4A State Championship Contenders

The third week of the high school season is over and we’re seeing some of the state’s top powerhouse programs rise to the top. In 4A, there’s a clear top dog looking to prove why they were the pre-season favorite to win the title. You have other impressive programs too, including last year’s state champion, who are out to show why they are still on top. It’s a classification full of high-quality talent and it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out throughout the fall. Here are some championship contenders to know about in 4A.... <strong>Jefferson:</strong> The Athens-area school came up just short last year, but they’re out to win in all this fall. Led by elite 5-star ATH [player_tooltip player_id="33871" first="Malaki" last="Starks"] and sensational sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="137488" first="Sammy" last="Brown"], the Dragons are destined for greatness this year and clearly look like the team to beat in 4A. The Dragons are 3-0 to start the season with impressive wins over Rabun County and Central Gwinnett. Running back [player_tooltip player_id="137488" first="Sammy" last="Brown"] has been unstoppable thus far, rushing for 277 yards and three TDs through the first two games. Starks, one of the nation’s top 2022 prospects, had led the team both on offense and defense this year, proving he’s one of the top two-way players in the country. There won’t be many teams who can stop this outstanding duo this fall. &nbsp; <strong>Carver Columbus:</strong> One of the top programs in West Georgia, the Tigers bounced back for a big win in week 2 after losing a tough game in the opener to powerhouse Lee County, a team that most people expected to beat Carver. They might not be full of D1 prospects, but they are home to arguably the top offense lineman in the state in four-star offensive tackle, [player_tooltip player_id="33894" first="Elijah" last="Pritchett"], who has a "Top 4" that includes Georgia, Alabama, Florida State, and Southern Cal. They’re 2-1 to start the season and they’re good enough to go on a big winning streak during the regular season and should make a deep run in the playoffs come December. &nbsp; <strong>Marist:</strong> Last year’s state champions, the Marist Eagles are one of the top overall programs in the state, regardless of class. They aren’t always the most talented team, but they play hard, they’re well coached, and they run the Wing-T offense to perfection. They are so tough for opposing defenses to handle and they always play outstanding defense themselves. They had an impressive 28-13 week one win over Blessed Trinity, who has one of the top running backs across the country, but fell this past weekend to another power program in Woodward Academy. Even with that loss, Marist isn’t going anywhere, and they are bound to give Jefferson and everyone else a big fight in 4A this season. &nbsp; <strong>Cedartown:</strong> The small town of Cedartown may not have a giant population, but they are always equipped with a tough, strong football team. They have an excellent team once again in 2021 with their best player being RB/LB CJ Washington. The four-star Georgia Bulldog commitment does a little bit of everything for Cedartown, a team that likes to run right down the defenses throat. They came up with a giant upset victory in week 1 over 7A Denmark, grinding out a tough low-scoring 7-3 victory. They had their week three game cancelled against Calhoun cancelled due to Covid.