Georgia Notebook: Fritts returns to Western Georgia

Sid Fritts returns to western Georgia this week for the first time since he was on the sidelines as the head coach at Rome.

Fritts, the Elbert County, coach will lead his No. 7 Blue Devils (9-1) some 170 miles from Elberton this week when they travel to Lindale, Ga. to play Pepperell. The Dragons (7-3) fell in the Region 7-AA championship game last week to Calhoun, their second loss of the season to the Yellow Jackets.

Fritts and Rome never played Pepperell during his five-year tenure, but he said the Dragons are a physical bunch with big linemen.

“They are similar in philosophy to us, I just think we’re a little more explosive,” Fritts said.

Georgia Notebook: Stephens prepares for region championship game

In arguably the program’s biggest game in four years, Stephens County travels to Gainesville this week to play the Red Elephants for the Region 8-AAA title.

The Indians appearance in the game flies in the face of most preseason predictions, which had Gainesville against North Hall. But the Trojans have lost two in a row, to Franklin County and Stephens, which knocked them out of contention.

“It’s a big game for us in the fact that no one gave our kids and team a chance to be in this game,” Stephens coach Travis Noland said.

Stephens earned its way after it dispatched of North Hall last week, 39-14.

Gainesville and Stephens have had similar campaigns as each lost their opener to a strong AA team (Buford and Elbert County), but have rolled since. The Red Elephants have scored at least 40 points in every win, and topped 50 twice.

The Red Elephants' closest game was a 41-21 win against Monroe Area. The Red Elephants, behind their spread offense, have averaged 51 points per game in subregion play. That’s why Stephens’ big play trio of running back Chaz Thornton, quarterback Dionte Mayfield and wide receiver T'omas Colbert is especially important this week.

Georgia Notebook: Elbert and North Oconee battle for Region 8-2A South title

The game many have looked forward to for a year has arrived.

When North Oconee (8-0, 5-0 Region 8-AA) travels to The Granite Bowl this week to face No. 7 Elbert County (8-0, 5-0), the Region 8-AA South title is on the line, as well as a ticket to next week’s Region 8-AA championship.

The Titans and Blue Devils have mirrored each other all season.

They each have a smothering defense (each have four shutouts), and a star player in the offensive backfield. North Oconee, actually, has two in versatile Nick Colvin and speedy freshman Kawon Bryant. Elbert relies heavily on star Tyshon Dye.

North Oconee has averaged 45.6 points per game, while Elbert has put up 34.8. The Titans have yielded eight, compared with 7.4 for the Blue Devils.

Georgia Notebook: Stephens still working out kinks despite 6-game winning streak

Despite winning each week since the season opener, Stephens County coach Travis Noland continues to stress that his team is a work in progress.

Noland’s point was only highlighted in the wake of last week’s 25-14 victory over White County. Despite the win, the talk around Toccoa was that it wasn’t as crisp as it should be. Even in the victory, the Indians could have tacked on more if they hadn’t dropped a touchdown catch in the end zone, or an interception for a touchdown.

“A lot of people around here thought it was an ugly win,” Noland said. “But as coaches, we felt like we played one of the better games all year.”

The Indians have won six straight, and are 6-1 and 3-0 in Region 8-AAA, their only loss to Class AA No. 6 Elbert County, a one-point defeat in The Granite Bowl. Yet Noland continues to point to correcting dropped passes and the healing of injuries like the hip injury that knocked kicker Matt Moon out two weeks ago against Chestatee.

Georgia Notebook: Elbert prepares for region test

After several weeks of the weaker portion of its schedule, Elbert County travels to Jefferson this week in a meeting of Region 8-AA South contenders.

The Blue Devils, who used a strong fourth quarter last week to beat Hart County, will play one of the best offenses in the region, with arguably the best quarterback.

Jefferson’s Bryant Shirreffs led a win over Hart County last month when he was 15-for-21 passing for 285 yards and four touchdowns.

“Very good trigger man,” Elbert coach Sid Fritts said, “who can distribute the ball to a lot of different people.”

Georgia Notebook: Region 8-AA South teams fighting for position

One of the pitfalls of the strength of Region 8-AA South, the subregion where Hart County and Elbert County reside, is the lack of playoff spots that match the playoff-worthy teams.

Last year, North Oconee finished 9-1, but because the Titans lost at Elbert, and therefore finished second in the subregion, they opened the playoffs on the road, an eventual loss.

North Oconee’s 28-20 win over Hart County last week was one of the first steps toward shaping the playoff field from that subregion.

“Hart obviously has their back against the wall, and they’re fighting in that survivor mode,” North Oconee coach Terry Tuley said. “We only get three (in the playoffs). It’s a screwed up region, it’s not Hart’s fault.”

Stephens' Aaron Trotter continues to overcome adversity

TOCCOA, Ga. — In four years starting for the Indians, Aaron Trotter has had a different dose of adversity almost every season.

As a freshman, he was undersized to play safety.

As a sophomore, Trotter suffered a broken bone in his foot and missed several games.

This year, he’s moved back to linebacker after last playing there as a sophomore.

And while he’s been the most experienced player on the defense, and directing a young secondary, he’s watched his mother battle liver and colon cancer.

Through it all, he’s emerged as one of the Indians’ most valuable players. His move to linebacker in Week 2 coincided with the defense allowing just 24 points the three weeks.

Georgia Notebook: Hart prepares for stingy North Oconee

Still recovering from last week’s loss at Jefferson, Hart County continues the Region 8-AA South grind this week with a visit to North Oconee.

The Titans, who won 28-16 in Hartwell last year, are 3-0 and haven’t been scored on since a Week 1 win over Arabia Mountain. In the last two weeks, they’ve beaten Commerce (33-0) and Rabun County (69-0).

“They’re really, really big up front,” Hart coach Joby Scroggs said. “The people they’ve played, they’ve been able to move out of the way.”

Scroggs reaches milestone

Anderson Independent-Mail

Friday’s win for Hart County was important because it gave the Bulldogs something to think about besides the previous week’s lopsided loss to Stephens County.

But it was also a milestone for coach Joby Scroggs, who tied Bobby Pate for 66 wins, the most in school history. In his ninth season coaching the Bulldogs, Scroggs said it was a “tremendous honor,” and he was humbled to achieve it because Pate was a mentor for him.

Scroggs worked as an assistant under Pate at Hart from 1987-93, and credited Pate for molding him as a coach.

Georgia Notebook: Stephens prepares for Oconee's high-powered offense

Anderson Independent-Mail

The Indians, who beat Hart County 39-0 last week, take on a Warrior team that put up nearly 600 yards of offense last week in a 35-0 win over East Jackson.

Coming off one of the best offensive performances of the season, Stephens County has prepared its defense this week for the high-powered offense of Oconee County.

Football has made Elbert's Tyshon Dye a better person

Anderson Independent-Mail

ELBERTON, GA. — Ever since Tyshon Dye was introduced to football, his behavior in the classroom has improved exponentially.

“She said I needed to release some anger,” he said. “Because I had never really heard of football.”

In fourth grade, Dye started football because his mother wanted him to harness his extra energy.

Looking back, Dye isn’t sure where he would be today without the pigskin.

Hart County's Stephon Eades doesn't shy away from challenges

Anderson Independent-Mail

HARTWELL, GA. — Stephon Eades is making it difficult on his coaches to leave him at one position.

The Hart County senior, a team captain, is making a habit of filling in for injured teammates on defense, all the while toting the football from the Bulldogs’ backfield.

“I always think of him as a tailback, because that’s where he was always going to be,” said Hart coach Joby Scroggs, who doubles as the running backs’ position coach.

When he first made a name for himself as a sophomore, Eades replaced the injured linebacker Ketitus Harper, who suffered a knee injury in the Abbeville game.

Georgia Notebook: No love lost in Hart-Stephens rivalry

Anderson Independent-Mail

At times in recent years, the Hart County-Stephens County rivalry was nearly on par with the hotly contested showdown between the Bulldogs and next-door neighbor Elbert County.

Hart and Stephens, in the old Region 8-AAA, were arguably the best teams, and the schedule often played out that they decided the region championship in the regular season finale. It may have reached a climax in 2008 when running back Ren Teasley transferred from Hart to Stephens.

Georgia Notes: Both Stephens Co. QBs Mayfield, Westmoreland to play

Anderson Independent-Mail

As Stephens County entered the preseason, Travis Noland was not sure which quarterback would distinguish himself for this week’s opener at Elbert County.

Juniors Dionte Mayfield and Foster Westmoreland started the summer competing for the starting job, and Noland, the Indians’ coach, said Monday that neither has set him apart.

“They’ll both play,” Noland said. “They can both run the offense.”