MMQB: The Polls

Top 5

Division I

1.Warner Robins

We knew things could change, albeit not much. The Demons, as predicted, rolled over Harris County.

2. Northside

The mild upset of perhaps an overrated No. 2 team will certainly move a team up. Now, can the Eagles show consistency and maintain the momentum?

3. Jones County

An eight-point loss to another ranked team doesn’t merit too much of a drop, even if it’s bumping a team that won down a spot. The Greyhounds are still a top-6 Class 5A team in a quality region that has another showdown like this coming up.

4. Mary Persons

It’s not that the Bulldogs got worse to drop a spot, because no doubt it was a very impressive performance at upset-minded Upson-Lee. Again, the difference between the top four teams isn’t much at all.

5. Howard

The Huskies have been on the fringe for a few weeks, and an in-control win at Perry was impressive, combined with Veterans’ two-touchdown loss to a sub.500 region team.

Top 10

Division II (3A-2A-A-other)

1. Peach County

The Trojans had the week off.

2. Westside

A dominating win at Jackson looks like a statement win for the Seminoles, who rolled at a tough place. And now they have a week off to rest and sharpen up.

3. Dublin

Talk about a surprise. Not that Dublin beat Dodge County, but that it was such a beatdown. To think this game was a play away from a running clock is fairly stunning.

4. Washington County

Any other week, the Golden Hawks would’ve stayed put at No. 3 with a thumping of Bleckley County. Butt this is the real world, and Dublin had the better win.

5. Dodge County

That Dodge County wasn’t able to really get going enough to mount a comeback against Dublin is surprising, but may also be a wakeup call. And now? A visit from Washington County.

6. Mount de Sales

The timing for a week off can’t come at a better time for perhaps the area’s most grinding team, the one that has to battle for 48 minutes – and Friday, more – and is still undefeated. All they do is win, win, win, win, win. And opponents’ hands go UP.

7. Dooly County

The Bobcats seem to be back on track, putting up 32 against a decent defense. Bo Lawson had a rough passing day – completing only 42.9 percent in an odd game with Dooly County getting more points than offensive plays (by one) with three of Lawson’s completions going for touchdowns.

8. Tattnall

The Trojans have certainly responded to the Dublin pounding and being a little undermanned, having one three straight for momentum entering this week’s visit from Mount de Sales.

9. John Milledge

JMA just keeps on keepin’ on.

10. Macon County

The Bulldogs took care of business against Crawford County with numbers more Macon County-like.

MMQB: Around Central Georgia

Not much of an upset

A head-turner last week took place at McConnell-Talbert, with Northside’s 30-20 win over Coffee.

On paper, it was a big head-turner, Class 6A’s No. 2 team getting kinda handled by a team that had lost three games to lower-classification teams.

Most people, of course, don’t look past the surface of anything, and were fairly floored. They shouldn’t have been.

After all, there was this observation last week that indicated Coffee might be a little overrated.

And let’s note that Warner Robins and Jones County are quality 5A teams, meaning they can beat a whole bunch of 6A teams, and Peach County is used to humbling bigger schools.

Those are more marketable losses than to middlin’ 6A or 7A teams.

The only thing that may qualify as notable is that Coffee was OK, then got passed by and spent the whole game trying to get back into it.

Almost spoiling the joy of the execution was the fumble 4 ½ minutes into the fourth that Coffee took back for a score to make it a 10-point game.

Is there more Mac Magic left? Northside hosts top-ranked and undefeated Lee County, which has given up 16 points and has that shortened 33-0 win over Peach County.

Southwest head coach Joseph Dupree called the Trojans “Lee County University” a couple weeks ago.

Lee County’s defense is, by all accounts, almost unfair. But also note: this week will be the Trojans’ first game against a Georgia team not in 4A or lower.

On the other hand, their 35-3 win over Dr. Phillips of Orlando says something. Dr. Phillips won Florida’s 8A – that’s eight As – championship last year.

On yet another hand, the following four opponents are 4-2 (3A Peach County), 2-4 (4A Americus-Sumter) 2-4 (2A Southwest), and 2-4 (4A Thomson).

The real upset?

Not much competition for one-win Baldwin beating undefeated Richmond Academy in overtime.

The Braves’ season was spiraling into a disaster at 1-5, and then they go on the road, no less, and knock off a team that was perfect on the basis of a much weaker schedule than Baldwin.

Richmond Academy’s lone “quality” win the opening 45-20 win over Class AA Hephzibah, which is 5-2. Baldwin’s least impressive opponent is the common opponent, Greenbrier, which lost 14-0 at Baldwin and 20-14 at home to Richmond Academy, on consecutive weeks. That should’ve been a sign.

Now, Baldwin is tied with Burke County for first in the five-team region, and is at 2-4 Thomson this week. The Bulldogs are recuperating from a 40-0 visit by Lee County.

Still undefeated

Veterans and Dodge County bit the dust, while Mary Persons, Washington County, Mount de Sales, and John Milledge remained undefeated.

Still looking

Twiggs County, Wilkinson County, and Rutland are battling for the first win.

How does Central Georgia fare statewide?

The Maxwell Ratings uses pretty much only a computer program for its rankings and predictions each week. It doesn’t know about injuries, players, coaches, certain home-field advantages, etc.

So, what is Central Georgia’s top 10 last week based on those rankings?

(422 schools listed, overall ranking and rating included)

13. Warner Robins 76..58

14. Mary Persons 75.68

29. Jones County 69.55

36. Northside 66.29

38. Peach County 65.52

63.Dublin 57.40

64. Washington Co. 57.34

70. Dodge County 55.74

80. Veterans 54.55

93. Howard 52.23

96. Upson- Lee 52.04

98. West Laurens 51.70

125. Westside 47.54

136. Baldwin 45.59

146. Perry 43.66

166. Houston County 39.72

215. Southwest 32.96

223. Northeast 32.09

231. Central 30.81

234. Dooly County 29.80