FOOTBALL IS HERE!: This week's Central Georgia high school football's scouting reports
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
One of Central Georgia’s two visitors to a GHSA state championship game is in a new classification, the other one now travels a couple hours south to play rather than be 25 minutes away at Mercer’s Five Star Stadium. Central Georgia GISA champs are off.
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You needn’t be on Twitter to use Twitter to stay updated. And the place to do that every game night - OK, well, every day and night - is @centralgasports. Updates from all Central Georgia teams - as many as possible - are there, with the reminder of the 11 p.m. first-edition scoreboard - don’t wait for sound effects and highlights and a ‘production - and then the only Central Georgia roundup - around 12:30 a.m. - that gives you more than just a video snippet, gives you names and stats and details, here at www.centralgasports.com
Four months, the future was a blur of guesses, science, stubbornness, and hope with daily changes of the outlook against COVID-19.
Finally, here we are, the first full Friday night of the Georgia high school football season. Mostly.
Twiggs County won’t play football this season. Others have started and stopped and waited and hoped and re-started. Schedules galore have been changed: Jones County went from a sure win against AA Northeast to hosting powerhouse Grayson, on new turf with new visitors’ stands and a burly new set of lights.
Teams made changes – and will be making game-week changes the rest of the year – and suddenly have the week off. Senior nights are scheduled for the first few weeks of the season. A game that should have an overflow crowd will take place in a half-empty facility, with seating spaced out and fans masked. Bands aren’t automatic.
All this comes after some fairly major reclassification, with AA champ Dublin dropping to A, local teams moving/staying up a class for financial and scheduling reasons, and the forming of some seriously difficult regions.
Around the state, action has started in all three classifications.
The normal suspense of football’s start has multiplied a thousand fold. There’s no guarantee that the status of a game when players went to bed on Thursday night will be intact at lunch on Friday. The anticipation each week is at a staggering level, because literally, nothing can be assumed.
Nearly two dozen teams this week alone have made schedule changes or had the season be put on hold, from metro Atlanta districts to small rural programs.
Two weeks later than scheduled, though, high school football is back in Georgia.
This week’s Scouting Reports
(Last year’s overall record is in parentheses)
Friday
Games of the week
Clinch County (APub, 11-2) at Macon County (APub, 6-5)
Nothing like changing your opener to the Class A public semifinalist and winner of three of the last five A Public championships. The Bulldogs are 0-5 against Clinch County, but the teams haven’t played since 1996, a 27-6 Clinch County win.
Grayson (7A, 11-2) at Jones County (5A, 12-2)
The Greyhounds, in a home with new turf, visitors stands, lights and light-show capabilities, swapped Northeast for Grayson. *Gulp*. The Rams are ranked nationally and have verbals headed to Florida, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and Louisville, among others. Jones County has offensive weapons – led by wideouts Maleek Wooten and RB Andrew Carner - but a new quarterback. The only QBs not named Hunter Costlow to throw a pass last year were Dawson Skinner and John Alan Richter. The Greyhounds’ chances for the upset are hurt by a 50-percent capacity limit.
Perry (4A, 7-5) at Houston County (6A, 7-6)
The Bears haven’t had to break in many new QBs the past decade, with Jake Fromm starting for four years and Max Rigby for three. And they haven’t had to fill as many quality slots on defense, like 1-6A defensive POY Wesley Steiner, now at Auburn.
Veterans (5A, 9-3) at Northside (6A, 3-7)
It’s rare that Northside is the team with questions and in transition, and is the underdog. The Eagles have a new offensive philosophy and are likely to be amped to start erasing all memories of last year’s stunning disaster. The Warhawks return QB Blake Etheridge, but are without athletes Jalon Shine and Tylon Chambers, among others. The teams have only played twice – 49-0 Northside in 2012 and 42-0 a year later - so this will be a good early wakeup for both. How the Eagles look in a new, more balanced offense with a bump in passing will be interesting. After all, they went a stretch of scoring seven points in four games last year.
Warner Robins (5A, 13-2) at Valdosta (6A, 10-3)
One of the state’s top games pits two of the state’s top programs. One has a young head coach off to a tremendous start, having reached the 5A finals, the other has a veteran coach who wins games and draws attention – good and bad – finds a way to land at quality programs already in place. Valdosta has welcomed scores of transfers, while Warner Robins comes in consistent and confident, with playmakers – like QB Jalen Addie and LBs Ahmad Walker and Demarcious Robinson - on both sides. Worth noting: the Demons are 8-2 in their last 10 games against higher-class opponents, one loss coming to Propst at Colquitt County in 2018. with a two-year record of
West Laurens (4A, 11-2) at Bleckley County (2A, 7-4)
Two WL head coaches have won six straight over Bleckley County, including current Royals assistant Stacy Nobles, who went 4-0 before moving to Bleckley County. The Raiders are off one of their best seasons, loaded with talent in all phases. West Laurens lost most of the regulars from that team, and Bleckley County returns a number of quality starters. No doubt West Laurens yet again has an upper-level defense, which will go against top-10 national recruit Amarius Mims on the offensive line.
The Games
GMC (APub, 3-7) at Creekside Christian (GISA, 1-8)
Jasper County/Monticello (2A, 3-7) at Mount de Sales (APriv, 9-2)
LaGrange (4A, 2-8) at Upson-Lee (3A, 4-7)
Pike County (3A, 4-6) at Lamar County (2A, 6-4)
Taylor County (APub, 5-6) at Crawford County (APub, 2-8)
Saturday
ACE (APub, 3-5) at FPD (APriv, 5-6)
Dodge County (2A, 4-7) at Toombs County (2A, 8-3)
GISA/GAPPS
Community Christian at Piedmont
Edmund Burke at Trinity Christian
Fullington at CFCA
John Hancock at Thomas Jefferson