Postseason football superlatives: The best of the best in Athens-area high school football

Posted by author November 14, 2024 Football

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Wow, time sure flies when you’re having fun.

It’s already state playoff season for the Georgia High School Association football teams and the Athens-area has 10 teams featured in the first round — Athens Academy (10-0, 6-0) and Prince Avenue Christian (7-3, 5-0) make 12, but they both have been granted automatic byes as undefeated region title holders.

There was lots of historic success coming from the Classic City programs this season, between Clarke Central (8-2, 6-0) winning its region for the first time since 2021, Jackson County (8-2, 5-1) having its best outing since 1982 and Prince Avenue Christian keeping its region-title streak alive with a 3-point win over Hebron Christian. Oconee County (6-4, 4-1) might have beaten Jefferson in their thrilling regular season finale, but Jefferson (7-3, 4-1) came out on top of Class 3A-Region 8 with the crown.

Oh, and then there was North Oconee (10-0, 6-0), Athens Academy and Bethlehem Christian (11-0, 7-0) who all went undefeated. Bethlehem Christian got its redemption over Tattnall Square in the first round of GIAA playoffs on Nov. 8, beating them at home 21-14 in a rematch of the 2023 first round.

All that said, we’re going to have a little fun before we dive headfirst into the deep end Friday night and do some postseason, pre-playoff superlatives for the 12 teams making this final stretch.

Top quarterback-receiver duos

Hampton Johnson-Keyon Standifer, Athens Academy

Senior quarterback Hampton Johnson had 80 completions on 123 attempts for 1,883 yards and 26 touchdowns this season, with just 5 interceptions. His sophomore wide receiver Keyon Standifer proved he was a freak of nature last year and carried that beastly energy into this year, catching 46 of those passes for 1,222 yards and 19 touchdowns. Standifer led the team with 122.2 receiving yards per game.

Harrison Faulkner-Landon Roldan, North Oconee

Junior quarterback Harrison Faulkner and senior wide receiver and now four-star Georgia-commit Landon Roldan have headlined the year for the Titans. From the insane bobble catches to the failed reverse pass with 19 seconds left in regulation over Eastside.

Top quarterback-running back duos

Gavin Markey-Dallas Russell, Jefferson

When he’s not rushing himself, senior quarterback Gavin Markey and junior running back Dallas Russell are a duo to beat. Markey led the team with 93.9 rushing yards per game, and Russell was just behind him with 56.4 per game. Russell had a breakout year as a starter, totaling 107 carries for 564 yards and 10 touchdowns. Markey added 118 carries for 939 yards and 12 scores himself.

Ben Musser-Andrew Beard, Prince Avenue Christian

Both transfers, these sophomores made a lasting mark and caught right up to the standard the Wolverine name carries. Beard averaged 145.1 rushing yards per game, completing 165 carries for 1,451 yards and 15 touchdowns in his first season as a starter. Musser added 52 carries for 396 yards and three touchdowns himself. Beard led the team in rushing touchdowns and Musser was second in rushing yards per game with 39.6.

Jaiden Daniels-Tysean Wiggins, Commerce

Seniors Jaiden Daniels and Tysean Wiggins are the cemented rushers for Commerce, and even with Daniels taking over as starting quarterback this year, Wiggins still managed to eclipse the 1,000 rushing yards marker for the second straight season. Wiggins is a moving brick wall, and Daniels adds the shiftiness needed. No matter where they line up, they’re unstoppable. Stats were not available for this duo.

Most likely to go all the way

North Oconee, Prince Avenue Christian

Both schools are known for their trips to and through the GHSA postseason.

Prince Avenue Christian has a long legacy under Greg Vandagriff, making it all the way to the finals or winning the last four years. The Wolverines haven’t missed being seeded into a playoff bracket since 2010 under Mark Farriba. They’ve finished as winners three times, twice in the finals, five times in the semifinals, two times in the quarterfinals, and once in the first and second rounds each. They got an automatic bye for the first round.

North Oconee has never won a state title, but the last three years (2021-23) they’ve managed to make it as far as the semifinals under Tyler Aurandt. Coincidentally, they’ve also gone into the playoffs with undefeated regular season records in two of those years (2022-23). Aurandt’s Titans are on a four-year region title win streak. Their basketball team managed to secure its first state title in history last winter, now it’s the football team’s turn. They’ll have the home field advantage in game one against Eagles Landing.

Most likely to cause an upset

Athens Academy

Athens Academy managed to pull out its first undefeated regular season since 2019, reverting back to that three-year stint of hard success that Josh Alexander had the Spartans on in 2017-19. They got an automatic bye for the first round due to being region title winners, and by the looks of this team, they have what it takes to beat the challenges ahead. The last time they made it to the finals was in 2018. They only went to the first and second rounds from 2020-23.

Clarke Central

Clarke Central is rejuvenated this year with Arizona-transfer Hezekiah Millender leading the offense and the major culture shift he helped push just by being himself. The last time the Gladiators had a season this good was 2021, and they managed to make it to the quarterfinals that year. They haven’t won a state title since David Perno was a player on the roster in 1985, but things are looking positive this year for the first time in a minute and they have the home field advantage in game one against Houston County.

Jefferson

Jefferson hasn’t won a state title since 2012 and hasn’t been to the finals since 2020. Travis Noland managed to get them to the semifinals last year, where they fell 28-17 to Creekside on the road. But that was with Sammy Brown. This year, they’ve been more 50/50. They won big games against an undefeated Cherokee Bluff and the eventual region 5A champion Clarke Central but fumbled in overtime to a 6-4 Oconee County in the season closer. They’ll have the home field advantage in Game 1 against Monroe.