It is our last week on the sister stations; beginning next week, we will broadcast from the mother ship on 680 The Fan and 93.7FM…and 680thefan.com

This week’s matchup is for first place inside of Region 5 in the 6A classification, as Etowah visits Woodstock.

History: Etowah won last year 35-28, they’ve won 3 of last 4, and they lead the all-time series 8-6.

Etowah is coming off of a bye week; in their last ballgame they ground-out 403 rushing yards in a 35-20 victory against Pope. The Eagles are 4-0 Overall, 2-0 inside of Region 5 6A. They are outscoring their opponents 158-71 (40-18 per game). The Eagles are led by third year Head Coach Dave Svehla, who has amassed a 15-10 record. Etowah SR RB Raishod Devezin is the STAR. Devezin is the leading rusher in the 6A classification and number five in the state overall with 854 yards in 4 games. Versus Marietta, in the opener, he went for 274 yards. Versus Sequoyah: 208 yards and 2 touchdowns. And versus Pope he reached 215 yards. He runs behind four returning offensive linemen, including twins Brad and Scott Morgan, who are committed to Georgia Tech. Starting SR QB Robbie Knox, who won the starting job as a Sophomore, missed all of 2013 with a torn labrum. Also back for 2014 is: JR LB Caleb Street, who led the team in tackles in 2013 at 89; and DB Corey Burdette, who led the team in INT (3).

Last year the Eagles started 6-0, then lost 3 of 4 in region to finish in fourth place, eventually losing to Norcross in the first round of the state tournament.

Like the Eagles, the Wolverines are coming off of a bye week; and they too, had a big rushing day in their last affair. Woodstock rushed for 445 yards in a 51-42 victory against Lassiter two weeks ago, led by Deante Robinson with 215 yards and Donovan Brand with 130.
The Wolverines are also 4-0 overall, 2-0 Region 5 6A. In their second season in the spread offense, Woodstock is outscoring their opponents 123-52 (31-13 per game).
They are led by Head Coach Brent Budde, now in his fifth season, where he sports a 21-24 record.
This Woodstock team may sneak up on some people, but many of us who cover high school sports here in the metro saw this coming. The Wolverines have a bevy of offensive weapons returning. SR QB Justin Agner threw for 1926 yards and 12 TDs in 2013. They return three of their top four wide receivers from 2013 including Reagan Amos, the speedster, who led the team in receiving with 759 yards and 5 TD’s. Just as important, in the spread offense, the top two running backs also come back in Deante Robinson (2013: 609/11) and Donovan Brand (2013: 595/3). And finally, LB Jacob Schoeb is back after being second on the team in tackles with 76.
Last year, the Wolverines were 3-7 overall and suffered through two separate 3-game losing streaks. However, they played a lot of young and inexperienced kids, installed a new offense, handed region champion Lassiter their only region loss, and lost an astounding FIVE, one-possession games.

The region standings are below; the winner of tonight’s ballgame not only takes sole possession of first place in the region, but also has a serious inside track at the playoffs.

REGION 5 6A
School                                This Week        Region      Overall
Etowah                          @ Woodstock         2-0            4-0                                                Woodstock                     Host Etowah         2-0            4-0
Roswell                                  OFF                  2-0            3-1
Walton                          @ WHEELER          1-1              3-1
Cherokee                          @ Pope                  1-1              3-1
Milton                            Host Lassiter          0-1              2-1
Pope                              Host Cherokee         0-1              0-3
Wheeler                         Host Walton            0-2              1-3
Lassiter                          @ Milton                  0-2              0-4