Week 8: Three games to watch

<strong>Game:</strong> Cherokee (6-0, 1-0) at Roswell (5-0, 1-0) <strong>Last meeting:</strong> Cherokee won 21-14 in 2019 <strong>Series:</strong> Roswell leads 17-3 <strong>Prediction:</strong> Cherokee 28, Roswell 17 <strong>Players to watch:</strong> <em>Cherokee:</em> QB [player_tooltip player_id="33908" first="A.J." last="Swann"], RB [player_tooltip player_id="33903" first="Keith" last="Adams Jr"]., WR Adarrus Harshaw, OL Nasan Simmons, DL Toby Thompson, LB Braesen Parker <em>Roswell:</em> WR Marquis Willis, OT [player_tooltip player_id="33833" first="Corey" last="Robinson II"], QB [player_tooltip player_id="33942" first="Robbie" last="Roper"], DB Dillon Holifield, RB Ryan Stephens, K/P Caden Long <strong>Preview:</strong> The driver’s seat for a region championship will be up for grabs this week in Roswell. Cherokee (6-0, 1-0) will travel to Roswell (5-0, 1-0) this Friday for a battle of unbeatens in Region 5AAAAAAA. Cherokee’s 21-14 victory over Roswell last fall was one of its biggest of the season, but historically the Warriors have not fared well against the Hornets, as Roswell holds a 17-3 all-time series lead. Cherokee defeated Woodstock 41-7 last Friday in what may have been the Warriors’ most complete game of the season. The 41 points were tied for the most points scored all season while the seven points surrendered were the fewest. Cherokee’s passing game came back to life with junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="33908" first="A.J." last="Swann"] tallying 234 yards and four scores while the defense forced multiple turnovers once again. The Warriors’ defense is averaging two forced turnovers per game and has intercepted at least one pass in every game this season. Cherokee senior linebacker Braesen Parker leads the county in tackles and finished with 10 tackles, three pass breakups and an interception against Woodstock. The Warriors tallied 14 pass breakups against Woodstock and the secondary of Riley Lyons, Austin Trimble, Keegan Baker, Chase Goddard and Ryan O’Keefe has been impressive thus far this season. Roswell defeated Etowah 21-14 last Friday and has defeated its opponents by an average score of 33-13. The Hornets have been balanced on offense, averaging 220 passing yards and 223 rushing yards per contest. Junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="33942" first="Robbie" last="Roper"] has taken over behind center for Roswell and has completed 62 percent of his passes for 1073 yards with 11 touchdowns. Marquis Willis caught six passes for 66 yards and a touchdown against Etowah and is Roswell’s leading receiver on the season with 27 receptions for 467 yards and four scores. Ryan Hill (407 yards and four TDs) leads Roswell in rushing and is coming off a 100-yard one score performance against Etowah. <strong>Game:</strong> River Ridge (5-0, 2-0) at Creekview (4-1, 2-0) <strong>Last meeting:</strong> Creekview won 14-6 in 2019 <strong>Series:</strong> Creekview leads 8-0 <strong>Prediction:</strong> Creekview 17, River Ridge 14 Players to watch: <em>Creekview:</em> QB Brody Rhodes, RB Tyler Stevens, LB Grant Anderson, LB [player_tooltip player_id="34020" first="Isaac" last="Hubert"], DB Cale Williams <em>River Ridge:</em> RB Amehre Morrison, WR Jackson Head, TE Riley Caines, DL Brian Bradley, QB Carson Lathem <strong>Preview:</strong> A game that came down to the final play a season ago will have added meaning this week as the premier matchup in Cherokee County. Creekview (4-1, 2-0) posted its second consecutive shutout last Friday with a 24-0 win over Sequoyah. The Grizzlies’ are allowing 5.8 points per contest, by far the best in both Cherokee County and Region 7AAAAAA. The numbers are even more impressive when you look at the points the Grizzlies’ defense has surrendered (20) which would amount to a 4-point against per game average. Creekview’s senior linebacker Grant Anderson continues to anchor the unit, but seniors Sam Minozzi and Cole Hasty along with sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="34020" first="Isaac" last="Hubert"] have also become integral pieces for the Grizzlies. Minozzi and Hubert are both in the top five in the county in tackles for loss and sacks. Offensively, Creekview continues to rely on up a strong running game and play-action passing. The combination of quarterback Brody Rhodes and running back Tyler Stevens is averaging 139 rushing yards per game while the Grizzles’ passing game continues to trend upward week by week. Coming off a 21-14 road win at Riverwood, River Ridge (5-0, 2-0) is off to its best start in program history. The Knights lead both Cherokee County and Region 7AAAAAA in points per game (36) and have one of the most dynamic players in the state in their backfield. Junior running back Amehre Morrison finished with 273 yards and three touchdowns against Riverwood last Friday and through five games he’s been nearly unstoppable. His 1,099 rushing yards (9.7 average) and 15 rushing touchdowns lead AAAAAA and keeping the speedy back under 200 yards has been a difficult task so far this season. Morrison (5’8", 165) should no longer be an under the radar recruit. Equally as integral has been the Knights’ offensive line of Cam Cochran, Yturralde Telmo, Jack Senay, Jackson Hall and Cal Begin. The offensive line has also protected Knights’ quarterback Carson Lathem in the play-action passing game. Lathem is completing 61 percent of his passes with Riley Caines and Jackson Head tied for the team lead in receptions with 15 apiece. River Ridge’s defense has been effective this season as well. Senior Scotty Rutherford leads the team in tackles (50) while Hunter Deriso leads the team in tackles for loss (9) and sacks (4). <strong>Game:</strong> Alpharetta (1-3, 0-1) at Woodstock (2-4, 0-1) <strong>Series:</strong> First meeting ever <strong>Prediction:</strong> Alpharetta 28, Woodstock 14 <strong>Players to watch:</strong> <em>Alpharetta:</em> DB [player_tooltip player_id="33681" first="Jaden" last="Slocum"], DB [player_tooltip player_id="33739" first="Dylan" last="Merrell"], QB Ben Guthrie, LB Vito Perri, OL David Oxman <em>Woodstock:</em> DB [player_tooltip player_id="33656" first="David" last="Daniel"], WR Wes Bruno, QB Dan Comeau, DL Brett Stefan <strong>Preview:</strong> A pair of teams looking for their first region win will square off for the first time ever this week in Woodstock. Alpharetta (1-3, 0-1) will travel to Woodstock (2-4, 0-1) on Friday and both teams will be looking to bounce back after losses in their region openers last week. Woodstock fell 41-7 at Cherokee while Alpharetta lost 35-20 at home to Milton. Woodstock fell behind early to Cherokee and finished with its second-lowest scoring output and most points allowed of the season. The Wolverines struggled to run the ball against Cherokee — 16 yards — but finished with 236 yards passing. The emergence and maturation of new starting quarterback Dan Comeau has been a central theme of Woodstock’s offense as the sophomore has passed for 699 yards and six touchdowns in three starts. Alpharetta’s three losses have come at the hands of three of the better teams in the state — North Cobb, Collins Hill, Milton — and the Raiders were competitive in each contest. The Raiders are surrendering more points (23.2 per game) than they are scoring (19) but the pieces are in place to make a run within the region. Alpharetta’s sophomore quarterback Ben Gutherie is capable of beating teams with both his arm and legs. Tackling in the open field will be key against Alpharetta and the matchup between Woodstock defensive back [player_tooltip player_id="33656" first="David" last="Daniel"] and the receiving corps of Alpharetta could be an intriguing battle. Daniel leads Woodstock and is fourth in Cherokee County with 54 tackles. Defensively, the Raiders have a pair of defensive backs, [player_tooltip player_id="33681" first="Jaden" last="Slocum"] (Stanford) and [player_tooltip player_id="33739" first="Dylan" last="Merrell"] (Duke), who are committed to D1 FBS schools. Senior linebacker Vito Perri (6’, 210) has also drawn college attention. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;