Film Study: 1st Half Douglass vs LaGrange Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Douglass and LaGrange opened the 2024 Georgia High School season today at the Corky Kell Classic. I'm sitting here watching the 1st half and thought I would take a deeper dive into some of the players that stood out early in the contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>John Wilson - 2026 QB - Douglass</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6'0 175 dual threat QB flew under a lot of radars this off season, including mine. An efficient passer with a strong arm that has a quick release. Good poise in the pocket that stands tall and can deliver the ball down field. Has decent speed and keeps the defense honest with his legs. He had a good season last Fall with close to 2000 total yards with 21 TDs. Started strong on Wednesday in the opener going 7 of 11 for 128 yards and a TD in the 1st half and added 25 yards rushing on 6 attempts. Wilson has a lot of weapons around him and Douglass will be a tough out come playoff time this Fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quintavious Boykin - 2025 WR - Douglass</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5'9 160 WR is the go to guy on the outside for the Astros. Physical kid with a lot of speed that is a danger to take it to the house every time he touches the ball. Crafty with the ball in his hands and hard to catch when he gets past the defense. Had a 72 yard reception in the first half setting up an Astros score. Was one the the leading receivers on the Astros last Fall with 34 catches for 422 yards including a game high 7 catches for 106 yards in a win over Jackson. Boykin will be a big part Douglass's success on offense in '24. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='338647' first='Jontae' last='Gilbert'] - 2025 WR - Douglass</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The #1 Ranked DB in the Prep Redzone rankings had a do it all 1st half. The 6'1 185 UGA commit had to catches in the 1st half with one going for a 10 yard TD. A shut down DB that also handled the punting duties. Long, physical and technically sound DB that showed why he is such highly touted with his first half play in the secondary. LaGrange was passing game was completely held in check in the first half going 1 for 4 for -5 yards. Gilbert was great in 1 v 1 coverage, giving the QB no window to throw to. Gilbert will be a fan favorite in Athens over the next 4 years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/samspiegs/status/1823853081777299946","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/samspiegs/status/1823853081777299946 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>JaQuan Fletcher - 2025 DE/DT - Douglass</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Senior DE/DT had a breakout 1st half for the Astros. Fletcher and company held LaGrange to 18 total 1st half yards with only 23 yards rushing on 18 attempts. He had 5 TT , 4 solo, with a sack and 2.5 TFLs. Physical kid with a lot of quickness off the LOS, hard to get a hat on. Fletcher had a good Junior season in '23 with 42 TT with 5 sacks and if the 1st half of this game is any indication he is ready to have a breakout Senior season this Fall for Douglass. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Javier Easter - 2027 OLB - LaGrange </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6'0 175 OLB has a lot of upside for the Grangers. They weren't able to muster much on the offensive side of the ball in 1st half but Easter stood out on the defensive side of ball. Athletic LB with long arms with a quick first step and comes downhill fast. Good vision behind the LOS and sniffs out the running lanes quick. He had 8 TT , 5 solo, in the 1st half. Easter is a player to keep a close eye on as his high school career progresses. Has all the physical and natural attributes to be a very good LB. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/javier_easter/status/1789329997062177060","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/javier_easter/status/1789329997062177060 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mason Calhoun - 2026 K - LaGrange</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shout out to the kicker who got the Grangers on the board in the 1st Half. Calhoun is a big baseball prospect but shows he has the leg to potentially be a kicking prospect on the football field. He connected on a 43 yard attempt to give LaGrange an early 3-0 lead. The 5'11 185 yard kicker was a consistent for the Grangers last Fall and will be a weapon for them in '24. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Sykotyk/status/1823826147148542312","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Sykotyk/status/1823826147148542312 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->