Class 6A

Newton (2-1/7A) at Houston County (3-2)

Coverage
Maxwell Ratings predictions, state polls
Thursday's football scores
The Sports Report's predictions
Georgia's state rushing leader plays at Rutland
Key region games set for Thursday night
Monday Morning Quarterback
Last week's roundup

          It’s the first meeting between the teams. The Rams, who went 7-4 last year, have made the playoffs eight straight seasons.

No. 3 Colquitt County (3-0/7A) at Northside (2-3)

          Former Jones County head coach Justin Rogers returns to Central Georgia for the evening with the 7A No. 3 Packers, who come in with momentum and face a Northside team outscored 99-12 in its last two games.

 

Class 5A

Jones County (1-3/1-0) at Stockbridge (1-2/1-0)

          An early battle of usual region title contenders. Jones County’s only win over Stockbridge in six tries was the first meeting, 21-20 in 2006. The Tigers stunned then-No. 3 Jones County 44-14 last year. Jones County’s John Alan Richter is seventh in 5A (MaxPreps) with 654 yards passing.

No. 5 Veterans (4-0) at No. 3 Oconee County (4-0/3A)

          The Warhawks have outscored opponents 106-27, the Warriors 130-28. Three Oconee County wins have been over 4A or 5A programs, and three have been over teams ranked in their respective classifications.

No. 1 Warner Robins (4-0) at No. 3 Lee County (3-1/6A)

          Can Lee County slow down one of the state’s top quarterbacks (Jalen Addie) and underrated receivers (Armon Porter)? Can Lee County get enough going on offense against an elite defense, led by LBs Ahmad Walker and Demarcious Robinson and power-5 prospect Victor Burley up front?

Class 4A

Rutland (1-2) at Perry (0-3)

          Perry hasn’t been 0-4 since 2013, and faces a Rutland team hoping to recapture the magic of a 48-31 win over the Panthers in – you guessed it – 2013. Rutland faces an athletic team with some experience that’s lost three games by 21 points to higher-classification teams.

Spalding (0-3) at West Laurens (1-2)

          The Raiders have won four straight in the series, including 49-6 last year.

Westside (1-2) at Baldwin (0-0)

          The Braves’ season opener is indeed late, and the Seminoles are off a 35-6 win over Southwest. Westside leads the series 6-4.

Class 3A

Americus-Sumter (0-3/0-1) at No. 4 Peach County (2-1/1-0)

          Americus-Sumter lost by double figures at home last week to Central, and gets a Peach County team that’s finding its form.

Central (2-1/1-0) at Mary Persons (2-2/0-1)

          The Bulldogs are looking for an identity and consistency, after losses of 37 and 35 points. Central has momentum after a region road win, and hopes to surprise a program it hasn’t played since 2011.

No. 2 Crisp County (3-0/0-0) at Upson-Lee (3-1/1-0)

          The Knights have lost 27 straight games to a ranked team, a streak that started after they beat No. 8/4 Griffin 12-3 on Sept. 14, 2007. U-L’s Detravious Mathis is seventh in the state with 685 yards, plus seven touchdowns.

 

Class AA

Putnam County (4-0/1-0) at Laney (1-2/1-0)

            Combined, the teams have given up 35 points. There’s little connection here – they’ve played twice, 2004-05 – and the War Eagles will be confident as they try to match last season’s win total and go 5-0 for the first time since 1994.

Jasper County/Monticello (1-3) at Southwest (1-1), Ed DeFore

            Southwest lost starting quarterback Travion Searcy in the first half of last week’s loss to Westside, so the Patriots have even more questions. The Hurricanes were competitive against Mount de Sales, then shut out two straight games before a 30-6 win over Greene County.

Class A

ACE (1-3) at Wilkinson County (0-3)

            The host Warriors have given up 84 points in the last two games, including 40 against GISA 3A Creekside Christian. This is ACE’s first official region game.

Creekside Christian at Hancock Central (2-0)

            Unofficially, this game has been postponed.

No. 7 Dublin ( 1-1/0-0) at Dooly County (0-0)

            The Bobcats finally get to play, and face Dublin, which is pretty well rested. Despite being less than 70 miles apart, this is the first meeting between the teams. And it’s the debut of Dooly County head coach Phillip Hale, the Bobcats’ fifth boss – including an interim – since 2017.

Savannah Christian (4-1) at Mount de Sales (2-1)

            SC QB Spencer Robicheaux has passed for 1,048 yards and 11 TDs with two interceptions, but was held to 100 yards in a loss to John Milledge. MdS is 0-5-1 in the series, which has been dormant since 1987’s 14-14 tie.

Stratford (1-1) at Savannah Country Day (1-2)

            SCD was down 21-0 after three at Tattnall, and won 28-24. The Eagles’ second game in almost a month was a nice 20-0 shutout at home. SCD has won the last two in the series, 21-7 and 20-7.

Tattnall (3-1) at No. 9 Aquinas (5-0)

            Tattnall has to rebound from blowing a 21-0 lead – after three quarters - lead at home, and do so at Aquinas, which is averaging 42.2 points a game.

No. 8 Taylor County (3-0/2-0) at Manchester (1-3/1-1)

            Manchester has a new coach in James Moore, and his program hasn’t lost to Taylor County since 1997. Manchester has scored at least 32 points in five straight meetings, including twice last year (44-20 in the regular season and 40- in the first round of the playoffs).

Toombs County (3-1) at No. 3 Macon County (3-0)

            The AA Bulldogs’ lone loss is to 4A West Laurens, and they  have a nice 26-20 win over Dodge County, plus last week’s 49-0 win over AA Berrien.

Warren County (3-1) at Crawford County (0-4)

            Former GMC head coach Steven Simpson has taken over at Warren County.

 

GISA

John Milledge (3-0/3A) at Gatewood (3-0/AA)

            The best GISA program visits one of the top programs in GISA, and they have history, having played 38 times. JMA has a 35-11-2 advantage, including 17-0 in the 3A title game in 2016, 11 months before Gatewood won 34-17 in Milledgeville.

Piedmont (4-0/AA) at Westfield (2-0/3A)

The series is tied at 2, but they haven’t played since 1982, when the Hornets were coached by their stadium’s namesake, Marvin Arrington.