Games of the Week

Teams: Please email game information – stats (offense and defense), names, big plays, etc. – to centralgasports@gmail.com by midnight Friday or by 10:30 a.m. Saturday for inclusion in Central Georgia’s only comprehensive roundup Saturday morning.

Reminder: State statistics from MaxPreps are based only on information put into MaxPreps by individual schools. Less than half of Central Georgia teams put stats in to MaxPreps consistently.

Fitzgerald (2-0) at Dodge County (3-0)

Stopping an offense averaging 6.1 yards a carry – led by Demron Gordon’s 258 yards in three games – is a task, though the Purple Hurricane held then-No. 1 Irwin County to 15 points in the opener. Dodge County’s last 4-0 start was in 2018, and it included a 28-9 win over Fitzgerald, then in its second year under head coach Tucker Pruitt. The Purple Hurricane have won nine of the last 11 meetings, winning 30-27 last year. The No. 8 Indians know the run is coming from the No. 3 Purple Hurricane (314 yards last week).

 Jones County (1-2) at Union Grove (2-1)

          The Greyhounds are still adjusting to some injury losses in the secondary, some for the season and some day to day. And adjusting to being unable to close out Veterans at home, and of some youth. The pressure increases with the start of region play. A loss here – the Greyhounds haven’t lost a region opener since 2010 - and the season may start teetering. On the other hand, Jones County has won six straight in the series, all in the last decade, and Union Grove’s defense has a task.

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Monday Morning QB: Rippin’ Rush, WR-Northside, Jones County-Veterans, loads of Loughdmouthings; Central Georgia polls
The schedules, they are a-changing

 Veterans (1-1) at Perry (2-0)

          Suddenly, Veterans is showing some weapons on offense again. QB Matthew Bruce ran for 61 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 334 yards and three against Jones County. Damare Franklin has 232 yards receiving in two games. Perry’s Armar Gordon Jr. is completing 72.1 percent of his passes, for 529 yards and with five touchdowns in two games, with top targets Daequan Wright and Dakarai Anderson getting 264 of those yards. The Panthers aren’t running the ball much, so Veterans’ pass D will need another good effort to get another upset.

 Warner Robins (2-0) at Northside (2-0)

          Warner Robins leads the series 38-25, and has slowed Northside’s surge. The Eagles had won 14 of 18 from 1998-2016, but the Demons have taken the last four, and dominated 39-0 and 47-0 the last two years. Both were off last week, Northside because of a forfeit by Howard. The Demons have played a tougher schedule, but Northside has scored more points after two games than since 2016. The Demons have the advantage on both sides, but the Eagles will be more confident for this meeting than in a few years. But avoiding early mistakes is huge for the Eagles, who still have some new bodies now on a huge stage.

Notables

Baldwin (1-1) at Brookwood (1-1)
          Brookwood sounds powerful and all, but the Broncos are only 17 games above .500 since the 14-1 5A championship in 2010, and haven’t been a consistent major power this century. On the other hand, they haven’t lost to a lower-classification team – and they don’t play many – since 1985, 19-0 to No. 2/6/AA Duluth. Notable: Baldwin was going to break in a new turf this week at home, and will now serve as the opponent for a team breaking in a new turf this week.

Dublin (0-1) at Wheeler County (2-0)
          Wheeler County is 2-0. After three straight one-win seasons. But Dublin’s lone opponent (Dodge County) is much stronger than Wheeler County’s first two, and the young Irish are tested and rested.

Dougherty (2-0) at Northeast (2-0)
          Northeast broke a five-game losing streak to Dougherty in 2007, the last time the teams played. The Trojans have had two 0-10 seasons among the list of losing seasons dating back to 2008. They went 0-5 last year, with four losses by fewer than two touchdowns. They’re 2-0 for the first time since 2005’s runner-up team.

FPD (2-0) at Aquinas (2-0)
          The teams played last year, for the first time since FPD’s 35-10 win in 2016. Aquinas has gone backwards a little bit in wins recently, from nine to eight to seven entering this season. FPD hasn’t been 3-0 since 2016. Griffin Green has 235 rushing yards and four TDs in two games, and the defense has been solid. But this will be the first real test for sophomore quarterback Jakhari Williams, who has completed 80.6 percent of his passes in two games.

Mary Persons (2-0) at Newnan (0-2)
          Sophomore Duke Watson is off to a good start, with 165 yards a game and seven touchdowns. The Cougars have to regroup after a tough 35-34 loss to Sandy Creek in a battle of head coach Chip Walker’s former and current team. Newnan had a 13-point lead with nine minutes left and lost.

McIntosh (2-1) at Upson-Lee (1-1)
          The Knights go for their second straight win over a Class 5A team, which happened in 2019, a 4-7 season.

Mount de Sales (2-0) at Brookstone (2-1)
          A’Khori Jones of Mount de Sales has 370 yards, No. 24 in the state, and Fernando Washington adds another 183. The Cavs are different than last year, and offer Brookstone a different look than FPD, which won 28-7 last week.

Pacelli (2-0) at Lamar County (3-0)
          Pacelli will have to deal with CJ Allen, 12th in the state with 417 rushing yards, and second with seven touchdowns, and Devin Bateman, one of the area’s top football athletes.

Savannah Christian (1-1) at John Milledge (2-0)
          The Trojans woke up some folks with last year’s crossover win over a ranked GHSA team. Last year, Savannah Christian beat GISA Valwood 54-14 and then lost 52-13 to JMA. Last week, Savannah Christian beat Valwood 47-7. Briggs Easy passed for more than 200 yards last week for JMA, a 41-6 winner over Pinewood Christian.

Schley County (2-0) at Taylor County (1-1, 0-1)
          The Vikings will have to deal with Zayden Walker, a freshman who has 255 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in two games. Malachi Banks adds 173 yards and two scores.
Social Circle (2-1) at Putnam County (2-0)
          Ze’marion Little is averaging 105.5 yards a game for Putnam County, which has yet to give up a point and is eyeing its third 3-0 start this century.

Swainsboro (2-1) at Washington County (0-0)
          The rested-more-than-they-want Golden Hawks will have to slow down Demello Jones, who has 203 yards and two touchdowns. Colton Smith is a tough two-way player for the Golden Hawks, whose offensive line is keyed by three-year starter Justin Brett. A 20-14 loss to Swainsboro opened Washington County’s 2020 season on Sept. 11.

The Games

ACE (0-1) at Pataula Charter (1-1)
Beach (0-0) at West Laurens (0-2), Saturday, 6 p.m.
Brentwood (1-1) at Edmund Burke (1-2)
Briarwood (2-1) at Trinity Christian (1-2)

Notre Dame (0-1) at Fullington (0-2)
GMC (2-0) at Riverside Military (1-0)
George Walton at Crawford County (0-2)
Greene County (1-1) at Hancock Central (0-0)
Irwin County (1-1) at Wilkinson County (1-1)
Oglethorpe County (0-1) at East Laurens (2-1)
Macon County (2-0) at Marion County (1-2, 1-0)
Memorial Day (0-1) at Piedmont (0-1)
Montgomery County (2-0) at Dooly County (1-1)
Morgan County (0-2) at Jasper County (0-2)
Rockdale County (0-2) at Westside (1-0), Ed DeFore
Rutland (0-2) at Worth County (1-2)
Houston County (1-2) at Statesboro (1-1), at Herb St. John, Perry
Tattnall (1-0) at Deerfield-Windsor (1-2)
Telfair County (0-1) at Hawkinsville (1-1)
Vidalia (0-1) at Bleckley County (3-0)