Hart County knows Abbeville's 'real deal'

After a 35-21 loss in Hartwell last year, the Bulldogs know what to expect from Abbeville this year.

“Last year coming in we watched film, but they had no idea what Abbeville’s all about,” Hart County coach Joby Scroggs said of his players. “Now they know Abbeville’s the real deal.”

Last week, both teams were pretty close to the real deal.

Abbeville romped over Ninety Six 40-7, while Hart bulldozed Greater Atlanta Christian 55-21, the highest scoring output of any Georgia Class AAA team last week.

Scroggs said he was glad to see sophomore running back Stephon Eades and senior fullback Kendrick Stowers provide depth behind senior tailback Jermonte Hickman, who had a 74-yard score on the opening play of the game last week.

Scroggs said a key to beating Abbeville is stopping the Panthers’ offense, but the A-bone option attack is difficult because it’s not even a pick-your-poison look between quarterback Jimmy Thackson and fullback Dureal Elmore.

“They’re better than they were last year,” Scroggs said. “I don’t know that we’ll see a better offensive team than we’ll see Friday night. We’ve got to shut their offense down. You better able to stop both of them because if you stop one, the other one is gone.”

If the Bulldogs are able to contain Thackson and Elmore, they’ll likely do it with a combination of senior linebacker Ketitus Harper, junior lineman Drew Kirkland, and senior defensive end Deon McIntosh, who combined for nine sacks last week.

This week’s game is also in Hartwell because the schools agreed to split the gate revenue, and Scroggs said the Abbeville coaching staff felt that a larger crowd would be in Hartwell both years.

ELBERT’S OPTIMISM

It was only one game, but the optimism at Elbert County is starting to flow. It’s all because of a 40-6 win over Riverside Military when the Blue Devils held the Eagles to 99 total yards and racked up 378 themselves.

Senior running back Austin Jones led the way with six carries for 113 yards, including a 60-yard TD.

“Turning a corner, not there yet, still making a lot of mistakes,” said coach Brent Miller, pointing to five fumbles, losing three. “I can see daylight at the end of the tunnel.”

This week, Elbert travels to Social Circle and has a chance to start 2-0 for the first time since 2002 when it beat Westminster and Harlem. That year, the Blue Devils went 7-3, and lost to LaGrange in the second round of the playoffs.

“I feel like it’s a doable job, we’re hoping to be 3-0 going into our break,” Miller said. “Our kids feel like they can win, and that’s a great feeling. Our kids felt competitive last year, and this year they feel like we can win.”

FRANKLIN’S CHALLENGE

A week after a 10-6 loss to White County, the Lions go on the road this week to play a Gainesville team that racked up 524 yards last week in a 34-0 win over Chestatee. The Red Elephants also held Chestatee to only 96 offensive yards, and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

Last year, Gainesville won 34-7.

STEPHENS’ SILVER LINING

Despite Stephens County’s 38-8 loss to Flowery Branch last week, the Indians may have found an answer in their search for a No. 1 running back. Freshman running back Chaz Thornton rushed 10 times for 124 yards and a touchdown, all coming in the second half. Also contributing to the running game was senior Dre Cunningham who had 63 rushing yards.

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