Goodness gracious people! It doesn't get much better than this one! This is matchup of two teams that have student athletes on the field that simply have good football running through their veins. Rockmart has dominated every opponent this year from start to finish, and outside their opening game against Cedertown, none of their contests have every been in doubt. Callaway is tradition rich program that has won 6 region titles under longtime Head Coach Pete Wiggins (126 - 44 in 15 seasons). Wiggins has also helped to develop some stars at the next level and one particular player that you may be familiar with in Georgia Bulldogs Wide Receiver Terry Godwin. The dynamic in this game is a program in Callaway that has been so close to a state title multiple times, only to come up short in the title game, vs. a Rockmart team that is new to the state title picture in Head Coach Biff Parsons' third season. Let's break it down!
The Rockmart Yellow Jackets come into this game with one of the highest Sports Vent Power Ratings of the entire playoffs at 6.32 (the average power rating is around 2.0). Rockmart's modified, shotgun wing-t style rushing attack has helped them post a gaudy 47.15 points per game. The defense of the Yellow Jackets has been complementary to the style of offense that they play and has given up only 7.46 points per game lead by stalwart and leading tackler Sophomore LB Kieron Roberts. The offensive leadership for Parsons' team is provided by 3 Seniors in QB Dylan Bailey, and RBs Markus Smith & Zabrion Whately. Whately & Smith have both rushed for over 1000 yards and Dylan Bailey is extremely efficient in the passing game with a QBR of over 130 on the season! Ladies and Gentleman, that QBR is just off the charts! Dylan Bailey takes care of the ball and makes the most of his attempts throwing a TD pass every 4.9 times he put the pigskin in the air and his TD to INT ration is 5.25! Lastly, the line of scrimmage both offensively and defensively for the Yellow Jackets is PHYSICAL! They fire off the ball and control the point of contact, especially on the left side of the with mammoth Deacon Allen and Jourdan Rachel (LT & LG respectively). That side of the line alone has opposing defenses looking at nearly 600 pounds of pain and once they get lathered up, Parsons does not hesitate to keep them rolling!
Callaway is stark contrast from Rockmart offensively, as they employ a more common spread attack, that will occasionally lineup in the I-Formation to allow stub running back Cartavious Bigsby to get running "downhill", particularly in the red zone. QB Demetrius Coleman will sling it all over the yard and is impressive both in the pocket and throwing on the run. Coleman's pass to WR Markus Morman for the first Callaway TD of the their Elite 8 game vs. WACO was picture perfect. The QB displayed good footwork and threw with anticipation and accuracy into a small window on well ran crossing route. Callaway will hope to make this game a shootout and get points on the board early to take Rockmart out of it's element and gameplan offensively. By no means should it be thought that the Callaway defense is lacking or incapable of manufacturing stops in anyway, as they only allow 12 points per game. It is just that Rockmart's offensive attack is so unique and so relentless, that the Cavaliers cannot allow the Yellow Jackets to stay in their comfort zone of controlling the ball and wearing down the opposing defense, which in turn leads to explosive plays and chunks of yardage. No, Coach Wiggins squad must try to place this game in Dylan Bailey's hands for Rockmart and force him to throw the ball. You might say, didn't this write up just sing the praises of Bailey a paragraph earlier? Yes, and Bailey is very good, but with the exception of the Yellow Jackets first game of the season (20 pass attempts vs. Cedertown) the Senior QB has not attempted more than 10 passes in a game and his been throwing on his terms.
Overall, I believe this matchup is as good as any in the state when it comes to the schemes and the story lines of the programs involved. I believe that this game is tight early and may even see a couple lead changes in the first half. However, the 600 pounds of pain on the left side of the line for the Yellow Jackets will prove to be to burdensome for the Cavalier defense. Also, to be brutally honest, Rockmart has also fared much better than Callaway against common opponents Bremen and Heard County. Taking all this into consideration I believe that Rockmart, a 10.5 point favorite according to The Sports Vent Prediction Generator, wins and covers at home.
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