Thursday's Central Georgia Daily News 'n Notes: Full high school menu; to-be-updated GHSA hoops story; Mercer baseball; Hawks; Honor Roll; and a dozen football stories
Thursday's Central Georgia - and of interest to Central Georgia - news and notes, compiled from staff reports, email reports, the web, and social media. Updates will be noted, so check back.
The Braves Report’s first edition is up.
The daily scores and schedules will be updated later.
Thursday’s high school menu is fuller than anywhere else
Yes, yes, there was a chunk of softball, despite an absence of acknowledgement elsewhere. As is the case daily, you can find more results and info here than anywhere else, scores and details, in the posted-at-midnight Scoreboard.
There are the state h.s. football polls and a roundup on the Central Georgia teams. There is the list of predictions by the Maxwell Ratings. And The Sports Report’s weekly predictions – don’t get testy, we’re doing pretty good – are up.
The most complete area story on the GHSA bringing all classification finals to Macon will be updated for afternoon reading with comments from GHSA executive director Robin Hines.
Coming Friday morning, preview capsules on the top games of the week and the full schedule, now separated by classification.
Go back and revisit prep stuff for the week, including an early look at the big games and notes in the Monday Afternoon Quarterback, the top 20 Central Georgia teams and their statewide ranking, as per the Maxwell ratings.
Mercer baseball recruiting class gets props
A pair of Central Georgians has helped Mercer’s recruiting class for 2018 in among the top 110 classes, according to Collegiate Baseball.
The paper ranked the top 40 – which included No. 21 Stetson, No. 36 Georgia – and then included almost double that many in “Other Top Recruiting Classes”.
Mercer was in that group, along with Georgia Tech and East Tennessee State, and former recent Atlantic Sun conference foes Florida Gulf Cost, as well as a number of long-ago conference opponents.
Westfield pitcher and Veterans catcher Leyton Pinckney are among the 16 signees who are currently participating in fall baseball at Mercer.
Robinson ready to rock with the Hawks
Thomas Robinson is not taking anything in the NBA for granted.
Around Central Georgia
Georgia College’s soccer team is fourth in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II poll.
The Bobcats behind Columbus State, Carson-Newman, and North Georgia. Georgia College is also getting votes in the NCAA Division II poll. …
The Mercer women’s soccer team welcomes VMI at 7 p.m. Friday in the home Southern Conference opener.
Mercer is 5-3-4/0-0-2 and VMI is 6-1-1/0-1-0. Mercer hosts UNCG (6-2-1/1-0-0) at 2 p.m. Sunday. …
Honor Roll
Mercer linebacker LeMarkus Bailey is a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's William V. Campbell Trophy.
It goes to the top football scholar-athlete, in the eyes of the Foundation.
Bailey has a degree in English and minor in education.
There are 179 semifinalists in all college football classifications, and he is one of 40 on the FCS level.
Finalists will be announced on Oct. 31, and each gets an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship.
Bailey is fourth on Mercer's all-time list with 184 tackles.
Georgia Tech's Brad Stewart, Georgia's Jackson Harris, and Berry's Nick McGee are semifinalists from Georgia. ...
Former FPD standout Reggie Gantt is the latest Pioneer Football League defensive player of the week.
The junior defensive back had an interception to set up a field goal in Stetson's 19-14 win over Marist, to go along with four tackles, two for loss with a couple sacks. The interception came in the second quarter, with a 27-yard return. He had sack to force a punt early in the third quarter, then a sack late in the game, and he ended his day with a pass breakup on the same drive.
The Hatters are 3-0.
Football updates
Georgia
Riley emerging into a go-to role
Will the Vols win again this year?
Georgia Tech
AD Stansbury sends out email supporting Johnson
Lynch nears dual 1,000-yard record
Kennesaw State
The Owls’ ‘Old Guard’ behind the success
Falcons