With each season, there is an ultimate goal that goes beyond the numbers — to be a state champion, state playoff team, region champion, etc. However, there are always milestones that those programs and individuals eclipse along the way. Here are the notable milestones to watch for in 2024. We’ve ordered them by the rarity of each.
Rabun County – 10 Straight Quarterfinal Runs & 13 Straight Playoff Trips
Rabun County had some big milestones snapped last season – a string of 9 straight region titles was broken, as was 50 straight region victories and 9 straight 10-win seasons. While those are gone, they did keep alive the playoff streak and Quarterfinals streak. To make 10 straight Quarterfinals would be historic to say the least – very few programs have ever done it. 13 consecutive playoff appearances is also historic in its own right.
Commerce – 28 Straight Playoff Trips
The Tigers have made the postseason every year since 1997 – think about that for a moment. Commerce, under Steve Savage, Marvin Justice, Michael Brown, and Mark Hollars, have now combined for 27 playoff trips consecutively. It’s over a quarter century at this point, and no sign of stopping. One more makes 28 years in a row, which is one of the biggest streaks in state history.
Jaiden Daniels – 6,000 Rushing Yards & 70 Rushing TD
Jaiden Daniels, AKA ‘Baby Goat’, is at 4,896 rushing yards for his illustrious career, with 55 rushing TDs. One game and he’s sitting at 5K yards. That’s great, but if and when he reaches the 6K mark, he’d become just the 30th player in Georgia history to get there, joining only Chaz Thornton (Stephens County – 6,309 yds) as the only other BLITZ-era player to get on the list. Commerce alum Monte Williams (8,844 yds, c/o 2000) held the state record until last season. As for the rushing TD milestone of 70, just 15 puts him in that elite list of only 40 others in state history to achieve that. Local BLITZ-era players on that list include Kevin Ellison (Habersham Central – 83 rushing TD), Sammy Brown (Jefferson – 82 TD), Colby Wood (Jefferson – 79 TD), and QB Gunner Stockton (Rabun County – 77 TD). One more thing – should Daniels achieve both milestones (6K yds, 70 rushing TD), he’d be the ONLY BLITZ-era player ever to achieve that.
Sid Maxwell (Dawson County) – 200 Wins
Maxwell is coming into his 30th season as a head coach, and 10th at Dawson County. He’s currently at 193 victories, meaning he needs 7 wins in 2024 to reach the 200 club. Typically that’s a cinch for the Tigers, but coming off a 2-win season means there’s a lot of unknown. Maxwell is 11th among active coaches in wins.
Tripp Nix – 6,000 Passing Yards & 100 Total TD
Tripp Nix hasn’t hit the 5K mark yet, but is at 4,555 yards. If he stays healthy, getting to 6,000 wouldn’t be out of the question. That’s the number that would put him further up the all-time state leaderboard, as the cutoff is at 5K. Only 10 QBs in BLITZ history have passed for over 6,000 yards, so Nix would become the 11th. Now, he has 64 total TD (37 passing, 27 rushing). He needs 36 to reach the 100 mark – which would join him with only Gunner Stockton (254 TD), Bailey Fisher (170), Joseph Mancuso (109), and Coey Watson (106) in BLITZ history to go for 100+ total TD. Nix would need a career year to do it, but he did go for 32 total TDs last season. 93 is also the mark for him to get to surpass his predecessor, J Ben Haynes, who had 92 total TD (55 passing, 36 rushing).
Jefferson – 14 Straight Playoff Trips
Every season since 2011, Jefferson has made the postseason. Going back to 1998, the Dragons only sat out in 1999 and 2010. Another trip this year – which is almost guaranteed – is 14 in a row. Coming off a Semifinals run however, the bar isn’t just getting to the dance, it’s being the last team standing.
Zeke Whittington – 3,000 Receiving Yards
Zeke Whittington is at 2,480 receiving yards with 16 TDs on 222 receptions. Despite being the go-to option for Habersham each season, he actually has yet to have a 1,000-yard receiving year. He came close with 987 as a sophomore. He needs just 520 receiving yards, which is a cakewalk for him, to reach the elite 3,000-yard club. That would make him only the 28th player in state history to get there. Other BLITZ-era players to reach 3K include the all-time leader, Jaden Gibson (Rabun County – 5,124), Blake Gowder (Union – 4,002), Tavarres King (Habersham – 3,726), and Braxton Hicks (Rabun – 3,490).
Javin Gordon – 4,000 Rushing Yards & 50 Rushing TD
Javin Gordon burst on the scene in his freshman season, though didn’t become the full-fledged starter til his sophomore season. He has 3,137 rushing yards and 38 rushing TD, and has added 381 receiving yards and another 3 scores. Should he get to 4K rushing (almost a guarantee), and also pile on 12 rushing scores to reach 50, he’d be one of only 6 BLITZ-era players (only 4 RBs) to be in that club, joining Sammy Brown (Jefferson), Colby Wood (Jefferson), Chaz Thornton (Stephens), Jaiden Daniels (Commerce), and QBs Gunner Stockton (Rabun) and Kevin Ellison (Habersham Central).
Union County – 7 Straight Playoff Trips
The Panthers have made state all but one season since 2013, and now have 6 straight trips and working on number 7. While that usually is about automatic as of late, this Union team is very young and lost nearly every key skill position player and a large chunk of the defense.
Todd Winter (Banks County) – 100 Wins
Todd Winter brings a big-time resume to Banks County, unlike the Leopards have seen in quite some time. He has 90 career wins against just 46 losses (.661 win percentage). He needs 10 wins for #100 – a task that may not come this year but isn’t impossible.
