Raiders and Leopards set to square off in Friday scrimmage

The Habersham Central Raiders are back in action with a Friday scrimmage on the home turf, taking on the nearby Banks County Leopards for the second straight season.

While the results of the games are not always important, all scrimmages provide some insight as to where teams are in regards to being ready for the real deal on Friday nights under the lights.

Habersham is led by third-year head coach Benji Harrison, while Josh Shoemaker enters his second season in control of the Leopards program. Banks County is coming off a seven-win season that saw it advance to the second round of the state playoffs by way of a first-round forfeit by KIPP Atlanta.

The Raiders got off to their best start in school history last season, winning their first three games, before dropping a contest to rivals Stephens County on the road. Although the Raiders closed the season with a great win over Apalachee, they were on the wrong side of the previous four region games, keeping them out of the playoffs despite a 5-5 record.

The Raiders and Leopards are both on the uptick after solid years in 2016, and there are new faces coming into play for both teams on both sides of the ball after graduating key pieces last season.

The scrimmage on Friday, August 4 is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m at John Larry Black Field.