By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

            With the changes in regions and classifications, and the departure of schools from the GHSA to GIAA, it’s time for an update.
            The Central Georgia Sports Report poll will again feature two divisions, but Class AAA has moved up into Division I. That puts 13 teams in that division, and still nearly three dozen teams in Division II.
            Last year, only five Division I teams finished with a winning record, so the weekly polling was lacking something, including suspense. Two of the three AAA teams were over .500, so now there’ll be more competition in the division.
            There are still many more teams in Division II, and many more had a winning record, and the weekly rankings took a little more time because of the balance.

Division I
(Classes 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A)
1. Warner Robins
            Head coach Marquis Westbrook faces the most transition since he took over, having lost a chunk of the staff to Houston County, to go with the normal loss of quality seniors. It’s a different season, and this year, reaching the semifinals would be a solid accomplishment.
2. Jones County
            The romp scoreboard-wise by Buford is misleading. Replacing QB John Alan Richter won’t be as big a task as expected, with newcomer Judd Anderson. Don’t underestimate losing a PK like Evan West, either. The defense is solid, and the overall talent base is good and now older, so another normal year is coming in Gray.
3. Perry
            The name is the same, but the program sure is different than a half-decade ago. Perry is growing into a state-wide player, but isn’t quite there yet. Still, the Panthers are where they’ve never been: favored, with a target on their backs. The record won’t be as good, but the football should be.
4. Peach County
            The Trojans have some staff transition, but not enough to slow things down much. Expect them to be hungrier than usual, as they’re amid their longest unranked stretch in a couple decades.
5. Baldwin
            The Braves have a quality nucleus back on both sides, and most importantly, up front. And they’re a little hungry after a 6-4 season that ended without a region title and with a 19-0 loss in the first round of the playoffs.

Division II
(Class AA, A, and GIAA)
1. Northeast
            The clear favorite in 2-AA has some big holes to fill, and has to adjust to being the clear favorite with a target on its back. That’s something new for the Raiders, going for a third straight winning season which last happened in 2011-2013 and hoping for the first 10-win season in program history.
2. Macon County
            The Bulldogs are in pretty much in their normal mode, and are favored to make a state title run after going after a third straight region title.
3. Putnam County
            One Kilgore is gone, but another one –an SEC commit – is back, along with key returnees in all position units. The War Eagles were an 12-1 revelation last year, and are 21-3 the past two seasons. But there’s a lot of traffic in the new region.
4. Bleckley County
            The Royals dropped down into Class A after an 11-0 season ended with a disappointing 21-point home loss to Callaway in the second round of the playoffs. The region favorites look to get over that postseason hump.
5. Lamar County
            Dropping down from AA combined with having one of the state’s top players in do-it-all CJ Allen, the Trojans should make some noise statewide, after getting through a quality non-region schedule en route to a 4-A-I region title.
6. Washington County
            The Golden Hawks lost a few key players – led by Colton Smith – to transfers after head coach Joel Ingram was moved out, and Washington County is in real transition for the first time in more than two decades. The new region, though, is easier.
7. Dublin
            A smaller region doesn’t mean easier, and the Irish have some work to do by region play to get into normal Dublin mode. It’s a coachable group facing a good non-region schedule, and is in a region with rivals Bleckley County and East Laurens, dropping down from AA.
8. Dodge County
            The 7-3 regular season missed being perfect by only 28 points, and the Indians amazingly lost twice – once in the playoffs – to Fitzgerald by the same score. The first year of head coach Ray Hardin was a good building block.
9. FPD
            QB Jahkari Williams is one of the top players in the state, and there’s not much competition for him within the GIAA. The Vikings were a playoff team in the GHSA, and they’re a state title candidate in the GIAA.
10. John Milledge
            The Trojans will have their toughest road in years to win a region championship, but not a state championship, with the GIAA’s classification split for the postseason. And this is their toughest schedule in years, with the four Macon schools back on it. Friday nights should be much less boring.

State rankings
            Here are Central Georgia’s spots in the composite rankings compiled by the Georgia High School Football Daily. It combines polls from the AJC, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Score Atlanta, 680 The Fan, Maxwell, and MaxPreps. It lists the top 15 teams in points.
            Warner Robins is the lone top-5 team outside of the Class A split, the defending state champs at No. 1 in 5A, unanimously.
Class 6A
7. Northside
Class 5A
1. Warner Robins
7. Jones County
Class 4A
6. Perry
Class 3A
7. Peach County
12. Mary Persons
Class AA
9T. Putnam County
11. Dodge County
12T. Northeast, Washington County
Class A-I
7. Bleckley County
10. Lamar County
11T. Dublin
Class A-II
3. Macon County
11T. GMC Prep

Last year’s final rankings
            Where’d Central Georgia teams finish in the same composite rankings in 2021?
Class 6A
9. Northside
Class 5A
1. Warner Robins
11. Jones County
Class 4A
6. Perry
Class 3A
7. Peach County
Class AA
6. Bleckley County
7. Northeast
8. Putnam County
10T. Dodge County
12. Washington County
Class A Public
4. Macon County
Class A Private
7. FPD
11. Tattnall