Thursday Afternoon Quarterback: Remembering Robert Davis; Central Georgia polls; area statewide stat rankings

There was a hope to get a chance to ride down to Warner Robins and get a chat in with Robert Davis about a month ago, with the possibility that he had kind of stabilized and was in good spirits.

Alas, the health issues he had been battling the past several years – mostly connected to diabetes – took over, and he died last Thursday.

Davis would certainly be one of the top candidates for a Central Georgia Mount Rushmore of coaching (though the coverage of the icon’s death was certainly less than expected, except, well, you know) as one of the winningest in the state.

He was complicated off the field, no doubt, and uncomplicated on the field. He hired people to do their jobs and he oversaw that, chiming in when necessary (as opposed to those who never shut up no matter what unit’s on the field, and thus get tuned out).

Davis wasn’t much for making things difficult, and he wasn’t necessarily one for overthinking or overanalyzing.

Bryan Way played for and coached under Davis, and succeeded Davis’ successor, longtime assistant Richard Fendley.

Way was in need of a job, and went to Davis.

“I was 22 years old, fresh out of college, didn’t play college football,” said. Way. “But I played for him. He had no business hiring me. And I was the varsity offensive line coach and I was it.”

Way played the line at Warner Robins under Lynn Hunnicutt, who went on to coach at Fitzgerald, Pepperell, and Model, winning 59 percent of the time in 28 seasons.

“He said, ‘I know how you were coached when you were here, and you just make sure you get it done. You can do it,’” Way said. “Coach Davis, he never tried to tell me how to coach. ‘I hired you to do a job, you’re going to do it.’”

Sometimes those who keep things fairly simple are the smartest and most successful.

(Video of the memorial service is here. Speakers included Way, Kevin Wall, and John Perkins. Of note is a funny and emotional bit with George Collins and Gary McLure (at 59 minutes). The service starts after music at 16 minutes.)

Stat stuff

Remember that MaxPreps stats and rankings are based only on what information is posted by teams to the website.

Information doesn’t just appear somewhere (one can dream, though), so if you’re wondering about your team and where it ranks, ask your coach why the team doesn’t post info and allow for some bragging.

Another issue is the stats being iffy anyway, because many stat folks don’t know how to properly keep stats. Example: a lateral is not a pass, even if it’s thrown overhanded, and many people put that down as passing/receiving yardage. And so on.

And teams can be slow – or flat forget - to update information.

That said, what Central Georgia players are among the top 50 in the state in passing, rushing, and receiving?

Passing – 22. Blake Etheridge, Veterans, 1,171; 40. Jalen Addie, Warner Robins, 919.

Rushing - 3. Jessie Phelps Jr., Rutland, 1002 (not updated); 24. Detravious Mathis, Upson-Lee, 698; 33. Lebron Fields, Veterans, 647; 37. Jabin Ford, Taylor County, 639; 50. Shamarian Greene, Jasper County/Monticello, 585.

Receiving – 47. Armon Porter, Warner Robins, 412.

The Polls

Division I (6A, 5A, 4A)

1. Warner Robins, 4-1

Class 6A and 7A schools get a break from Warner Robins picking on them.

2. Houston County, 5-2

The Bears have to get some offense going, having survived so far without much major playmaking on a regular basis. The next two games are against Veterans and Lee County.

3. Jones County, 2-3

The Greyhounds were off, and that was probably a good time.

4. Veterans, 4-2

What’s going on with the Warhawks? Veterans and Howard are turning into surprises we didn’t expect.

5.  West Laurens, 3-2

The same team that blew a big lead to Bleckley County and got blown out by Veterans has won three straight and popped Howard 31-0?

Division II (3A, AA, A, GISA)

1. Peach County, 4-1

Finally, the Trojans are preparing for a real honest to goodness region showdown, and against – wow – somebody ranked higher.

2. Dublin, 4-1

Sometimes, teams just pass others. You win three games in eight days by 50-0, 63-12, and 56-0, and you’ll pass good teams.

3. John Milledge, 5-0

The week’s opponent is passing on the season, so the Trojans are off. And only family and friends are returning J.T. Wall’s calls early in the week.

4. Macon County, 4-1

The Bulldogs took over, with some help, in the second half of an impressive win over Taylor County, but keep their heads straight is going to be something to watch the rest of the year.

5. Bleckley County, 5-1

Few teams are as versatile as the Royals in winning, by either storming back or surviving back-and-forth battles.

6. Central, 4-1

The Chargers apparently prefer comeback wins at this point, but they better get off to better starts. Region play, comebacks are much harder.

7. Taylor County, 4-1

Probably not a good week to play the Vikings, who expected to be in a down-to-the-wire showdown last week and weren’t.

8. Putnam County, 6-0

The War Eagles have given up 24 points in six games, and haven’t been challenged by about twice. Notable for a team used to challenges.

9. Upson-Lee, 4-2

Upson-Lee refuses to make anything boring. Even with limited attendance, concession stands make money because nobody leaves a game.

10. Northeast, 3-1

The Raiders could be 1-3, but they aren’t. The momentum from nipping Washington County won’t mean much if they’re flat in a rivalry game over struggling Southwest.