Opening week picks for prep football
Augusta Christian at Colleton Prep
If anyone thinks the Lions' move to a South Carolina conference this season will be a cakewalk, then they will find out very quickly that nothing could be further from the truth.
Augusta Christian opens their season on the road at the 2002 and 2003 Class-AA State Champions in the South Carolina Independent School Association.
The Lions will have a new signal caller for the first time since the year 2000. Lee Banks takes over for Adam McKinney. Banks is athletic and should prove to be a good successor.
This game is a tough one to call, but I've got to think that ACS will be a tough opponent for most SCISA AA teams, including the State Champs. The Lions will play in AAA this season, so I will take the bigger school in this one.
Augusta Christian 23
Colleton Prep 20
Evans at Harlem
It is good to see the county's original two public high schools playing one another. The Knights move down to Class-AAAA this fall, but still find themselves in a brutally tough region. The opener should give the Knights a confidence boost to kick off the season. Harlem is coming off a 2-8 season, and they graduated their best players on both sides of the ball.
This will likely be a long season for the Bulldogs, so look for the Knights to take this one. Marty Jackson will likely pound Cheng Ho at Harlem in the first half. Ho is capable of having a big season. He is elusive and surprisingly strong. Pound for pound he is as strong as anyone in the CSRA. Look for the Knights to roll.
Evans 28
Harlem 6
Lakeside at Washington-Wilkes
Both of the teams had up-and-down campaigns a year ago. The tradition-rich Tigers opened the season with two losses before battling back to win six straight.
However, the season ended with three more losses, including a first-round playoff loss to Adairsville.
Lakeside opened 2003 with three surprising wins. They were averaging over 32 points per game before a week four loss to Thomson. The Panthers won only one of their last seven games to end 4-6.
This season, Randy Hill's crew could be a team to keep an eye on. With QB Jimmy Johnson and TB Carl Burrow leading their triple option attack, Lakeside will have a solid running game. I know many will pick Washington-Wilkes, but I'm going with the Panthers.
Lakeside 19
Wash-Wilkes 13
Greenbrier - idle