Quarterfinal showdowns await Central Georgia teams Washington County, Dublin, Wilkinson County, and FPD
Quarterfinal Pairings
Class AA
Butler (R4/2) at Washington County, R3/1, Wednesday,6 p.m.
Northeast, 67, Vidalia 53
Class A Public
Warren County, R7/1, at Dublin, R4/1, Wednesday, 6 p.m.
Wilkinson County, R7/3, at Drew Charter, R6/1, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Class A Private
St. Francis, R6/4, at FPD, R1/1, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
The four Central Georgia boys basketball teams playing Wednesday night in the GHSA quarterfinals, all have quite the task.
Three of the area teams are ranked in their respective classifications, and the one who’s not gets to face one of the top two teams in its group.
Another ranked area team facing an unranked team gets an opponent known for international players and trips to the Macon Coliseum most Marches.
Washington County, Dublin, and FPD are at home, while Wilkinson County visits Drew Charter.
The battle of the night goes to Butler’s trip to Sandersville with two teams whose season last year ended at this point.
Butler ran into Pace and lost 58-44 on the road, while the Golden Hawks were stunned at home 49-47 by Columbia, a third seed that went on to finish second.
Washington County is 23-4 and a consensus No. 7, and Butler is 20-6 and a consensus No. 3.
The Golden Hawks, in their third straight Elite Eight, beat the Bulldogs 53-48 on Dec. 21 in Sandersville. Butler is 8-3 on the road, including a huge 60-56 win at Pace on Friday.
Washington County’s trio of Javecckio Thomas, Willie Henderson, and Travonte Byrd team for 36.9 points a game, Henderson good for 8.3 rebounds and Caleb Moore for 4.6 assists.
Butler is similarly balanced.
No. 3 Dublin is among the hottest teams in the state, riding a 24-game winning streak under alum Ben Smith.
The Irish haven’t lost since Dec. 9, 42-31 to Nease, Fla. in a Florida tournament. The streak started with an overtime win against Impact Christian Academy of Florida.
Since then, only two Dublin wins have been by single digits. One was 64-61 over Dooly County in the region tournament. The two playoff wins have been by 19 and 29 points.
Warren County is on a 14-game winning streak, including a 79-52 thumping of Taylor County in the second round.
FPD welcomes St. Francis, located in Alpharetta.
The Knights are unranked and 19-9, finishing fourth in Region 6 with a 14-2 record. They’ve won their first two tournament games by five and three points, both on the road.
St. Francis has played teams from North Carolina and West Virginia. The latter state has a big connection with head coach Drew Catlett, whose father Gale was WVU’s longtime head men’s basketball coach.
Drew, who spent time on Georgia State’s staff, was an assistant at St. Francis for four years before taking over in 2014. The Knights won the Class A Private title in 2014, 2015, 2019, and 2020.
This is their first trip to Bibb County. St. Francis beat FPD 96-57 in the second round two years ago.
St. Francis reached the semis last year, knocking off rival Greenforest 65-63 in the quarters and then losing to Holy Innocents’ 59-46 in the semis.
FPD hosted Christian Heritage in last year’s quarters, and the Vikings’ hopes took a major hit when standout Jordan Jones – now getting regular minutes at Mercer as a walk-on – went down in the first half with a knee injury that ended his season.
The Vikings had ridden on Jones’ shoulders all year, and battled but couldn’t get over the hump, losing 59-54.
The Class AA semifinals are at Georgia College, with Class A Public at Valdosta State and A Private at Buford City Arena.
Last year’s still-alive team at this point: Veterans, Baldwin, Washington County, Dublin, Hancock Central, and FPD. Baldwin, Dublin, and Hancock Central won, with Baldwin takng the 4A title and Hancock Central losing in the A Public finale.