Friday night's Central Georgia football scouting reports
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
The Games
Class 6A
Warner Robins (3-0) at Houston County (2-2)
The Bears are looking for consistency on offense, after scoring 13, 27, 10, and 24. Consistency other than Simeon Askew, who has 752 yards and five touchdowns on 111 carries. The Demons â who lead the series 16-6 and have won the last four by 34, 15, 28, and 17 â have consistency all over the place, and havenât lost to a county team since the top-ranked Bearsâ 63-28 win on Sept. 15, 2016.
Richmond Hill (0-2/6A) at Northside (3-1)
Northside is favored to go 4-1 â the Eagles got a forfeit from Howard, a game in which they would have been major favorites â for the first time since 2017, an 8-4 season.
Class 5A
Stockbridge (2-1/1-0) at Jones County (2-2/1-0)
Stockbridgeâs lone loss is 31-20 to 6A Douglas County, which went 7-4 on the field last year (3-8 in the record books after forfeits). The Tigers lead the series 5-2, and one loss was 34-6 last year when they were 1-2 and the Greyhounds were 1-3.
Class 4A
Teams: Please email game information â stats (offense and defense), names, big plays, etc. â to centralgasports@gmail.com by midnight Friday or by 10:30 a.m. Saturday for inclusion in Central Georgiaâs 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.
Veterans (1-2/5A) at West Laurens (1-2)
The Warhawks won 35-0 last year and lead the series 5-2. This game was postponed from a few weeks ago. West Laurens is closer to a full complement of its team than when the game was originally scheduled.
Effingham County (1-1/6A) at Howard (2-1), Ed DeFore
Former Buford head coach and Bleckley County assistant John Ford leads the Rebels, who were coached by ex-Washington County boss Rick Tomberlin from 2010-12. Theyâre off a 5-15 two-year run after going 7-5. Howard hasnât played since Aug. 27, having to forfeit the Sept. 3 game to Northside. The Huskies are looking for their third 3-1 start under Paul Carroll.
Class AAA
Peach County (0-2) at Mary Persons (2-1)
The visiting Trojans lead the series 10-7, thanks to winning nine of the last 10. Mary Persons won 35-21 in 2018 when the Bulldogs were ranked No. 4 and and the Trojans 2/3. The consensus âPeach County is Peach Countyâ may be true, but not playing for two weeks is likely to have some impact on even Peach County. Mary Persons is getting 278 yards a game rushing, led by Duke Watsonâs 590 yards, to go with 11 rushing touchdowns.
Pike County (0-2) at Upson-Lee (2-1)
The Knights have won four straight in the series, and have two straight shutouts (2020 and 2015). Upson-Lee has thrown all of 11 passes this year for 31 yards, and have seven ballcarriers with at least five carries averaging 5-plus yards a carry, Four of TJ Searcyâs 11 carries have gone for scores. Pike County has lost 28-7 to AA Lamar County and 49-28 to 4A Spalding.
Class AA
Evans (4-0/6A) at Washington County (1-0)
The Golden Hawks are 6-4 in their last 10 games against higher-classification teams, and have won five straight against those in 6A (all in the Augusta area). Evans is 4-0 for the first time since 2008, but all four wins have come against unranked 3A teams.
Greene County (2-1/A Public) at Jasper County (0-3)
The Hurricanes have just 13 points in two games, while Greene County has scored 79 in three games.
Northeast (2-1) at Monroe (2-2/4A)
The Raiders had the balloon bust a little bit with last weekâs 10-7 loss at home to Dougherty. Northeast broke a five-game losing streak in the series last year with a 14-12 win. Monroeâs losses are to 3A Appling County (42-6) and 2-A Public power Irwin County (52-26).
Putnam County (3-0) at Westside-Augusta (1-1)
Gerald Kilgore continues to grow as one of AAâs more well-rounded players, with 405 yards passing and five touchdowns with no interceptions, plus 173 rushing yards. The War Eagles get 8.4 yards a carry, topped by Zeâmaroin Littleâs 11.6 yards, putting him at 312 yards in three games. Putnam County is going after its second straight 4-0 start, which hasnât happened since 1972-73. The War Eagles won 37-14 last year.
Westside (1-1/4A) at Southwest (0-2), canceled
Class A Public
Hawkinsville (1-2/0-1) at Montgomery County (3-0/2-0)
Montgomery County is 3-0 for the second straight year, fairly rare, and broke a 12-game losing streak to Hawkinsvile with last yearâs 21-19 win.
Rutland (0-3/4A) at ACE (0-1)
The host Gryphons havenât played since Aug. 21, with their head coach being let go two days later. And they were without several players â mostly two-way â in this game because of a school field trip. Rutland won 50-21 last year.
Swainsboro (2-2/AA) at Dublin (1-1)
Swainsboro is 2-2, has scored 63, has given up 63. And the Tigers have lost four of the last five to Dublin. The Irish lead the series 44-24-2, and the teams have played every year since 2008. And itâs 7-6 Dublin in that span.
Wheeler County (2-1/0-1) at Dooly County (1-2/0-1)
The Bobcats lead the series 6-0, holding on 17-14 last year, when Wheeler County had to forfeit five on-field wins. The 2020 meeting came late in the year. The Bobcats have only 34 points in three games.
Taylor County (1-2/0-2) at Greenville (2-0)
The Vikings have to rebound from a surprising 55-0 spanking by Schley County last week and avoid falling into an 0-3 region hole. They beat Greenville 48-19 last year, their sixth straight win in the series (led 16-11 by Greenville)
Central Talbotton (0-3/0-1) at Macon County (3-0/1-0)
Former Central assistant Christopher Cowart is in charge at Central, 0-3 for the fifth time in the last six years. Macon County has won the last three 66-3, 59-6, and 62-0, coming after the lone loss in the seven-game series, 33-13 in 2011. Junior Marlon Mitchell has 310 yards on 42 carries for Macon County, while Landon Austin has four touchdowns on 23 carries.
Crawford County (0-3) at Terrell County (2-0)
Terrell County won the first meeting in the series, 41-0 last year.
Hancock Central (0-1) at GMC (3-0)
The Bulldogs will try to go 4-0 for the first time since 2001 (a 7-4 season), but faces the defending region champ. And Hancock Central has won â on the field, with the 38-3 win in 2019 being forfeited â four straight, by 29, 35, 33, and 45.
Twiggs County (0-3) at Glascock County (0-2)
Twiggs County won the lone meeting, 60-14 in 2014. Glascock County is again not playing a region schedule.
Class A Private
Calvary Day (4-0) at FPD (2-1)
FPD has a task to get the offense going after getting thumped 27-2 last week at Aquinas.
Stratford (2-0) at Mount Paran (2-1)
The Eagles had a week off while the Eagles lost 35-14 to Mount Vernon.
Tattnall (2-0) at Savannah Country Day (2-1)
Tattnall has a road trip after outscoring its first two opponents 70-7.
GISA
John Milledge (3-0) at Bulloch (0-3)
Bulloch gave JMA a game in 2019, losing 28-14 in Milledgeville. Two of the Gatorsâ three losses are to GHSA teams, Savannah Country Day and Calvary Day. JMA leads the series 4-0.
Piedmont (2-1) at Robert Toombs (0-3)
The Cougars have scored 92 points in the last two games after being shut out in the opener, and won 55-21 last year.
Thomas Jefferson (4-0) at Brentwood (2-1)
The Jaguars are 4-0 for the third straight year, but theyâve lost four straight to Brentwood, including 41-0 last year.
Westfield (1-1) at Southland (1-2)
Westfield is back intact staff-wise after missing head coach Rob Fitzpatrick and offensive coordinator Greg Robinson to COVID the week of the Stratford game. The Hornets were off last week. Westfield won 21-14 a year ago in its second game, which didnât happen until Oct. 2.
Wilkinson County (1-2/GHSA A Public) at Creekside Christian (0-3)
The Warriors were thumped 40-14 in last yearâs meeting, the Cougars going on to finish 6-4.