2 PROGRAMS, 894 WINS, 7 STATE TITLES! When scrolling through scheduled matchups each week and you run across the team that happens to be lined up across from Peach County or Calhoun, one thing goes through your mind.... GOOD LUCK! Legendary coaches and players have graced the hallways of these two schools and field houses, and this year is no different with both teams coming in with a combined record of 24 - 2 on the year. It just so happens that both of those losses belong to Peach County, but it would only also be fair to disclose that those losses came to Lee County (probably the eventual 6A State Champion this year) and Mary Persons (a 4A Elite 8 contestant). Both programs are stable at the top with a combined 34 seasons at their respective schools between Calhoun's Hal Lamb (21 seasons) and Peach County's Chad Campbell (13 seasons). It is a GHSA storied showdown of nearly unmatched proportions, so let's dig in to the next chapter of history for the two in the 2018 3A State Semifinals. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the 3A State Championship a year ago may or may not have been played between these two teams and also, may or may not have been decided by one of the worst calls in GHSA history? YEAH... THERE IS A LOT TO DIG INTO HERE!
As stated, Calhoun is a legendary program, with a legendary coach and great players. However, not all roads to the Final 4 are equal. The region that Calhoun plays in is one that year in an year out they should obliterate the competition and they did. Due to this however, the numbers that would normally be used to do a comparison of two teams in a particular matchup here on The Sports Vent are drastically skewed. When that happens folks, you have throw some of the analytics aside and use common sense and the eye test. There is also a human element called emotional that plays a big role in this contest after the somewhat tainted championship the Yellow Jackets won a year ago. Despite playing a lot of inferior teams throughout the year, Calhoun played up to it's typical standard. Admittedly, it is not easy to motivate 14 - 18 year old ball players that no without a shadow of a doubt they are going to lay a whooping on the other team based on pure genetics and talent alone. So Hal Lamb and his staff deserve a lot of credit for that and the players do too for showing a high maturity level.
The question is, are the Jackets prepared for stiff competition? Are they battle tested? Against much better opponent in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the playoffs, Calhoun has scored 21 and 24 points respectively. These totals are well under the 45 per game they averaged for the season. The great news for the Yellow Jackets is the consistency of their defense, which has allowed totals of 17, 6, and 12 in the playoffs. The other piece of good news is that Calhoun, while not having played up to their standard on offense the last two weeks, can complement that good defense with the most successful part of their offense... THE RUN GAME! I will hammer it over and over again, to win in the playoffs you must be able to effectively run the football and to stop the run! The Jackets defense is obviously very talented with the likes of Clemson commit Davis Allen (6'5" 220) at inside linebacker and the run game is explosive with Jeremy Smith leading the charge at a clip of over 220 yards per game! Obviously, those type of number aren't as easy to maintain against a team like Peach County. Anything close to that mark for Smith though would mean a successful game script for the Yellow Jackets and would go a long way toward taking his team back to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to defend their title.
Jaydon Gibson, Peach County's Junior QB, will do a lot of really dynamic things in this game to test that vaunted Yellow Jacket's defense. Gibson can do it all! In my mind, the only thing that is holding Gibson back from being a big time recruit is his size. At 5-10, 175 Gibson is not your D1 prototype, but he is a D1 baller for sure! Want to use all 53 1/3 yards of width in your offensive aligments and throw a 5 yard hit route from the left hash to the top of the numbers on the right side of the field? Gibson can do it! Want to fake outside zone to the right and have your right handed QB boot out to his left and hit a 15 yard comeback in stride? Gibson can do it! Want to run 4 verticals with a TE in the formation and have the QB look off the single high safety and drop the throw over the linebackers with some pace on it? Gibson can do it! Not to mention the QB is a threat to score each time he pulls the ball down to scramble. Let's just say that Davis Allen and crew better come to play, which they are entirely capable of doing!
Gibson is the star for Peach County no doubt, but I believe the two X-Factors in this game wear numbers 44 & 45 for the Trojans. Bryson Dent (44) and Sergio Allen (45) both play TE and also play defensive end and linebacker respectively. Campbell's offense leaned heavily on 2 tight formations in the inclement weather last week against Westminister and Dent and Allen were major contributors to the Trojans' success in the running game. They also helped to stifle a very good, very efficient Wildcat offense. They, undoubtedly, will be asked to shoulder a big burden when it comes to fighting off block of an outstanding Calhoun offensive line and then trying to contain Jeremy Smith.
In the end, this is going to be a fantastic game between two great teams. Peach County feels, and justifiably so, that they were robbed of a title last year and you know that there is very little if any motivated that Head Coach Chad Campbell has to do in order to for Peach County to serve a dish best served cold (and on the road) in a little bit of revenge. Calhoun is out to prove that last year was no fluke and that they indeed are the true standard bearer for Class 3A. I believe that motivation, dynamic QB play, and 2 stud two way players make the difference for the Trojans. Calhoun is a 6.5 point favorite at home, but I say that Peach County not only covers, but wins outright!
Peach County 27 - Calhoun (-6.5) 20
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