Class A-Private Wesleyan vs. ELCA Friday, December 13 | 10:00 AM

By Seth Ellerbee Class A-Private Wesleyan vs. ELCA Friday, December 13 | 10:00 AM

This is the first time Wesleyan has been to the championship game since winning it all in 2008 and the Wolves are firing on all cylinders at the right time. In the playoffs, it moved past First Presbyterian 35-28, Christian Heritage 34-13, Savannah Christian 42-16 and Fellowship Christian 56-20 last week. Wesleyan is balanced and averages 192 passing and 154 rushing yards per game. Sophomore quarterback J.C. French is 189-of-281 passing for 2,680 yards and 31 touchdowns while rushing for 307 yards and 16 touchdowns on 81 carries. Sophomore Griffin Caldwell will factor in the backfield with 187 carries for 1,120 yards and 13 touchdowns. Caldwell rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns in the semis. Senior Micah Smith has 62 receptions for 1,002 yards and 12 touchdowns to lead a receiving corps that has depth. Sophomore Cooper Blauser has 64 receptions for 927 yards and eight touchdowns, and several other receivers have been productive for the Wolves. WESLEYAN 12-2, REGION 5 NO. 9 SEED

MEADOWCREEK.........................................30-19 W CHATTOOGA..................................................28-6 W PRINCE AVENUE CHRISTIAN......................24-14 W OUR LADY OF MERCY..................................51-7 W HOLY INNOCENTS’.........................................31-0 L EAGLE’S LANDING CHRISTIAN ...................54-17 L MOUNT VERNON PRESBYTERIAN...............52-30 W LANDMARK CHRISTIAN ...............................45-7 W STRONG ROCK CHRISTIAN.........................45-13 W TRINITY CHRISTIAN......................................27-6 W FIRST PRESBYTERIAN ...............................35-38 W CHRISTIAN HERITAGE ................................34-13 W SAVANNAH CHRISTIAN ..............................42-16 W FELLOWSHIP CHRISTIAN...........................56-20 W 2019 RESULTS

Entering the playoffs, ELCA enjoyed a bye before outlasting Prince Avenue Christian 62-57, Athens Academy 28-10 and Holy Innocents’ 21-7. In its regular season 54-17 victory over Wesleyan earlier this year, senior quarterback Gabe Wright was 8-of-15 passing for 171 yards and three touchdowns. The Chargers got three rushing touchdowns each from senior back Keaton Mitchell and junior back Philip Massengale, and senior receiver Justin Robinson had five receptions for 81 yards and two touchdowns against the Wolves. Wright is 101-of-174 passing for 1,995 yards and 25 touchdowns with just three interceptions before passing for 122 yards and two touchdowns against Holy Innocents’ on the road in the semifinals. Mitchell has 214 carries for 2,029 yards and 40 touchdowns to lead the backfield. Eagle’s Landing Christian has six state titles, with five in GHSA in 2012 and 2015-18 and one in GISA in 1996. EAGLE’S LANDING CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 12-1, REGION 5 NO. 6 SEED

MORROW...................................................55-13 W PACE ACADEMY...........................................49-0 W HERITAGE-CONYERS ..................................42-0 W HOLY INNOCENTS’......................................42-41 W TRINITY CHRISTIAN....................................56-10 W WESLEYAN.................................................54-17 W OUR LADY OF MERCY..................................67-0 W STRONG ROCK CHRISTIAN...........................63-0 W MT. VERNON PRESBYTERIAN.......................56-3 W LANDMARK CHRISTIAN ...............................69-0 W PRINCE AVENUE CHRISTIAN......................62-57 W ATHENS ACADEMY.....................................28-10 W HOLY INNOCENTS’........................................21-7 W 2019 RESULTS

WESLEYAN VS. ELCA CLASS A-PRIVATE SKINNY

Eagle’s Landing Christian is going for five consecutive state championships and Wesleyan wants to spoil the party. For the past two seasons, ELCA has defeated Athens Academy in the title game after beating Aquinas in 2015 and Fellowship Christian in 2016. For Wesleyan, its best finish since 2010 was a quarterfinal exit in 2016, to go with a state championship in 2008 after beating Emanuel County Institute 33-21. The programs have met six times — once in 2010 and five times since 2016 — and ELCA has won each including a 54-17 victory earlier this season. The closest game between the programs was a 34-31 ELCA victory in 2016. Franklin Pridgen for Wesleyan and Jonathan Gess for ELCA have been the coaches in each meeting.

WESLEYAN WOLVES (Norcross, GA) • Forest Green, Gold & White # Name Gr. Pos. 31 Griffin Caldwell 10 RB, LB

1 Micah Smith 12 WR, DB

2 Andrew Van Wie 11 WR, LB, LS

3 Mitchell Badciong 10 WR, DB

4 Byrne Ahrenkiel 10 RB, DB

5 Trent Bartlett 12 WR, DB

6 Wyatt Hodges 11 WR, DB

7 Cooper Blauser 10 WR, DB

9 Josh Morris 12 WR, LB

10 Javy Martinez 12 K

11 Jackson Turner 11 TE, DL

12 Bobby Cook 10 WR, DB

13 Gabriel Benyard 10 QB

16 James Hufham 10 QB, DB

17 Reed Purcell 9 WR, FS, FS

18 Drew Ball 10 RB, DB

19 Gabe Smith 9 WR, DB

21 William Bruehl 11 WR, DB

22 JD Chipman 11 RB, LB, P

23 Hunter Haran 12 RB, DB

25 Trent Debow 9 WR, LB

26 Thomas Cook 9 RB, DB

27 Will Tucker 9 RB, DB

29 Douglas Cavin 9 RB, LB

30 Matt Jones 10 TE, LB

32 Chandler Copenhaver 10 WR, LB

33 Rj Aycox 10 RB, LB

34 Preston Jones 12 TE, DL

36 Lance Humphreys 9 WR, DB

40 Luke Carroll 11 RB, LB

44 Cardo Gottlich 12 RB, LB

45 Schley Gordy 9 TE, DL

49 Vance Nicklaus 11 TE, DE

50 Tanner Bivins 11 OL, DL

51 Ethan Apperson 10 OL, DL

52 Josh Aspinwall 12 OL, LB

53 Collin Conduah 12 OL, DL

54 Jaydin Brown 10 OL, DL

55 Chris O’Sullivan 12 OL, DL

56 Banks Merkl 11 OL, DL

57 Will Burns 10 OL, DL

58 Nick Schaller 9 OL, DL

59 Matthew Brown 10 OL, DL

61 Parker Bowen 12 OL, DL

62 Jackson Merkl 10 OL, LB

65 Evan Berry 12 OL, DL

67 Joseph Cook 10 OL, DL

72 Charlie Rickell 9 OL, DL

80 Brooks Sturgeon 10 K, P

Head Coach: Franklin Pridgen Assistant Coaches: Candler Baxley, Stanley Davenport, Marc Khedouri, Chip Myrick, Chris Paroli, Justin Krueger, Lee Rider, Andrew Frerking, Dawson Zimmerman, Jason Turner

EAGLE’S LANDING CHRISTIAN CHARGERS (McDonough, GA) • Navy, Gold & White # Name Gr. Pos. 1 Justin Robinson 12 WR, CB 2 Keaton Mitchell 12 RB, CB 3 Devon Dorsey 12 WR, FS 4 David Wingfield 12 RB, CB 5 Cameron Sigur 10 RB, WR 7 Philip Massengale 11 QB, P 8 Jalan Earvin 11 DB, WR 9 Josh Rogers 11 RB, SB 10 Peter Simmons 10 CB, FS 11 Gabe Wright 12 QB, FS 12 Kaleb Anthony 11 CB, WR 13 Deandre Allred 11 OLB, RB 14 Cal Camp 11 QB 15 Jason Reynolds 10 QB, OLB 16 Cooper Creswell 11 WR 17 Trent Hosford 11 FS, WR 18 Nate Orcutt 11 LB 19 Christian White 10 CB, SB 20 Chris Tutt 12 CB 21 Samuel Allred 11 MLB 22 Mason Whitlock 11 WR 23 Hunter Basko 10 WR 24 Rj Johnson 9 WR, DB 25 Colton Hood 9 ATH, DB 26 Jonah McClure 10 FB, LB 27 Bobby Buckley 9 WR, SS 28 Jack Mertz 10 WR, SS 29 Aaron Yemisrach 9 WR 30 Colton Hardeman 10 RB, SS 31 Blake Mcgill 10 TB, DB 32 Charlie Gilliam 9 QB, LB 33 Dakota Hughley 9 WR, DB 34 Deion Fisher 12 MLB 35 Chase Jackson 9 WR, DB 36 Tucker Hardeman 9 TB, SS 37 Jaque Holley 9 WR, DB 38 Allen Calderon 9 WR, DB 41 Beau Dewberry 9 WR 42 Austin Smith 9 FB, DL 43 Nick Lemons 9 FB, LB 44 Charis Kendall Spence 11 OLB, DE 45 Jeremy Butler 12 DE, FB 46 Caleb Moran 9 OL, DL 48 Austin Fortune 9 WR, DL 49 Carlos Sagastume 12 FB 50 Thomas Williams 12 G 52 Sherick Rhodes 12 T, DT 53 Jacob Dendy 12 T 54 Kincaid Mccammon 12 LS, C 56 Michael Clark 11 10 NG 58 William Kilpatrick 10 OL, LB 59 Jacob Jeffery 10 OL 61 Che Totimeh-Pavel 9 OL, DL 63 Chace Missouri 9 OL, DL 65 Jaydon Gay 11 T, G 70 Isaiah Haralson 11 G, C 73 Brandon Mancuso 9 OL, DL 76 Micah McClure 12 FB, DL 77 Bryson Estes 11 C, T 79 Dj Chester 9 OL, DL 83 Mac Craig 11 WR 84 Alberto Sanchez 10 K 85 Hunter Hardeman 12 OLB, SS 98 Marquis Black 12 NG, DE

Head Coach: Jonathan Gess Assistant Coaches: Brett Collier, Jay Covington, Anthony Mitchell, Tye Black, Ray Walters, Scott Queen, Joe Bryan, Clayton McClure, Stanley Zephir, Robbie Moore, Stephanie Vasquez, Neal Dose