Class A Upper State Final Preview
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<p>For a pair of region rivals, it all comes down to this.</p>
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<p>St. Joseph's got off to a red-hot start this season, beginning the season 5-0 with a win over 3A Seneca. The Knights fell once to Southside Christian, and again to Christ Church. They avenged the first loss in an overtime thriller in the second round of the playoffs. The other team to defeat the Knights awaits this week.</p>
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<p>Christ Church put together one of the most dominant seasons in the 1A ranks. Their lone defeat came at the hands of Holy Innocents Episcopal, an Atlanta powerhouse. They average 44 points per game, and have topped 60 four times. One of those came against St. Joseph's in the regular season. Here's a look at the matchup.</p>
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<p><strong>St. Joseph's (11-2) at Christ Church (12-1)</strong></p>
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<p>The Knights are a grind-it-out team, looking to run first. They have a QB in <strong>Walker Wood</strong> who's able to keep defenses honest, but St. Joseph's success comes on the ground. Wood is a good runner, and has come up with some big gains in the playoffs, including a crucial two-point conversion that extended the season in the win over Southside Christian. <strong>Harrison Zinkann</strong> is the feature back for the Knights, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1144052' first='Johnny' last='Jaraczewski'] </strong>picks up tough, hard yards between the tackles. He's also a key cog for St. Joseph's defensively, along with <strong>Tommy Sullivan</strong> and <strong>Trey Sanders</strong>.</p>
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<p>Christ Church has shown great offensive balance, rushing for just more than 2,400 yards, and throwing for a little more than 2,300. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262618' first='Woods' last='Windham']</strong> has been responsible for almost 2,100 passing yards and 26 TDs, with<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1012637' first='Jackson' last='Repp']</strong> and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='262681' first='BJ' last='Atkins']</strong> both topping 700 receiving yards. But the Cavaliers' success begins with [player_tooltip player_id='267466' first='Dashun' last='Reeder']. Reeder has rushed for more than 1,800 yards and 9.5 yards per carry, and has rushed for 36 scores. Defensively, <strong>Patrick McMaster</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='997188' first='Jake' last='Good']</strong> have each recorded more than 70 tackles, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='262677' first='Carson' last='Shaw']</strong> has 70 on the number, along with 23 tackles for loss and 14 sacks.</p>
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<p>With a rivalry and region familiarity, there's not much these two teams don't know about each other. The Knights have shown a flair for the dramatic, and have rolled in a couple other playoff games, while the Cavaliers have just steamrolled opponents, and look to have too many weapons.</p>
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<p><em>Edge: Christ Church</em></p>
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For a pair of region rivals, it all comes down to this.
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