Monday Morning QB: Rippin' Rush; Loughdmouthings-Warner Robins/Northside; stat leaders; Jones County/Veterans; CGA polls
God bless Ware County head coach Jason Strickland, among others.
He and others were floored that Rush Propst was given a platform to sell the Netflix show on the disgrace of 2020 at Valdosta with an interview televised by Peach Tree TV as part of the Corky Kell deal.
And the stunned replies just flowed.
A disgrace, but in a land where greed and self-promotion have become much more accepted and forgiven traits, not a surprise.
And for all the “great coach” talk, life is different when you play by the rules. A lot of coaches would be “great” if they jumped into the right jobs, found backers with no substance and who’s lives were based on on Friday nights (or Saturdays), and just did what they wanted.
Used to be such folks were not to be raved about.
Loughdmouthings
Warner Robins is 2-0, has scored 98 points and allowed 46.
Northside is 3-0 (two games and a forfeit), has scored 76 points and allowed 21.
The Demons have won by an average of 26 points, the Eagles by 27.5.
A year ago, it took Northside six games and a few minutes score 76 points.
And the Eagles have lost four straight in this series, by 47, 39, 5, and 11, a total of 102 points and average of 25.5 points. IN fact, Northside hasn’t scored against Warner Robins in 110 game minutes.
Let’s play the feud. …
Some begging for teams to post scores on MaxPreps in a timely manner and make sure the score is right. Firing information to centralgasports@gmail.com for by far the area’s most comprehensive game-night coverage would be glorious, too. …
After, well, an overall lean weak as far as highlightable games go, we have some dandy matchups in Central Georgia this week: Dougherty at Northeast, Fitzgerald at Dodge County, McIntosh at Upson-Lee, Pacelli at Lamar County, Savannah Christian at John Milledge, Veterans at Perry, and Warner Robins-Northside.
Ah, the Warner Robins side will finally be full, right? Right? …
This is why you see the begging here for accuracy from teams. According to MaxPReps – reminder that everything on MaxPreps is based on what’s typed in by teams – JA leads the state with 1002 points and eight sacks.
Otherwise, Mary Persons’ Duke Watson and Lamar County’s CJ Allen are among the state leaders with 48 points.
JA apparently plays for Jenkins, and is a 5-2 freshman.
And it’s hard to tell about records when scores aren’t reported, or reportedly accurately, or fixed when they’re wrong, all of which is a two-minute task for a stat person. …
No, nobody saw another Jones County upset in Gray coming.
Veterans has been riding a roller coaster since last September, and few thought the Warhawks would get so very hammered by Northside. But man, big props to head coach Milan Turner and all the Warhawks for turning in what’s a Game To Remember for gutting it out.
Jones County? Go on and scratch your head
The Greyhounds have lost some key players to injury early, and seem to be in search of who they are. There was grumbling after last year’s slow start, which was much more explainable than this one, in all phases.
They face this week a team they beat 62-22 last year, but one who beat Starr’s Mill – 9-2 last year – on the road. A burly game awaits. …
First to 1,ooo yards: Jones County’s John Alan Richter has passed for 905 yards.
The Central Georgia rushing race looks to be tight, with Allen (417), Bleckley County’s Jahvon Butler (380), Mount de Sales’ A’Khori Jones (370), Houston County’s Simeon Askew (345), Malcolm Brown of Warner Robins (340), and Watson (330), all in the top 18, based on teams reporting stats to MaxPreps, as of Sunday night. …
Of the 38 GHSA teams in The Sports Report’s coverage area- which doesn’t change week to week – there are less than a half-dozen teams we can really say we know something about. Have always said it takes about three games to start getting a clue, and we have one playoff-caliber team with no games played (Washington County) and another with only one (Dublin), and a whole bunch with only two games.
This week will tell us a fair amount about another dozen teams – like Northside, Northeast, Dublin, FPD, Jones County, and Veterans, plus most of the GISA faction that doesn’t reside in Milledgeville.
Polls
Reminder that we split up the polls into divisions, because, well, it makes sense. A so-so record by a bigger school against better competition likely means deserving a higher ranking in an overall poll than a smaller school with a good record.
One game is one game. Polls are big-picture items. Who would beat who right now? If they played 10 times, who’d win more? Tis mere reality.
This is more fair, allows for more teams to be ranked. And there are many more 3A, 2A, and A programs in Central Georgia than larger programs, so they deserve more rankings
Division I (6A, 5A, 4A)
1. Warner Robins
No doubt the Demons got itchy with a week off before playing Northside, not really a good thing for the Eagles.
2. Northside
Having the Howard game cancelled didn’t help the Eagles, who still need some Friday night reps in some areas, and could have used the chance to expand some depth, always good. Fine-tuning with Warner Robins on the horizon sure couldn’t hurt.
3. Perry
A shutout at a ranked 3A team in a late-schedule fill-in game is notable. The Panthers have pretty much become A Program now.
4. Veterans
The Warhawks slide in kind of by default, at 1-1 but after a superb win following a week off after a ruh-roh loss. Not that we know who the Warhawks are just yet.
5. Baldwin
Sure, the Braves got thumped at a highly-ranked 5A locale after a long ride, but they’ll get back on track this week in their home opener on some brand new turf.
Division II (3A, AA, A, GISA)
1. Macon County
Off last week, a region showdown with Marion County awaits.
2. Peach County
Playing Griffin would have given us a better idea of what the Trojans are, and maybe cleared up their quarterback battle a little. Peach County won that game 54-14 last year. Instead, they’re now –as of this minute - sitting until Sept. 17 against Mary Persons. So, we still don’t quite know.
3. Mary Persons
Off last week, the Bulldogs prepare to avenge a 44-7 loss a year ago to Newnan.
4. Northeast
Yes, Dougherty is another trap game this week, with an off week after routing Central. It’ll be a test for the Raiders.
5. Dodge County
The Indians play hard and play fast, and have a good test before the rugged region schedule starts.
6. John Milledge
The Trojans were supposed to be challenged a bit last week, and they were. For a couple minutes. Now, another chance to knock off a GHSA team (Dear J.T. , play more GHSA teams, and let leak who hangs up while laughing).
7. Bleckley County
Playing Vidalia is another good test with the region opener a week away. The Royals lost quality players, but have a little something going.
8. FPD
The Vikings were off, and now get Aquinas, which will either push them up a few spots or drop them out of the top 10.
9. Lamar County
The first two wins were fairly predictable, but pretty much being in control against 3A Jackson is a good sign for the Trojans.
10. Stratford
Granted, Westfield was down a head coach and offensive coordinator and a few players, but getting such control early shows the Eagles can take care of business.