Show Outline
Introduction - 0:00 to 2:00
On the Week 8 High School Football Preview podcast we have a full show in which we start with two games AugBball will feature this week with live and extensive coverage that have implications for region races on the Georgia side of the area.
This Week’s Featured Games - 2:00 to 12:45
Burke County (3-1, 1-0) will host Harlem (4-2, 2-0) Friday in a game that will impact the class 3A, region 4 race, which starting this week will really start to heat up as Burke County, Harlem and possibly Hephzibah all take aim at the favorite.... Thomson, the state’s #7 ranked team. The Harlem-Burke County showdown is a game that before the season started I didn’t think I would be featuring. But the Bulldogs have been a surprise story this year, so we spend a good bit of time on that matchup in this episode.
I also discuss a class 2A, region 4 contest that we’ll also cover on the AugBball social media pages and our newsletter. That’s a special Thursday night game when Laney (4-2, 2-1) will visit Josey (1-5, 0-2), and the home team will have upset on its mind. Both the Eagles and the Wildcats, as well as the Patriots of Westside (4-2, 2-1), are entering a key stretch in which those Richmond County teams, as well as the #9 Putnam County War Eagles (6-0), are on a mission to unseat three-time defending region champion Jefferson County (4-2, 3-0).
From there we take a run through the South Carolina side of the border, where there is plenty of important action to touch on. The small schools in class 1A will continue their season long shootout in which they have posted some gaudy offensive numbers. And we try to figure out if #3 Ridge Spring-Monetta (5-1, 2-0), which just made a leap in the state rankings, will have the firepower to stay ahead in that race, against several very capable challengers who are all pitted against each other in one way or another this Friday.
(During the recording I mistakenly said Denmark-Olar is averaging 66 points per game in region play. The correct number is 62.)
And while North Augusta (2-4) will open region play and try to get started on the right foot in its attempt to defend its championship of a season ago, South Aiken (3-1, 1-0) and Strom Thurmond (3-1, 1-0) will both try to build on the momentum gained from last week’s wins.
Last Week’s Notable Performances - 12:45 to 19:40
That brings us to the middle part of the show, when I review some of last week’s biggest happenings, like #3 ranked Silver Bluff’s pounding of #10 Wade Hampton.
I also touch on wins by contenders like Evans and Greenbrier, and on outstanding individual outings by the likes of Xzavier Green* of Westside and Zack Blackwell* of Augusta Christian. And I bring your attention to the following video review of what could end up being the season’s most unlikely comeback, when #7 Northeast Macon rallied from a 17-point fourth quarter deficit to top #10 Washington County in the House of Pain:
Interview with Mark Boiter - 19:40 to End
Finally we end with an interview with Harlem’s second year head coach Mark Boiter, who talks about his team’s strong start, its challenge Friday in Waynesboro and a favorite player of mine to watch this season, junior Johnathan Howard. Like coach Boiter explains, John-John, as Howard is called by those who know him, plays pretty much every snap. And he makes the kind of plays on the field that only he seems to be able to come up with.
*During the episode I forgot to mention the outstanding performances last week by Xzavier Green and Zack Blackwell. Green rushed for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns in Westside’s 40-13 win over Josey. And Blackwell broke the 200-yard mark again in Augusta Christian’s 34-10 win over Wilson Hall. Blackwell also became the first back in the area to surpass 1,000 yards for the season.
Podcast - Week 8 High School Football Preview