In Talkin’ Sports

t’s officially that time of the year. School is back, the weather is starting to cool down (maybe) and life is of course getting crazier and crazier. Yup, Friday night High School football is back!

Let’s take a look at some of our Cobb County High School teams, a county which has won four state championships over the past six years. Both Marietta and Harrison took the crown in 2019, Allatoona was victorious despite a plethora of injuries in 2015 and Mt. Paran won the Class A Private title in 2014

North Cobb

The Warriors may be the favorite to win it all in Class 7A this season. Head Coach Shane Queen, who can boast a 106-62 overall record, is in his 15th year with the program. Not only was his team 10-2 a season ago and bring back a good amount of talent but they also received four major transfers from Brookwood.

Junior Quarterback Malachi Singleton is a 4* recruit who can crush an opponent with both his arm and his legs. Add into the mix four Senior transfers who include 4* UGA commit WR Denylon Morrissette, 4* WR Sam Mbake, 3* Kentucky commit CB Andre Stewart and 4* UGA Commit DB Marquis Groves-Killebrew and you have a team as talented as any in the state.

Marietta

Head Coach Richard Morgan enters his sixth season at Whitlock Avenue. Last season the Blue Devils did make the playoffs but also saw an expected dip. After losing so much amazing talent from that 2019 championship run, led by Harrison Bailey and Arik Gilbert, there was really no place to go but down.

Senior Quarterback Tyler Hughes, who is a Southern University commit, threw for 28 touchdowns a year ago while leading the team with 535 rush yards. Hughes will target six guys who had at least 20 catches a season ago, including a potential beast in Daniel Martin. The squad will also return the top nine tacklers, who all happen to be experienced Seniors.

McEachern

The Indians have perennially been one of the top programs in the state of Georgia. They have always had top level coaching led by the legendary Jimmy Dorsey and now is no different as Franklin Stephens begins year number three in Powder Springs. Overall, Stephens is 149-33-1 in his coaching career and will need quarterback Bryce Archie to add to his 16 Touchdown passes over the past two seasons. Makari Bodiford, Sutton Smith and East Carolina commit Kaleb Webb should be high quality weapons at Archie’s disposal.

Allatoona

Gary Varner’s Buccaneers went 11-1 last season before bowing out to a very good Westlake squad in the quarterfinals. The coach, the only one in the program’s 13-year history, is 117-39-1 overall and won that State title back in 2015, despite losing major contributors to injury along the way. Incidentally, that record equates to a .738 winning percentage which is the best for any program in Cobb County history.

Throughout the years this program has been the High School version of Running Back U. They always seem to be able to pound opponents into submission with a great running game and this season should be no different with Jayden Ponder, who last season as a sophomore, was the six-time player of the game. Ponder, not only rushed for over 1,000 yards last season and scored eight times but can also boast a 3.5 GPA. Add in 6’ 6” Ohio State commit Bennett Christian, Junior Linebacker Vinny Canosa and Ty Thompson, who led the team with 8 sacks last season, and the Bucs should be back in business in 2021.

Kell

One of the major themes in High School football, and this article, is the high level of coaching in the state of Georgia. The Kell Longhorns are no different with Brett Sloan, who is entering season number five with a 29-16 record.

Sloan will rely heavily on senior quarterback Ty Crockett and junior running back David Mbadinga. The 5’ 8” back rumbled for over 1300 yards in 2020 and scored 11 times making him the biggest current offensive threat coming out of Lee Waters Road.

Can one of these five Cobb County teams cross the finish line and hold up the trophy in December? One thing is for certain, Friday nights out on the field create special moments for these young men and memories that will last forever!

Justin Hanover is a sports reporter/analyst who has worked in the business since 1996. His stops have included ESPN, CNN, 790 The Zone and 680 The Fan. He has also done play-by-play analysis and color commentary ranging from the high school level all the way through the professional level. Justin lives in Smyrna with his wife and three children.