Sophomore running back David Davis (27) follows the lead blocking of teammate Malik Ransom (31) against Kell. The pair and their teammates look to get the first win of the season against rival Lakeside. (Photo by Mark Brock)
The battle of No. 4 ranked Cedar Grove and Southwest DeKalb leads a lineup of seven all-DeKalb County matchups as the pair meet in the second game of a doubleheader at newly renovated Buck Godfrey Stadium on Friday night at 8:00.
Coach Jermaine Smith’s Saints come into the game at 1-0 following a 34-23 victory over formerly Class 5A ranked Stephenson (0-1) and moved up one spot in the Class 3A rankings this week to No. 4.
Oklahoma State commit and quarterback Jelani Woods threw for a pair of touchdowns and a pick-six by Jenard Morris led the Saints in the programs second all-time victory in seven tries against perennial playoff contender Stephenson.
Southwest DeKalb is coming off a 22-12 season opening victory over country rival Redan to run its all-time record against the Raiders to 31-2.
Quarterback Justin Tomlin threw for 308 yards (162 on 5 completions to Javon Cody) and the running back tandem of Eric Johnson (15-152 yards) and Jamal Starks (13-148 yards, 1 TD) combined for 300 yards rushing in the win.
The Saints and Panthers have met just seven times in the two program’s history with Southwest DeKalb winning all six of the meetings.
McNair (0-0) opens its season in the first game of the doubleheader at Godfrey as the Mustangs take on the Clarkston Angoras (0-1) who lost to Miller Grove last week. The two tee it up at 5:15 pm.
Another big country rivalry takes place on Friday as the Tucker Tigers (0-1) play hosts to the Lakeside Vikings (1-0) in a series led 26-22 by Tucker. The Tigers have won the past 15 against the Vikings to take the lead in a series that was lopsided in the Vikings’ favor until the mid-90’s.
Lakeside quarterback Will Jernigan (far right with football) ran for over 100 yards against Dunwoody. He hopes to lead the Vikings to a win and break the string of losses to Tucker on Friday. (Photo by Mark Brock)
Tucker is coming off a very tough 20-13 loss to Kell in the Corky Kell Classic last Saturday in the Georgia Dome. The big highlight for the Tigers was quarterback Xavier Shepard and receiver Joshua Vann hooking up for a pair of long touchdowns of 20 and 54 yards along with a defense that had a four-down goal line stop on Kell and allowed just 130 yards of offense in the second half.
Lakeside rallied in the second half to put away Dunwoody 36-22 behind the 172 yard, 4 touchdown performance of running back Max Guggemos. The win gave Cam Jones his first victory as the head coach at Lakeside after taking over this year.
Arabia Mountain (1-0) and Martin Luther King (1-0) are both coming off season opening wins last weekend and play the only Saturday game in the county in a 7:30 pm tilt at Hallford Stadium.
The Rams are coming off a 50-0 shutout of county rival Stone Mountain a week ago. Carl White III had a pair of touchdowns, 1 rushing and 1 receiving, to lead Arabia Mountain in the win while Brandon Snowball rushed for 101 yards and 1 touchdown on 9 carries.
Brandon Dickerson threw for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Jamal Patton (4 receptions, 117 yards) to lead the Lions to a 14-3 win over the Columbia Eagles.
The two teams have played just twice with the Rams looking for their first victory over the Lions on Saturday.
DCSD WEEK 2 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Friday, Aug 26
McNair (0-0) vs. Clarkston (0-1), Godfrey, 5:15 pm
Chamblee (1-0) at Decatur (0-1), 7:30 pm
Druid Hills (1-0) vs. Columbia (0-1), North DeKalb, 7:30 pm
Miller Grove (1-0) vs. Stone Mountain (0-1), Avondale, 7:30 pm
Redan (0-1) vs. Lithonia (0-1), Hallford, 7:30 pm
Stephenson (0-1) at Mill Creek (1-0), 7:30 pm
Towers (0-1) at Banneker (0-0), 7:30 pm
Tucker (0-1) vs. Lakeside (1-0), Adams, 7:30 pm
Cedar Grove (1-0) vs. SW DeKalb (1-0), Godfrey, 8:00 pm
Saturday, Aug. 27
Arabia Mountain (1-0) vs. M.L. King (1-0), Hallford, 7:30 pm
Open: Cross Keys (0-0), Dunwoody (0-1)