Game of the Week Preview: Habersham vs Winder

The BLITZ Game of the Week takes us to Habersham Central as the Raiders and Winder-Barrow square off in a game with HEAVY playoff implications.

HABERSHAM CENTRAL

Things haven’t gone too well for the Raiders in region play. The season has included peaks and valleys, which includes a big win over White County and Stephens County out of region, but heartbreaking losses to Dawson and Madison in non-region play, and a disappointing region loss at Gainesville. After three consecutive losses, the Raiders would LOVE to get back in the win column for the first time since September 27. If the Raiders want to play in the postseason for the second time in as many years, this game is a MUST HAVE! No use beating around the bush. This one is everything.

WINDER-BARROW

Winder-Barrow also hasn’t had the greatest season. At 2-6 overall, there is a lot to be desired. The Bulldoggs also have had their fare share of heartbreaks, losing 44-36 to Clarke Central, 49-43 to Cedar Shoals, and 38-29 to Gainesville last week. This team isn’t as bad as the record indicates. Maxwell projections give Winder a 3-point pad as the favorites here.

BY THE NUMBERS (2019)

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping WEEK 11. Highlights will also be shared on Channel 5 (Fox) on the 11 PM “High 5 Sports” show tonight. You can also follow us on Twitter (@BlitzSportsGa) for live score updates.

OUR PREDICTION

Habersham Central NEEDS this win. They’re also at home. There’s no way they drop this one, right? Despite Maxwell projections making the Raiders a 3-point underdog, OUR PICK: HABERSHAM CENTRAL

DO WE BRING LUCK?

Do we bring luck to Habersham Central? According to all the Habersham games we’ve been to over the past 11 seasons, we are 13-30 coming into this one. Keep in mind, we have covered more Habersham games (43) since 2009 than ANY OTHER SCHOOL in our area. This season, we are 2-1 in Hab Central games, including a pair of wins in a row. Here’s the only Habersham/Winder game we’ve covered on film, the 2011 edition in which the Raiders won 54-10:

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: John Larry Black Field at Raider Stadium / Mt. Airy, GA
LAST MEETING: 2018; Habersham Central 34, Winder-Barrow 17
ALL-TIME RECORD: Habersham Central 16, Winder Barrow 8
RECORDS: Habersham Central Raiders (3-5; 0-3 in 8-AAAAAA); Winder-Barrow Bulldoggs (2-6; 1-2 in 8-AAAAAA)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

In 24 all-time matchups, Habersham Central has won this thing twice as often as the Bulldoggs have. That includes last year’s 34-17 win at Winder. In Benji Harrison’s time over the Raiders, Habersham has gone 1-2 against Winder, falling in 2016 and 2017 by a combined 19 points. The Raiders from 2006-2011, went for 6 straight wins in the series before the recent two-game win streak for Winder. The series goes back to 1984 in the Larry Black era, and the Raiders won the first 6 games when these teams met up.

TEAM LEADERS

HABERSHAM CENTRAL

PASSING
Ryte Woodruff: 1,366 yds, 9 TD, 7 INT (95/196 passing; 49%)
Joshua Pickett: 66 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT (2/3 passing; 67%)

RUSHING
Jackson Clouatre: 818 yds, 5 TD, 5.4 YPC
Ryte Woodruff: 308 yds, 6 TD, 4.5 YPC
Arian Curry: 140 yds, 2 TD, 5.8 YPC

RECEIVING
Joshua Pickett: 581 yds, 5 TD, 42 rec
Grayson Taylor: 337 yds, 2 TD, 13 rec
Austin Wood: 205 yds, 1 TD, 15 rec
Patrick Tedder: 93 yds, 1 TD, 8 rec
Jackson Clouatre: 88 yds, 10 rec
Martrell Turner: 53 yds, 4 rec
Caleb Wade: 51 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec

TACKLES
Arian Curry: 68 TKL, 3.5 TFL, 1 Sack
Patrick Tedder: 60 TKL, 1 TFL, 2 Forced Fum, 1 Fum Rec
Tanner Wade: 58 TKL, 4 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 Fum Rec
Joshua Pickett: 48 TKL, 2 TFL, 2 Fum Rec
Garrett Heaton: 45 TKL, 3 TFL, 1 Fum Rec

INTERCEPTIONS
Patrick Tedder: 2
Austin Wood: 2
Jackson Clouatre: 1
Gage Hurt: 1

WINDER-BARROW

PASSING
Jhaydon Sullivan: 838 yds, 6 TD, 3 INT (68/119 passing; 57%)

RUSHING
JC Green: 610 yds, 7 TD, 5.2 YPC
Jhaydon Sullivan: 500 yds, 9 TD, 4.3 YPC

RECEIVING
Brett Landis: 493 yds, 3 TD, 35 rec
JC Green: 90 yds, 14 rec
Aidan Thompson: 79 yds, 1 TD, 6 rec
Carson Jackson: 64 yds, 2 rec
Stewart Allen: 40 yds, 1 TD, 2 rec
Jett Clark: 33 yds, 1 TD, 4 rec

TACKLES
Nate Allen: 80 TKL, 5 TFL, 3 Sacks
Carson Jackson: 69 TKL, 7 TFL, Fum Rec
Jacob Merrifield: 54 TKL, 15 TFL, 5 Sacks
Timothy Presley: 45 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 Sack
Chandler Maxwell: 44 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 Sack

INTERCEPTIONS
Drew Lewis: 3
Brett Landis: 1
Timothy Presley: 1
Carson Jackson: 1
Stewart Allen: 1