for approximately seven miles, then turn right onto East Cherokee Dr. Go about a mile, then turn left onto Owens Store Rd. The school and the stadium will be on the right.
