Game preview: Dutchtown at Wheeler

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Coming off last year’s playoff appearance, Wheeler began its 2020 season squaring off against a historic rival coming off a historic season. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Wheeler fell 35-14 on the road at Marietta — last year's 7A state champion — but the Wildcats will be back at home this Friday in their final tune-up game before beginning region play in the newly aligned Region 6-6A. Wheeler (0-1) will host Dutchtown (0-1) which is coming off a 5-0 defeat at Lanier last week.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Wildcats were balanced against the defending 7A state champ Marietta — 90 rushing yards and 135 passing yards — and suffered no offensive turnovers despite challenging preseason conditions. Wheeler’s first-year starting quarterback Alex Stack finished 15-for-28 passing while adding 17 rushing yards on six carries. Stack (6’6" and 205 pounds) holds one offer from DIII Allegheny College.</span> https://twitter.com/A_stack_QB/status/1291831233174016000 <span style="font-weight: 400;">Freshman running back Justus Savage was Wheeler’s leading rusher with 21 carries for 65 yards while sophomore Devin Clark finished as Wheeler’s leading receiver with four catches for 49 yards. Sophomore running back Ace Holmes should be back soon from injury to help bolster the run game.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Wheeler will continue to rely upon senior linebackers Taylor Smith and Lawrence Rodgers along with senior defensive linemen Giancarlo Riley and Kendre Oliver. Smith (6’2" and 195 lbs) holds offers from Charleston Southern and Birmingham Southern. He has also drawn attention from Kennesaw State and Coastal Carolina.</span> https://twitter.com/TaytaySmith106/status/1197670975334178816 <span style="font-weight: 400;">Dutchtown is coming off a shutout defeat, but the Bulldogs are 23-3 over the last two seasons with two straight state quarterfinals appearances. Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="33792" first="Arendez" last="Fedd"] is a Kennesaw State commit and Dutchtown has not lost consecutive games in the regular season since the 2016 season.</span> &nbsp;