By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

 

Class 5A

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

            The seedings are set with No. 2 Warner Robins and No. 4 Veterans. The Warhawks have yet to beat the Demons, and haven’t been within 28 points at the end since 2016. There should be some offense. Veterans QB Matthew Bruce is a playmaker, with 1,887 yards passing (seventh in 5A) and 505 rushing yards with five TDs, while Warner Robins’ Christon Lane is right behind with 1,838 yards with a 23-4 TD-INT ratio.

Dutchtown (7-2/6-0) at Jones County (7-2/6-0)

            Dutchtown has won six straight, and Jones County has won six straight. The Bulldogs have had closer games, and may have an advantage in a tight one, which this should be. Dutchtown has one region title in its history, which started in 2004, in 2018. Jones County is going for its third straight region championship and second straight perfect region record. John Alan Richter is third in 5A with 2,185 passing yards, going for 22 touchdowns with four interceptions.

Class 4A

No. 8 Perry (8-1/4-1) at No. 6 Baldwin (6-2/5-0)

            Baldwin wins, and it is the outright region champ. Perry wins, and it is the region’s top seed. Simple as that. Last year’s game as a down-to-the-last-minute battle that left a mighty bitter taste in Baldwin’s mouth. There will be weapons galore on the field, starting with Perry QB Armar Gordon Jr., who has completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 2,267 yards and 23 TDs (to 8 INTs), and Daequan Wright, with 42 catches for 828 yards and nine scores. Baldwin’s Solomon Burney and Derrick Lewis have combined for 8 TDs, 3 INTs, and 1,163 yards passing, with Micah Welch 91 yards from 1,000 rushing, to go with 19 TDs.

Westside (4-5/2-3) at West Laurens (4-5/2-3)

            The Raiders’ negative scoring margin is 2.3 points to 8.2 for the Seminoles. Against the top three region teams, West Laurens has been outscored 74-21 and Westside 138-13. The winner gets fourth place. The Seminoles are trying avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and first losing season in program history.

Class 3A

Peach County (5-3/5-1) at Central (1-8/1-5)

            There are no playoff implications here. The Trojans lead the series 14-2 with six shutouts. That last close game was 25-14 in 2015.

Upson-Lee (4-5/2-4) at Jackson (4-5/3-3)

            A playoff-implication game. The winner gets fourth with a win. Jackson has to rebound from two crushing losses on consecutive weeks, blowing an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter at Peach County and losing on the final play at Mary Persons. The Knights have been an enigma all year: win two lose two, win two, lose two. They’ve lost two straight, so …

Mary Persons (6-3/4-2) at Sumter County (1-7/1-5)

            The Bulldogs clinch third in the region with a win over a team off its first win, 48-35 over Pike County. The teams didn’t play last year, and Sumter County is trying to avoid its second straight one-win season. Mary Persons QB Logan Hickman is seventh in AAA with 1,297 yards, passing for 12 TDs – including the last-play game-winner a week ago – and 5 INTs.

Class AA

East Laurens (5-4/1-3) at Toombs County (4-5/2-2)

            The Falcons can get fourth place with win over a team that they’re 2-15 against and lost 62-0 to last year. Toombs County finished 7-4 in 2020.

No. 9 Dodge County (6-3/3-2) at Southwest (1-6/1-4)

            The Indians are locked into third place and are likely to pull starters at some point. The Patriots have scored only 12 points in their last four games.

No. 5 Northeast (7-2/4-1) at Lamar County (5-4/2-3)

            There are no playoff implications here, but Northeast is looking for momentum and Lamar County for a winning record. Northeast QB Travion Solomon has passed for 1,339 yards and rushed for 434 yards behind one of the biggest offensive lines in most any class. Lamar County’s CJ Allen is an underrated back, 74 yards from 1,000 for the year.

Jasper County (0-9/1-9) at Washington County (4-4/2-3)

            There are no playoff implications here, but Washington County is looking for momentum and Jasper County for its first win and a monumental upset.

Butler (0-9/0-6) at No. 6 Putnam County (9-0/6-0)

            Putnam County has sights set on its first perfect regular season since 1973, and first 10-win season since 1996 (12-3). Gerald Kilgore is seventh in AA with 1,377 yards, plus a nifty 14-1 TD-INT ratio.

Class A Public

Montgomery County (8-1/6-1) at Dublin (5-4/5-2)

            The Irish have a game lead for third over Johnson County and Dooly County, both of whom win tiebreakers over the Irish. A win, and Dublin’s in. A loss, and they need a win by Telfair County over Dooly County or Hawkinsville to upset Johnson County. Dublin won 47-7 last year in the first meeting.

Hawkinsville (2-7/1-6) at Johnson County (6-3/4-3)

            The Red Devils broke into the region win column last week, 22-19 over Treutlen. Johnson County has won two straight big ones, over Dublin and Dooly County, which would be rendered almost moot with a loss.

Dooly County (5-4/4-3) at Telfair County (3-6/2-5)

            The Bobcats clinch their first playoff spot since 2018 with a win. That was also their last winning season. They lead the series 4-3, losing 21-14 last year.

No. 3 Macon County (8-0/6-0) at No. 7 Chattahoochee County (8-1/5-1)

            The Bulldogs get an outright region championship, and their first perfect regular season since the 15-0 championship team in 1996 under C.B. Cornett. And it would mark consecutive 7-0 region seasons.

Manchester (4-4/3-3) at Taylor County (3-5/2-5)

            The Vikings can end the season on a two-game winning streak if they can give Manchester a third straight loss.

Twiggs County (1-8/0-5) at ACE (3-4/3-2)

            The set-for-third-place Gryphons are looking for momentum entering their first postseason, and can’t afford a loss to the Cobras, who have been shut out four times. ACE’s only shutout in program history was in 2018 against GISA Notre Dame.

Hancock Central (2-6/2-3) at Crawford County (2-6/2-3)

            There’ll be some playoff atmosphere in Roberta, the homestanding Eagles making the playoffs for the first time since 1998, the final season in Tony Byram’s first stint with the program. Hancock Central is trying not to go from region champion to no playoffs in a year. Judd Puckett is 82 yards from 1,000 passing for the season, 638 of those yards going to Terrel Ashley.

Wilkinson County (3-6/1-4) at Warren County (6-3/4-1)

            Wilkinson County leads the series 12-6, but Warren County has won the last two by a 55-0 composite score.

Class A Private

Stratford (6-3/2-2) at Deerfield-Windsor (3-6/1-3)

            The Eagles have lost two straight, by 7 and by 1 in OT. They’re locked into third, and are looking for postseason momentum.

Strong Rock (0-8/0-4) at FPD (7-2/4-0)

            Region champ FPD is unlikely to play starters too long, and are unlikely to need to against a team with only one loss by single digits.

GISA

Frederica (4-5/2-1) at Trinity Christian (1-7/0-2)

            Frederica leads the series 6-1, with six straight wins, 62-7 last year.

John Milledge (8-0/2-0) at Westfield (7-1/2-0)

            It’s the region title game, again. This year, it’s not a surprise. Last year, a little bit, and JMA rolled 41-0. John Milledge hasn’t lost since Nov. 30, 2018.

Brentwood (7-1/1-0) at Gatewood (4-5/0-1)

            A win lands Brentwood its second region title in three years. This rematch of last year’s AA title game has teams not quite as even, though Gatewood has won eight straight, including twice last year.     

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