GAME OF THE WEEK: Perry gets a visit from Peach County to continue 52-year-old rivalry

Perry (1-0) is fresh off of a 37-6 week one win against Baldwin, and likewise, Peach County (1-0) won 40-21 over Northeast on Friday.

Now these two teams will meet to renew a rivalry dating back to 1972, a game the Trojans won 28-22.

Peach County will come into the Panther Pit fully rested — their starters only played the first half against Northeast and they have a full day of rest on the Panthers.

Here are three things to watch in this week’s Game of the Week:

1. Can the Panthers contain DJ Hudson?

Hudson, former Northside Eagle, is entering his senior year and second season at Peach County. He’s very efficient with the ball through the air; He finished last year 138-of-219 (63%) for 1495 yards through the air, throwing 21 touchdowns to only three interceptions.

He has good accuracy especially in the short and intermediate range. He maintains that accuracy when rolling out, and continues to scan the field as he escapes pressure. Although Hudson isn’t always fully aware of chasing pressure, he can be caught holding on to the ball and just barely get a throw-away pass off.

His real weapon, though, is his legs. Hudson led the Trojans in rushing yards and touchdowns with 423 and four respectively. That’s impressive considering quarterback rushing stats usually include sacks.

When Hudson is aware of pressure he does a good job evading it in the pocket, and when he commits to the scramble he’s tough to stop.

He’s quick with solid change of direction; He’s capable of making multiple defenders miss in space, can stop on a dime and will follow his blockers up field. 

Ashton Barton is another name to watch in the run game. He was with the Trojans’ freshmen team last year, and had some big runs last week against Northeast.

Good play recognition and pursuit angles for Jordan Donald, Elijah Joseph and Devon Smoot will be very important in keeping Hudson and Barton from creating chunk plays.

2. Can Perry continue to dominate both sides of scrimmage?

One of the ways that Perry can limit Hudson is by controlling the line of scrimmage like they did against Baldwin.

The Panthers were constantly in the Braves’ backfield last week, and though Peach County’s interior offensive linemen should perform better than Baldwin’s, the tackles can be taken advantage of.

Northeast was able to create some pressure only using three down linemen as rushers on select plays, but a lot of the pressure came from the outside linebackers. 

The Raiders’ outside linebackers were able to get around the Trojans’ tackles on several occasions, and even if the tackles were able to get a hand on the rusher, they were turned sideways and lost the block soon after.

With pressure on the interior linemen from Chayden Barber, Noah Clark and others, the end of the defensive line should be in a good position to make plays outside.

Defensive end Ashton Ashley is one name to watch on the end of the line. He’s quick out of his stance and has a good arsenal of moves to get past blockers. He’s an incredibly disruptive player, and will be of prime importance in stopping Peach County.

3. The secondary remains untested, how will they fair against the Trojans’ playmakers?

Getting into the backfield or collapsing the pocket on every play isn’t likely, and Hudson is still very much a threat rolling out.

So, can the Panthers’ defensive backs and off-ball linebackers maintain solid coverage while the pass rush puts the pressure on?

Baldwin wasn’t exactly a pass-heavy team, and the cornerbacks weren’t tested in the same manner they will be against Peach County.

The Trojans did lose three of their top receivers last year in Dylan Johnson, Demarion Postell and Sammy Williams. But, they do return Zion Hudson and Chris Scott.

Zion Hudson is primarily a running back, but is also a threat out wide, in the slot or out of the backfield. He has solid hands and uses spin moves to shake a tackle before getting extra yards.

Scott’s top speed is solid; He went for a long touchdown against Northeast and burned Warner Robins on a deep ball down the left sideline.

Noteworthy

Peach County doesn’t have a lot of size at cornerback. Targeting the smaller defenders one-on-one with Kory Pettigrew or Kiel Sparks could prove fruitful. Sparks caught a tough touchdown pass in double coverage against Baldwin on Saturday.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 23.