Community Corner

High School Football Predictions

How will Stone Mountain and Redan fare this week?

I was leaving church Wednesday night when I heard the beautiful words: “Thank God for football season.”

“Amen,” I thought, as I felt a comfortably cool breeze hit me under the striking golden hues of sunset.

“That’s right,” I was still thinking. The summer heat has broken and become Chamber-of-Commerce quality. College and pro games have started, there’s a game on TV almost every night and our favorite sons are playing high-school ball every weekend in our neighborhood stadiums.

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I took a deep breath to take it all in. How great it is!

“Football season is beautiful,” I said in agreement with my fellow church member.

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She rolled her eyes.

The mother then rattled off what it’s like to have a young boy playing in a youth league in Gwinnett County. There’s practice three, sometimes four, nights a week. Games are every Saturday.  And, she said, if she’s lucky, football could be six days a week.

Oh wait a minute, I get it. She was being sarcastic.

“Yeah, football is great,” she said with another roll of the eyes.

Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder.

This week’s picks

Every week, I pick high-school football games that are played in Patch coverage areas from Stone Mountain to Cumming. I was 19-6 last week, bringing my overall record to 57-15.

Are you ready for another round of picks?

Stone Mountain vs. Cedar Grove (Saturday): This may be the toughest opponent of the season for the Stone Mountain Pirates (3-0), who open their Region 5-AAA, Division B season against Cedar Grove Saturday at Hallford Stadium. Cedar Grove is 1-2, but considered a contender for a playoff spot. The Saints are coming off a 35-34 loss to highly regarded LaGrange, which indicates they’re a dangerous team. But it’s hard to pick against the Pirates, who have yet to be challenged.  Stone Mountain 27, Cedar Grove 24.

Lakeside vs. Redan (Panthersville Stadium):  A pair of 0-3 teams meet with hopes of breaking into the win column. We still can’t forget the 41 points Redan put up in the season-opener against Lithonia. Redan gets the nod. Redan 24, Lakeside 12.

Scott Bernarde is the Associate Regional Editor for 12 Patch sites in DeKalb, Gwinnett, Fulton and Forsyth counties.


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