When Justin Rogers looks across the field at Stockbridge and Kevin Whitley, he sees what he wants on his side of the field.

          A program.

          The fourth-year Jones County head coach uses the phrase “cycle school” to describe teams that have good years and bad years, cycles.

          “They used to be terrible; God, they were awful,” Rogers said of Stockbridge, which went through stretch of five head coaches since 1999 before Whitley took over in 2009. “God, they were awful.”

          Indeed, the Tigers had one winning season from 1996-2007.

          “Kevin came in and won, and they ain’t no cycle school anymore,” Rogers said. “And they graduate really good players every year.”

          Whitley is in year 9 of his reclamation project, Rogers in year 4 of his.

          And here they are, programs, both ranked in the top five of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Georgia Sports Writers Association polls, ready to strap things on Friday night for the Region 4-AAAAA title.

          Both are 8-0 overall and 6-0 in region play.

          Both have had superb defensive seasons. Jones County’s 86 points allowed is impressive, yet almost pedestrian to the 31 points given up by Stockbridge.

          “They do really good at pursuing the ball and playing their gaps,” Rogers said. “You’re gonna earn it down the field. You may wind up getting some yards in the stat line, but they’re gonna be stingy on you crossing that goal line.”

          Brenton Cox is a highly recruited defensive end, Abu Bangura on the other side has committed to Georgia Southern.

         Cox has a team-high four sacks.

          Linebacker Donovan Manuel leads the Tigers with 6.7 tackles a game and safety Michael Price adds 5.9.

          “If you got a big play on them, then you got 10 yards,” Rogers said. “That’s a big play. You’re not gonna get those 30- or 40-yard runs. They don’t give that up.”

          And Jones County’s spread is a yard-churning offense, averaging 377.9 yards a game and 8 yards per rush.

          Quarterback Teldrick Ross has a long pass of 83 yards and run of 76, while running back Drake Bolus averages 103.3 yards a game and has a big play of 65 yards.

          Ross is 108 yards from 1,000 passing for the year, his first as a starter.

          Jones County’s defense has a different task, taking on Stockbridge’s triple option offense, ala Georgia Tech.

          The Tigers’ leading rusher is B.J. Riley with 524 yards. Quarterback Gabriel McKenzie is second with 340 yards, to go with 506 passing yards on only 36 completions.

          “They’re gonna ball control, flip  the field, do things like that,” Rogers said. “Then they got that big-time receiver.”
Marquez Ezzard has run 21 times for 54 yards and has 17 of Stockbridge’s 44 completions, for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

          “That’s the thing that scares you,” Rogers said. “You try to minimize the damage he can do.”

          The Greyhounds will have to be their most disciplined on defense, and focus solely on each individual assignment. The triple option more than other offenses makes defenses pay for missed assignments.

          Rogers joked that Greyhound Field might be full by 5 p.m. And it’s been a hype-filled week, which is what he wants: Jones County being a big team playing in big games against other big teams as the norm.

          This year’s seniors were freshmen when Rogers took over.

          “This is what they know,” said Rogers, 34-10 in his fourth season. “The expectations of the Jones County of old are over with. These kids weren’t around in the early 2000s. All they know is what they know.”

          Jones County went to the Elite Eight in 2014, a season that included a huge win at home over a rolling Houston County team and current Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm.

          The Greyhounds had a 9-1 regular season in 2015 and “fell” to 7-5 and a second-round playoff trip last year.

          “This is what they know,” Rogers said. “We expect to win.”