By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Class 6A

Houston County (4-5/0-2) at Northside (6-3/1-1)

          The winner gets a playoff home game, the loser gets a break, a road game at a team with a losing record (probably Alcovy). The Bears are one game under .500, but have been outscored by 121 points. The Eagles are three games over .500, and have six more points than they’ve given up. Houston County’s Simeon Askew – who has rushed for 345 fewer yards than Northside has in total offense - is the eye-catching player in the game. Neither team has been a bastion of consistency.

Class 5A

No. 5 Warner Robins (7-1/1-1) at Coffee (8-1/2-1)

            It’s been awhile since the Demons had a huge, pressure-filled regular-season game. A win, followed by a win over underdog Veterans next week, puts the Demons in second, and they get a first-round home game in the playoffs. A loss puts them in third and on the road against – at this point – either No. 2 or 3 in 5A, Creekside or Woodward Academy. This is a funky series that was off for three years after the Demons’ 52-49 win in 2017. Coffee leads it 6-4. Demon QB Christon Lane has completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 1,678 yards with 22 TDs and only three INTs, with Daveon Walker catching 43 passes for 868 yards and 10 TDs.

Friday night’s Central Georgia scouting reports
Who’s going to win this week’s games?
Maxwell Ratings predictions
Monday Afternoon QB: Region playoff analysis; Central Georgia polls; Loughdmouthings
Macon TD Club honorees
Last week’s roundup: Peach County’s monster comeback; trophies for Bleckley County, Putnam County, and GMC; Tattnall gamble pays off, big night for Brentwood’s Denton

Ware County (6-1/2-0) at Veterans (2-6/1-1)

            Ware County’s final two opponents are 2-14, so odds favor the Gators to win the region outright. Veterans hangs tough, getting outscored by 12.7 points a game, with two losses by two touchdowns or less. The Gators are scoring 21.4 points a game more than opponents. Veterans’ Demare Franklin is fourth in the state with 951 receiving yards on 59 catches, with five TDs.

Woodland (4-4/3-2) at Jones County (6-2/5-0)

            Woodland hasn’t beaten a team that finished ahead of it in the region standings since 2017, when the 3-7 Wolfpack beat 5-5 Ola early in the region schedule. Jones County’s John Alan Richter is one of 14 2,000-yard passers in the state, with 19 touchdowns against only four interceptions, and a 69.2 percent completion rate. Sophomore speedster Zion Ragins has 34 catches for 702 yards.

Class 4A
Howard (3-5/1-3) at No. 8 Perry (7-1/3-1)

            Perry’s defense gets overlook amid another good season, giving up just .11.1 points a game .Conversely, Howard –which leads the series 7-4 – is getting only 13.9 points a game.  Perry’s Armar Gordon Jr. is 39 yards from 2,000 for the year, completing 64 percent of his passes. Daequan Wright has 36 catches for 714 yards.

West Laurens (3-5/1-3) at Rutland (1-7/0-4)

            The Raiders had a week off after a 32-0 loss to Perry, while the Hurricanes fell 13-0 to Howard for their fourth straight loss. West Laurens needs a win to make next week’s game against Westside, likely, for the fourth playoff spot.

No. 7 Spalding (6-2/2-1) at Westside (4-4/2-2)

            The Seminoles have lost to the other two top teams in the region 45-0, but Spalding only has one win all season by more than two touchdowns. The Seminoles won 22-14 last year. They’ll have to deal with Nazir Berry, who is 131 yards from 1,000 for the season.

Class AAA

Central (1-7/1-4) at Crisp County (5-3/5-0)

            Crisp County will clinch the region’s top seed with a win and the outright title next week against Pike. With Peach County on tap next week, the Chargers are likely to fall short of 100 points for the season for the first time since 1999.

Jackson (5-3/3-2) at Mary Persons (5-3/3-2)

            Few rivalries go as far back as this one, repeated for the 79th time. Jackson was down 10-0, then up 28-10 at Peach County last week, got behind 32-28 and let chances to take the lead slip away in what would’ve been a huge win. So the Red Devils won’t be happy. The Bulldogs haven’t lost two straight to Jackson since 2008-09. The Bulldogs’ Duke Watson is ninth in the state (MaxPreps) with 1,252 rushing yards, plus 20 touchdowns, and the Red Devils’ Cam Edwards is 32nd with 678 receiving yards on 37 catches, with four scores. Jackson QB Les Callen has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 787 yards, countered by Logan Hickman’s 1,221 yards – ninth in AAA – and 64.4 percent rate.

Peach County (4-3/4-1) at Upson-Lee (4-4/2-3)

            This is only the sixth meeting, Peach County leading 3-2, winning 36-7 last year, the first game since 2001. Upson-Lee’s playoff chances hinge on pulling off the upset, and then beating Jackson next week. Detravious Mathis has 773 rushing yards for the Knights. Christian Martin is 108 yards from 1,000 passing for the season, and has as many TDs as INTs.

Class AA

Jeff Davis (8-1/3-1) at East Laurens (5-3/1-2)

            The Falcons took care of business last week, but need a surprise at least once in the final two weeks to make the playoffs. They lose a tiebreaker with Vidalia, which is 1-2 and 2-6 and has winless Bacon County and third-place Toombs County. Jeff Davis has won the last three meetings by 21, 53, and six.

No. 10 Washington County (5-3/2-2) at No. 9 Dodge County (5-3/2-2)

            A pair of teams with a variety of playmakers and hitters gather to figure out who gets third in Region 3, assuming both take care of business next week against Southwest and Jasper County. The Indians won 35-16 last year in Sandersville, and are 2-2 at home this year while the Golden Hawks are 2-1 on the road. Washington County’s losses are by four, seven, and five, Dodge County’s by nine, two, and 14.

No. 5 Northeast (6-2/3-1) at Jasper County (0-8/0-4)

            The Raiders clinch their second straight second seed with the expected win. Northeast won 42-6 last year, and is two wins from its second-straight eight-win season. That would make for the best two-year run since a pair of 9-3 seasons in 2001-02. Who was on both of those teams? Northeast head coach Jeremy Wiggins.

No. 6 Putnam County (8-0/5-0) at Josey (2-6/1-4)

            The War Eagles close the season against a 2-6 and 0-8 team, so the scores may not be as big as expected if Putnam County gives some starters a rest and works on depth. Putnam County beat those same teams – who were better in 2020 – 49-0 and 28-20. Gerald Kilgore has 11 TD passes against only one interception, with 1,133 yards in the air.

Bleckley County 42, Southwest 6, Thursday

Class A Public

Johnson County (5-3/3-3) at Dooly County (5-3/4-2)

            The Bobcats all but seal the third seed in Region 4 with a win, getting tiebreakers of Dublin and Johnson County. Johnson County won 27-11 last year in Wrightsville in the fifth meeting between the programs.

Treutlen (2-6/1-5) at Hawkinsville (1-7/0-6)

            The Red Devils have two chances to avoid their first one-win season since 1980.

Dublin (4-4/4-2) at Telfair County (3-5/2-4)

            Dublin leads the series 3-0, but this is only the second meeting since 1973. The Irish rolled 49-0 last year. The Trojans are still in the playoff hunt, thanks to last week’s win over Wheeler County to break a four-game losing streak. J.T. Wright leads the Irish with 796 yards and 10 TDs.

Taylor County (2-5/1-5) at Marion County (2-6/2-4)

            Marion County has owned the series, Taylor County getting its first win in 2020, 26-20 against nine losses. The Vikings fell 12-7 in last year’s meeting.

GMC (9-0/5-0) at ACE (3-3/3-1)

            ACE could throw the region into a mess with the mild upset, while GMC is trying to put the finishing touches on a historic season in which they’ve given up only 50 points. The current 15 wins is the best two-year run in program history.

Warren County (5-3/3-1) at Twiggs County (1-7/0-4)

            The Screaming Devils have won the last three meetings 46-6, 42-0, and 28-7. They didn’t play last year since Twiggs County didn’t field a team.

Hancock Central (1-6/1-3) at Wilkinson County (3-5/1-3)

            Defending region champ Hancock Central needs a win to keep playoff hopes alive, and has won two of the last three meetings –32-8 last year – after losing eight straight from 2007-14.

Class A Private

Deerfield-Windsor (3-5/1-2) at Mount de Sales (4-4/1-2)

            The Cavs and Eagles are tied for fourth in Region 1, and each plays a team ahead of them next week, Deerfield-Windsor hosting Stratford and Mount de Sales at Tattnall. Both are only a game behind Tattnall and Stratford entering this week, and the winner will be tied with one of them Saturday. Deerfield leads the series 11-4, with all but last year’s MdS 26-22 win coming in their GISA days. Fernando Washington has 833 rushing yards for the Cavs, 28 more than teammate A’Khori Jones..

FPD (6-2/3-0) at Stratford (6-2/2-1)

            A little at stake for the 3th meeting. FPD can clinch its second straight region title, which last happened during a four-year such run from 2004-07. Former FPD head coach Mark Farriba of Stratford is 8-4 against the Vikings, winning six of the last seven. Stratford’s Keondre Glover is 192 rushing yards from 1,000 for the season, and has 14 TDs, nearly half of Stratford’s ground total of 30. The Eagles have tried 45 passes, a little more than half of Jakhari Williams’ completion total for FPD. A nice battle of contrasts with fairly balanced FPD against run-heavy Stratford.

Tattnall (6-1/2-1) at Strong Rock (0-7/0-3)

            Strong Rock has lost its three region games by six, 41, and 26. Against those three teams, Tattnall has beaten two of those three by 35 and one. A Trojan win keeps them in the hunt for a first-round home game at a minimum, with Mount de Sales next week.

GISA

John Milledge (7-0/1-0) at Creekside Christian (0-7/0-1)

            The Trojans are winning games by 36 points a week. The Cougars are losing games by 40.1 points a week.

Bethlehem Christian (6-3/0-1) at Westfield (6-1/1-0)

            Westfield and the multiple threats on offense have won five straight, with at least 34 points in each game for a season average of 38.3. The Knights have given up  31, 47, and 53 in their last three games, two losses. Westfield is 7-0-1 at home under second-year head coach Rob Fitzpatrick.

Gatewood (4-4) at Piedmont (6-3/0-1)

            The visiting Gators lead the series 26-18-1, and have won six straight. The closest game in that span was 37-12 in 2015.

Fullington (1-7/0-1) at John Hancock ((1-7/0-1)

            Pride of not going winless in region play is on the line.