By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Jones County isn’t really used to big games.

Big crowds? Yes. The Greyhounds’ support has tended to supercede the success of the team.

Maxwell Ratings Prediction
Buford by 12

But Jones County had one region title this century unitl 2019, and only one other one in its history. Current players had not quite yet been born when there was an 0-20 debacle in the late 1990s, part of a stretch of eight straight losing seasons. Jeff Lee gave Gray a taste, following a pair of 4-6 seasons with 7-4 and 9-3, leaving after going 2-8 in 2002.

Jones County was middlin’, and Justin Rogers came in 2014 and woke things up. The team played up to the support’s level, and things felt big.

It was a sizable night back on Sept. 19, 2014 when Jones County stunned Northside 45-37, and then Warner Robins two months later. It was bigger back on Oct. 16, 2015, when the Greyhounds took down No. 2 Houston County and quarterback Jake Fromm 24-17 at home. Hammering Griffin 32-8 in the first round of the 2017 playoffs was sizable.

But this? Friday night’s visit by Buford? Home to all the fancy facilities and alma mater of scores of power-5 players? Owner of only three losing seasons in the last 30, and of 15 one-loss or perfect seasons in that same span?

Biggest sporting evening in Jones County history.

The No. 7 Greyhounds and No. 5 Wolves will go at it in a GHSA Class 5A game in an expanded Greyhound Field that will hold more backsides than ever before at the 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Buford is the state’s 19th winningest program, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, at609-262-16, a 70.35 winning percentage. It’s tied for second with Lincoln County for most GHSA state titles with 11, and is 16th in winning percentage.

The Greyhounds? Well, they’re 354-437-27, 44.93 percent.

All that history is nice, and certainly has an impact, but Jones County has rewritten some of its history lately, and that has a bigger impact.

Jones County in the 1990s? Went 32-69-1.

This year’s senior class at Jones County is 38-11 for four years, 31-6 the last three. That success is of more import than the past.

The Greyhounds and Wolves bring contrasting offenses into their second meeting, Buford winning 56-26 in the second round in 2016.

“They’re pro-style I,” Jones County head coach Mike Chastain said. “Lineup, and they do pound it, and play-action pass. That’s definitely their forte and what they want to do.”

Gabe Ervin Jr., a 6-0, 195-pound senior, leads Buford with 1,095 yards, but he sat out the second-round win and backup Victor Venn went for more than 200 yards, including for 73 on a fourth-down play.

The Wolves come in off an exhilarating win at top-ranked Carrollton, thanks to a final-play 28-yard field goal from Hayden Olsen after converting a fake punt, Olsen’s first pass ever.

Buford pulled off the win despite injuries, including in the game to quarterback Jarvis Evans Jr.

Jones County has been mostly healthy all year, and is off certainly its best quarter of the season in last week’s 49-14 win over Griffin.

The Greyhounds muddled through the first half, trailing Griffin 14-7.

“We just didn’t make plays the first half like we should have,” said Chastain, going for his third straight championship game after leading Warner Robins to consecutive Class 5A berths.

Third quarter?

“No doubt the best quarter we’ve played,” Chastain said. “I don’t think anybody sees 42 unanswered points coming in the second round of the playoffs, 35 in one quarter.”

Quarterback Hunter Costlow, who missed a few snaps with a shoulder injury, even caught a touchdown pass in the barrage.

Buford, which has 10 state championships this century in four different classifications but none yet in Class 5A, isn’t used to playoff road trips, but losing to Clarke Central in the regular-season finale broke a streak of six straight region titles, and was only the third time this century the Wolves finished lower than first.

Of course, Buford went on to win state titles in both of those other years, 2012 and 2009.

The Wolves face some firepower.

As per information reported by teams – not all do so, including Buford - to MaxPreps, Jontavis Robertson is 12th in the state with 1,131 yards (and nine touchdowns) and Maleek Wooten is tied for 34th with 875 yards and 12 touchdowns. Caden Mutchler and John Walton are threats as well.

Chastain said sophomore Keegan Baxter has emerged as a threat, with 10 catches for 160 yards at tight end with the ability to go wide.

Running back Andrew Carner is 64th in the state – and 10th in Central Georgia – with 1,119 yards, scoring 13 times.

And Costlow is the ninth in the state with 2,832 yards. Among the top nine, he is seventh with 29 touchdown passes, has the second fewest interceptions with four, and his 65.2-percent completion rate is fifth.

He comes into his final home game with 5,906 yards, 65 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, completing 62.4 percent of his passes. All but one pass for five yards have come in the past two seasons.

Bradley Hunnicutt became the starter after Justin Rogers took over and brought a passing attack with him in 2014. Hunnicutt started for three years and passed for 7,826 yards.

Hunnicutt averaged 33 more yards a game and has a slightly higher completion rate, 64.9-62.4 percent, but Costlow has a better TD-interception ratio, and QB efficiency edge of 119.8-108.8.

Worth noting is that almost all of his numbers have improved this season despite a new coaching staff and changes in terminology.

“Experience is what you like about him,” Chastain said. “He’s been here, and done it before.He’s confident with it. The games not to big for him, any game.”

And that’ll be of supreme importance in Jones County’s biggest game ever. Does Chastain worry about being on this stage?

“No, I really don’t,” he said. “We have a phenomenal atmosphere every week here. I think that helps.”