GAME DAY: Here's what's in store for our area high school football teams this week

Staff Reports

The Newton Rams will look to avoid an 0-2 start for the first time since 2012 when it faces an Alcovy Tigers team that hasn’t beaten the Rams in over a decade. | Photo by Deshon Hardeman

COVINGTON, Ga. — It’s high school football game day in Covington, which means another week to see how Newton County’s area teams fare in the early part of the season. 

Last week’s action featured the breaking of a six-year drought and perhaps the emergence of some new stars with Eastside’s 26-15 win over Newton — the first such victory since 2018, as well as Social Circle’s shootout win over Oglethorpe County that saw the emergence of first-time starter Luke Allgood and his monster performance at linebacker. 

Even in a loss, Alcovy saw flashes of brilliance from its young guns like Chick-fil-A Player of the Week, Nick Slidell. The diminutive senior rushed for a trio of touchdowns despite the Tigers’ 61-33 setback to Arabia Mountain last Thursday. 

This week’s action features Part 2 of the Battle for the Newton Cup local rivalry series as Newton and Alcovy lock horns. Eastside will travel to Hiram and Social Circle will host Warren County. 

Here’s a breakdown of what to expect from these games. 

Alcovy (0-1) vs. Newton (0-1)

When: Friday, August 23, 7: 30 p.m. 

Where: Homer Sharp Stadium, Covington, Georgia

The Series: Newton is 10-3 against Alcvoy all time, having won the last nine matchups by a combined score of 322-37. Alcovy’s last win against Newton came in 2009 when the Tigers won 17-8 to cap off a three-game win streak against the Rams while coach Kirk Hoffman led the Tigers’ program and Nick Collins paced the sidelines for Newton. 

What to expect: Both teams come into this game winless after playing at least one game for the first time since 2007. When that happened, Alcovy blanked the Rams 23-0 in what was one of only two victories for Alcovy that year. It’s probably not prudent to anticipate similar results, though, in this year’s matchup. Newton fell to Eastside last week, sure enough. But this isn’t a slouch Eastside squad with Georgia Tech-bound linebacker/running back Jayden Barr and Tennessee commit Christian Gass in the middle of Eastside’s defense, it’s not hyperbole to say that the Eagles may have one of the best linebacking corps in Georgia. All that to say, Newton lost to a very good Eagles bunch. Meanwhile, Alcovy’s defensive struggles had to give coach Spencer Fortson pause as he’ll face, this week, a Newton offense rife with college prospect potential. 

Our Pick: Newton puts last week behind while Alcovy continues to grow. Newton 48, Alcovy 15 

Eastside (1-0) at Hiram (1-0)

When: Friday, August 23, 7:30 p.m. 

Where: Hiram Stadium, Hiram, Georgia 

The Series: This will be the first-ever meeting between the schools. 

What to expect: In summary? A good, close game. The Hornets under coach Pete Forminaya, have been much improved over the last two seasons especially. Hiram’s 48-41 win against Paulding last week was impressive as the Hornets showed off a balanced offensive attack. Junior quarterback Ethan Latimore threw the ball around with precision — to the tune of 15-of-19 passing for 320 yards and three touchdowns to just one interception. Additionally, Hiram’s Kaden Hamilton rumbled his way for 173 rushing yards at a ridiculous 15.7 yards-per-carry clip. His total helped the Hornets to 301 rushing yards, and Hiram rolled up over 600 total yards of offense. But it surrendered about as many yards and points as it produced. Meanwhile, Eastside’s going to be feeling real good about largely corralling a Class AAAAAA offense with college-level talent to spare. The Eagles looked like a hungry team with a bit of a chip on its shoulder to prove it belongs in the Class AAAAA state championship conversation. Don’t look for that hunger to dissipate on the road. 

Our Pick: This has the makings of an entertaining game with a good bit of talent on either sides to go around. But Eastside’s defense will prove too much. Eastside 28, Hiram 21

Warren County (0-1) at Social Circle (1-0) 

When: Friday, August 23, 7:30 p.m., Social Circle High School

The Series: The all-time series between these two teams is tied, 3-3, although the squads haven’t played each other since 2001.

What to expect: After four consecutive non-losing seasons and three straight playoff berths, the last two seasons for the Screaming Devils have been tough. Including last week’s 48-16 loss to Morgan County, Warren has gone 5-16 in the last three seasons. Meanwhile, the Redskins have made four straight playoff appearances under coach Rob Patton, despite finishing last season with a 4-7 record. Four straight trips to the postseason is something that hasn’t been done at Social Circle since the Ken Stoudenmire coaching days back in the early 2000s. You’ve gotta like the offensive firepower displayed by the Redskins against a 2023 playoff team in their opener last week. Patton opened up his Tuesday practice with his team highlighting the fact that it missed 24 tackles in last week’s opener. He began the workout with an emphasis on proper tackling technique. Any defensive improvement Social Circle makes can really make this a well-rounded squad. 

Our Pick: Social Circle is at home and Warren County’s been struggling lately, either at home or on the road. The Redskins should go 2-0 here. Social Circle 31, Warren County 14. 

Non-GHSA Teams

Peachtree Academy at Hearts Academy, Friday August 23, 7:30 p.m. 

Piedmont Academy: OFF after defeating Thomas Jefferson Academy 41-7 in last week’s season opener.