Scouting Reports: A look at this weekend’s Central Georgia playoff games
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Games at 7:30 p.m. unless noted
Composite rankings are compiled by the Georgia High School Football Daily, from the AJC, GPB, ScoreAtlanta, 680 The Fan, Maxwell, and MaxPreps.
Stats: MaxPreps stats are based only on what is reported and posted by teams. If teams don’t put the information in or update in a timely manner, it makes for an incomplete and misleading list. Stats are used in coverage as often as possible, but only if updated. Incomplete stats used will be noted as not completely updated.
Coaches/teams: please send game information/stats to centralgasports@gmail.com by 2 a.m., or by 10:30 a.m. Saturday to be included in Central Georgia’s only complete roundup.
GHSA
🏈🏈🏈 Second round 🏈🏈🏈
Class 6A
No. 8 Houston County, R1/4, 9-2, at North Atlanta, R4/3, 8-3
North Atlanta is in its third postseason since starting in 1991, while Houston County is in its 15th postseason since starting in 1991. The Bears have won an impressive 10 first-round games in that stretch, adding last week’s 29-28 OT thriller over unbeaten Brunswick on the road. The Warriors have played only four ranked teams since the start of 2020, and lost 56-18, 65-18, 68-7, and 42-14. And they face a team with weapons galore on offense – QB Antwann Hill Jr. has 3,173 passing yards on 71.7 completions and just 2 INTs, RB Ryan Taleb has 1,312 rushing yards, and 10 Bears have caught a TD pass - getting 469.4 yard a game and a improving defense. The Bears are also rolling in having won the final two regular-season games by 136-28.
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Come back to The Sports Report after kickoff for Central Georgia's only live scoreboard 〰️
No. 11 Northside, R1/2, 7-4, at No. 8 Marist, R4/1, 9-2
The teams have played once, in the 2006 Class 4A championship. And yes, there is a connection: Marist head coach Alan Chadwick was in charge that year for the 30-6 loss. The multi-hall hall of famer led the War Eagles to finals in 2008, 2017 and 2020, Marist winning it in 2020 in 4A. Before that, Maris won titles in 2003 and 1989, the latter in Chadwick’s fifth season. In all that time, the most losses Chadwick has suffered in a season is four. Twice. Marist has two undefeated seasons and nine one-loss seasons. In all that time, Chadwick is 3-3 against Central Georgia teams. He’ll face a solid defense that’s giving up 14.8 points and only 93.6 rushing yards a game and has 13 interceptions. The Eagles have 20 more penalties than opponents, and are minus-5 in turnovers.
CENTRAL GEORGIA’S BEST COVERAGE
This week
* Maxwell Ratings picks, Central Georgia state rankings
* Who’s going to win this week’s Central Georgia football games?
* Monday Morning Quarterback: Northeast’s Woodford is No. 1 in the state, and legit (with video); surprises/upsets, Loughdmouthings (brackets, John Milledge, state QBs, Falcons, more)
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week: Northeast duo
Last week
* Scouting Reports: Saturday’s GHSA games
* Roundup: Bleckley County with big road win, Woodford leads Northeast, Houston County wins OT thriller, Wilkinson County tops Macon County, and more
* Scouting Reports: Friday’s GHSA and GIAA games
* Maxwell Ratings picks, Central Georgia state rankings
* Who’s going to win this week’s Central Georgia football games?
* Monday Morning Quarterback: Only one lock in the College Football Playoff; upsets, surprises, Loughdmouthings (Central Georgia GHSA bracket watching, Falcons, more), Central Georgia polls
* GIAA playoffs
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week
*Central Georgia’s GHSA first-round playoff pairings
Two weeks ago
* Roundup: Coverage of John Milledge-Tattnall, FPD-Stratford, Jones County, Northside, Dublin, Baldwin, Westfield, and Brentwood, with plenty more
* The latest GHSA playoff scenarios for Central Georgia
* Notebook: John Milledge ignores streak; Hardy finally has a team; Greg Moore celebration; playoff picture update
* Scouting Reports: all GHSA and GIAA games
* Maxwell Ratings picks, Central Georgia state rankings
* Who’s going to win this week’s Central Georgia high school football games
* Monday Morning Quarterback: Harsin’s costume should have had a big smile; Loughdmouthings (Falcons, high schools, Deion Sanders, Northside, Dublin, Warner Robins, Bo Nix, CFP rankings), CGA polls”
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week: Howard, ACE, Northeast
Class 5A
No. 8T Warner Robins, R1/2, 7-4, at Northside-Columbus, R3/1, 10-1
The Demons have won 11 straight playoff games, only two decided by single digits and four by 30 or more. Northside is the opposite, last week breaking a playoff losing streak of five, but covering since 2006. Former Jones County head coach Dwight Jones was the Patriots’ first coach, in 2004-05. Two years after that 9-3 season in 2005 – including a playoff win over Monroe and season-ending loss to Peach County – came an 0-10 season under Nathan Laney. Northside is on its sixth head coach since that debut in 2004.
Class 4A
No. 8T Wayne County, R3/2, 9-2, at No. 3 Perry, R2/1, 10-1
Former Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern quarterback and son of a coach who went 175-111 Jaybo Shaw has stopped some bleeding at Wayne County, which went 0-9 in 2021 after a nice run from 2017-19 that included first-round wins each year. The Yellow Jackets reached the semifinals in 2013, part of a stretch of nine straight playoff trips. The Yellow Jackets are 3-2 on the road and 2-2 against ranked teams. Perry has the rare 1,000-yard trifecta: QB Armar Gordon Jr. with 2,055 passing yards, Demetrious Carter with 1,003 rushing yards, and Dakarai Anderson with 1,028 yards receiving.
Class 3A
Savannah Christian, R3/2, 9-2, at No. 7 Peach County, R2/1, 8-3, 8 p.m.
The Raiders have made a huge step up in a year, going from Class A Private and a 5-6 record to the second round in AAA, nine points from 500 for the year. They had been in Class A since 2008, with a 2011 championship, having moved from the GISA after winning that group’s AAA title in 1982, going 13-0 and including wins over Windsor, Stratford, FPD, Mount de Sales, and Stratford again. Their lone loss is to then-No. 3 Calvary Day 34-28 in late September. They had a stretch of giving up 27 points in a four-game run, after opening the season allowing 25 in their first four games.
Class AA
Northeast, R2/2, 8-3, at No. 2 Appling County, R3/1, 9-1
Appling County has had a run of top-notch coaches – Steve Pennington, Bob Griffith, J.T. Pollock, and Rick Tomberlin, among them – and now is led by Jordan Mullis, 21-3 in his second season. The Pirates have won at least one playoff game in eight of their last 13 trips, including to the semifinals last year in AAA. The lone loss is to 4A Wayne County – who’s at Perry – 7-0 in early September. Every win since then has been by at least 11 points, with four by 20 or more, including last week’s 65-14 smacking of Washington County, the biggest margin of victory since 61-7 over Upson-Lee in the 2020 AA playoffs. Northeast’s Nick Woodford is off a 335-yard rushing game. Appling County gave up 185 rushing yards on 20 carries last week to Washington County.
Come back in the morning for Central Georgia's most complete game coverage 🏈
Come back in the morning for Central Georgia's most complete game coverage 🏈
No. 13 Putnam County, R4/2, 9-2, at No. 1 Fitzgerald, R1/1, 9-1
The Purple Hurricane went from mediocre for the second half of the last century to one of the state’s top programs this century, with 18 seasons of double-digit wins since 2000. Head coach Tucker Pruitt had four of those in his six years, following former Lamar County head coach Jason Strickland, who followed Pruitt’s dad Robby, who got Fitzgerald rolling. Fitzgerald has some big wins, hitting a 90-0 two-game run in the middle of the season after two straight 20-12 wins, one over Dodge County, that followed a 28-27 survival in Macon against Northeast. Putnam County’s lone win over a No. 1 came in 1966 against Lincolnton. The War Eagles’ last attempt was in 2013, a 55-13 loss to Lamar County.
Class A/Division I
No. 9T Bleckley County, R2/3, 9-2, at No. 11 Lamar County, R4/1, 10-1
Two teams looking for that breakthough win to set up a run to at least a semifinal battle. The Royals . The Trojans followed an eight-year playoff run – including the finals in 2013 – with a five-year drought. Lamar County leads the series 11-6, but Bleckley County won in 2020-21 by 30-0 and 31-12, the first games since 2015. Jahvon Butler has rolled to 1,318 yards and 18 TDs this season, but had only 10 carries in the win over Brooks County.
Dublin, R2/2, 7-3, at No. 8 Metter, R3/1, 8-3
One of the better matchups on a day of good ones comes in a Battle of I-16, Metter just 55 miles down the road. The Tigers are suddenly a player the last four years, reaching the quarters and two straight semis before this year’s run, which included a 12-0 win over Dublin on Sept. 16. They’ve played 13 times, Dublin’s 63-6 win in 2004 the first meeting since 1953. Metter held 1,000-yard rusher Demari Foster and the Irish to 124 yards on the ground in September.
Class A/Division II
Wilkinson County, R5/2, 7-4, at No. 8 Lincoln County, R8/1, 8-2 (bye)
The Warriors have broken a postseason drought, reaching the second round for the first time since 2012. They’ve only played an extra game twice in that span before last week. Wilkinson County had a run eight straight trips – and four first-round wins - that ended nine years ago. Lincoln County went from perennial state title contender to basically another team since then, although the Red Devils are getting back to their normal level, with four straight first-round wins, and consecutive quarterfinal trips in 2019-20. Head coach Lee Chomskis has Central Georgia ties, at least, as a nephew of Mary Persons legend Dan Pitts and as a former Bulldog assistant.
Dooly County, R4/3, 6-5, at No. 3 Charlton County, R2/1, 8-2
The Bobcats return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018, and won, which they did in 2017-18. They’re on their sixth head coach – sixth – in that span, including interim head coach Quinnen Peavy in 2019. Charlton County missed the playoffs in three of seven years recently, a downright drought for a program with three straight state titles from 2004-06. But the Indians haven’t cracked 10 wins since 2014. Charlton County won the lone meeting, 33-7 in 2000. The hosts’ losses are to University Christian, Fla., and then No. 2/AA Pierce County, in consecutive mid-September games.
GIAA
Postseason seedings listed
The GIAA has split the Class AAA regular-season teams into two division for the playoffs
Class AAAA
No. 7 George Walton at No. 2 Stratford, 7-3
Both teams are GISA/GIAA returnees, the Bulldogs losing five straight after an opening win, and then winning the next five. Stratford leads the series 11-5, winning 47-7 last year. George Walton won 21-7 in 2020, but forfeited. The Eagles aren’t far from being undefeated, losing at Tattnall in the final seconds and driving to tie John Milledge only to turn it over for a scoop-and-score in the final minutes. They’ve scored 90 points in their last two games, while the Bulldogs are averaging 44.6 points in their winning streak.
No. 6 Westfield, 5-5, at No. 3 Tattnall, 6-4
The up-and-down Hornets are currently down, on a two-game losing streak in which they’ve been outscored 77-24, after outscoring opponents 77-21 in their previous two games. The Trojans will focus on QB Hunter Kirkley, who has passed for 1,580 yards (57.4 percent 11-7 TD-INT) and rushed for 1,377 and a whopping 27 touchdowns, accounting for 81.2 percent of the Hornets’ yards and throwing for or running in 90.4 percent of their touchdowns. Tattnall has a balanced attack with threats Antone Johnson, Demario Wilmore, Cam Person, and Brayden Smith, among others. Tattnall leads the series 29-17-4, including a 21-0 win in 2013, the last meeting. In the eight postseason meetings, the Trojans have won all.
No. 5 FPD, 2-8, at No. 4 Brookstone, 7-3
The Vikings have been outscored by only 51 points, one of the five single-digit losses coming to Brookstone on Sept. 2, 34-28, the first of two losses by that score, a point off a 35-28 loss to Mount Pisgah. QB Jakhari Williams has carried an inordinate load most of the season, thanks to injuries. He is 42 yards from 1,000 on the ground, and is fourth in the GIAA with 2,155 yards, owning a 20-9 TD-INT ratio. Carter Hays is among the state – all groups – with 1,303 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. Brookstone’s Walter Blanchard isn’t far behind with 980 and nine. The Cougars have scored 48, 38-, and 38 in their last three games. A loss ends the football head coaching career of FPD’s Greg Moore, who is 163-109.
Class AAA
No. 8 Heritage, 8-3, at No. 1 John Milledge, 10-0
Heritage has its hands overflowingly full, with the GIAA’s No. 12 passer by yards (1,251) - who has passed for 12 touchdowns with but one pick - and No. 7 rusher (1,102), with 14 touchdowns. But stopping Briggs Eady rarely means much, thanks to Javian Butts (849 yards, 12 TDs), Carsyn Baker (528 and 8), Bo Zielinski (270 and 6) and Jalan Butts (126 and 6), plus a slew of defensive playmakers. A win is John Milledge’s 48th in a row, which will be the longest in Georgia history, of either the GHSA or GISA/GIAA.
Class AA
No. 8 Piedmont, 4-7, at No. 1 Central Fellowship, 10-0
It’s a tough task for Piedmont, battling all-around threat Jaylun Goodrum (1,003 receving yards, 27 total touchdowns, more than 11 tackles a game), Jeb Walls (2,396 yards and 30 touchdowns passing), and Knox Walls (727 receiving yards and 11 TDs) and Jamal Lawrence (589 and 8). And the Lancers have won 16 straight, the streak starting in GAPPS.
No. 7 Edmund Burke, 5-6, at No. 2 Brentwood, 7-3
The Spartans boast the GIAA’s No. 8 rusher in Wells Muller (1,095, 12 TDs) and No. 24 in Harlan Scott (795 and 6). Brentwood is hot, winner of six straight, with 21 points the smallest margin. The War Eagles won the first meeting, 31-8 on Oct. 7. Edmund Burke broke a five-game losing streak – started against Brentwood – with a play-in win last week. The War Eagles lead the series 25-10-2, winners of nine of the last 10 meetings, dating back to 2013.
No. 5 Gatewood, 4-6, at No. 4 Augusta Prep, 5-5
The Gators, who have a win by forfeit, are on a two-game skid, by 84-49, while the Cavaliers have won two straight, by 83-20. Gatewood won 33-26 on Sept. 2 before starting a four-game losing streak.
Class A
No. 3 Fullington, 8-3, at No. 2 Robert Toombs, 6-4
The Crusaders have won three straight, including 35-34 over Thomas Jefferson. Fullington and Central Georgia veteran head coach Stacy Harden are on a five-game winning streak heading into this semifinal, with two shutouts.