High school football: Preview, How to watch No. 3 Collins Hill, Travis Hunter vs. No. 19 Milton, Lebbeus Overton

The Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.) defense has registered six shutouts and allows 5.3 points per game. The Milton offense has scored more than 600 points and averages better than 400 yards per outing.

That's the game within the game when the two ranked teams battle for the Georgia AAAAAAA title Saturday at Center Parc Stadium on the campus of Georgia Tech.

The third-ranked Eagles from Collins Hill (14-0) flexed their defensive skills in a 31-0 win over defending state champion Grayson, giving up just 106 yards while piling up 475 of their own. Linebacker Roberto Bryant had 14 tackles, defensive end Asani Redwood nine — two behind the line of scrimmage — and Rich Dorsey and Luke Thomas each had one interception as Collins Hill avenged a decisive loss in the 2020 state finals.

They'll go for their first state crown on Saturday and exact a little more revenge in the process. In its only meeting with Milton since 2004, Collins Hills lost 44-14 in the first-round of the 2017 AAAAAAA playoffs. 

Added to the vaunted Collins Hill defense is perhaps the most dynamic offensive weapon in the state, if not country, in Florida State-bound wideout Travis Hunter to go along with quarterback Sam Horn a Missouri commit. Hunter led the nation in receiving last year and if not for an ankle injury that caused him to miss several games, he might have repeated the feat.

The nation's top 2022 recruit according to 247Sports has 66 catches for 975 yards and nine touchdowns in nine games.

Horn, ranked the No. 9 quarterback in the country by 247Sports, largely carried the load offensively when Hunter was out. He's completed better 70 percent of his 412 passes for 3,447 yards and 34 touchdowns. He's also got great feet and rushed for 573 yards and six touchdowns — including sacks.

Spenser Anderson, who rushed for two touchdowns last week, and Ryan Stephens are Collins Hill's primary running backs and have combined for nearly 1,400 yards and 19 touchdowns. Milton (13-1) also has two effective backs, but they carry much of the load in the team's run-heavy attack. Jordan McDonald, a UCF commit with 27 college offers, has rushed for more than 1,500 yards and 26 touchdowns in 13 games, including 144 and five scores last week in a 52-17 semifinal win over Walton. McDonald has rushed for nearly 3,400 career yards and 60 touchdowns.

The other big running threat is actually quarterback Devin Farrell, who has accounted for just over 3,000 yards to go along with 35 touchdowns. The 6-foot, 200-pounder is headed to Virginia Tech. Farrell spreads the ball around, with four players over 350 yards receiving, but his top choice is sophomore Debron Gatling (34 catches, 679 yards, 11 touchdowns).

Defensively, Milton is led by the No. 2 junior recruit in the country Lebbeus Overton, who is just about 100 percent after being limited with a foot injury. The 6-5, 265 defensive end has played his best during the playoffs, while recording 46 tackles, seven sacks and six pass deflections in 11 games.

Overton, who also stars on the basketball court, was the MaxPreps Athlete of the Year as a sophomore in 2020-21.

Other top defenders are junior free safety Bryce Thornton (87 tackles), senior inside linebacker AJ Crawford (13 sacks) and junior strong safety Rob Billings (five interceptions).

Milton is trying to win its second state title in four season after winning it in 2018.