The Prince Avenue Christian Wolverines, ranked No. 1 in 3A-A, opened their season with a 35-28 win over 6A’s West Forsyth in the Kell-Hunter Classic. Heading in, it was unclear how the Wolverines would look with a new quarterback under center after the previous two, Aaron Philo and Brock Vandagriff, combined to win three state titles, with Philo breaking the state record for career passing yards.
A week before the opener, Wolverines coach Greg Vandagriff hinted at having two 2,000 yard rushers, one being the quarterback. That trajectory is playing out through Week 1, with quarterback Ben Musser rushing for 192 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, and running Andrew Baird rushing for 187 and a touchdown on 21 carries. Both are sophomores.
It’s a foot race between the two for the team-lead in rushing yards, and though Baird is proud of Musser, he intends on taking the title.
“He definitely ain’t going to beat me in rushing,” said a smiling Baird, when asked. “If he learns how to slide, he might be alright.”
For Vandagriff, the game was about the team earning confidence moving forward.
“It’s one of those things were you don’t ever know how you match up,” he said. “West Forsyth is preseason picked to win its region, and they’re No. 28 in the state overall. We’ve never played a 6A team. So, we really just didn’t know, until we come out to play, can we play with them? So I’m sure it’s going to give our kids a ton of confidence, because we have the next four games against 5A, 6A teams, teams from North Carolina, and South Carolina. (This win) is going to let them believe they can play with anybody.”
North Murray notches program’s 1st win over Dalton
The North Murray Mountaineers beat the Dalton Catamounts for the first time in program history, 22-9. Dalton had won the only two other meetings, which came in each of the past two seasons. It’s the first time either Chatsworth school, Murray County being the other, has beaten Dalton on the field since Murray County won in 2000. Murray County was credited with a win in 2011 after Dalton was forced to forfeit by the GHSA due to rules violations involving a player transfer.
The Mountaineers won at Harmon Field in Dalton, and their coach, Preston Poag, is a class of ‘86 Dalton alum who also served as Catamounts offensive coordinator in the early-2000s, when they reached reached the 2001 4A championship.
Like Prince Avenue Christian, the Mountaineers are traditionally a pass-heavy offense that hast shifted to a more run-oriented approach. Junior quarterback Hudson Hulett rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown, throwing for 68 yards and another touchdown. Junior running back Layten Myers rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
“We’re a lot different this year,” Poag said. “In the past, the offense has been fast-paced, putting up 40 points a game, and it was, ‘Get on the ball and let’s go.’ Now, we huddle, we’re under center, taking a more old-school approach. My background is the veer-option, but we’ve been in the spread in the past because that’s what we were suited for. But you have to build the offense based around what you’re team can do.”
Poag said winning at Dalton made Friday’s win more special.
“I think so,” he said. “Harmon Field, there’s a lot of history there. It was their 100-year anniversary, and there was all that hoop-la around it. It was special for me, of course, but it was really special for the kids. We’ve played them the last couple of years and they beat us, but they were good games. I’m proud of them. We went in there thinking we could win, and we played physical all night.”
Up next is another local rival, Northwest Whitfield of 3A, which beat Coahulla Creek 35-0 in its opener.
“That’s a big game for us, too,” Poag said. “It’s even bigger this year, because we’re moving to a power ratings system (to determine state playoff seeding), and it’s based playing larger schools. Also, it’s a big rivalry. We had a 28-0 lead last year and lost (35-28) on some fluke stuff...It was probably my toughest loss as a coach, and it’s in the back of our minds. We just have to do better this year, and stay disciplined...We’ve got to get Dalton behind us. It’s a big win and people are praising you, but they’re teens, and we’ve got to refocus, and that will be our biggest challenge.”
Sources: Georgia High School Football Historians Association, MaxPreps
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