By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Games at 7:30 p.m. unless noted

          Rankings are compiled by the Georgia High School Football Daily and are composite rankings from from AJC, GPB, ScoreAtlanta, 680 The Fan, Maxwell, and MaxPreps. T designates tie at that ranking.

Thursday

Jenkins County 35, East Laurens 7

Stratford 42, Riverside Military 14

Friday

GHSA

Class 6A

No. 2/5A Warner Robins, 0-1, at No. 10T/6A Northside, 1-1
          The mental part of the game is Northside’s first opponent. The Eagles have lost the last three games 39-0, 47-0, and 49-7. In each of those losses, Northside came in off of wins, and was embarrassed, under two different head coaches. Conversely, Warner Robins has been on a historical run during this five-game winning streak. The loss to top-ranked Lee County doesn’t mean anything in the big picture, but following that with an off week could lead to a sluggish start for the Demons, something the Eagles desperately need for early momentum and confidence. Northside’s offense was much better and balance in the romp over Peach County, and can’t afford early mistakes.

Class 5A

Coverage
Georgia HS Football Daily visits with The Central Georgia Sports Report
This week’s Central Georgia predictions
Monday Morning Quarterback: Surprises, upsets, Loughdmouthings, polls
Last week’s roundup: Huge nights for Houston County, Northside, Putnam County, ACE, Bleckley County,Jasper County
Last week’s Central Georgia predictions

No. 9/4A Perry, 0-1, at No. 3/5A Jones County, 2-0
          Perry had that bad-karma 28-3 lead (think “Atlanta” and “Super Bowl”) and lost in the Gunslinger Bowl to Houston County 57-56. It was a punch to the face, the loss and how it happened. The Panthers have firepower with QB Armar Gordon Jr. (a dizzying 15 of 18 for 380 yards and 6 scores, no picks), WR Dakarai Anderson (7 catches, 193 yards, 3 TDs), plus RB Demetrious Carter (21-135 rushing). But the defense, led by Ahmad Lee and Jerrell Pinckey, will be very busy against an offense with perhaps even more weapons, plus two quality wins under its belt, and a major home-field advantage. Perry leads the series 12-6, but the teams haven’t played since 1993, and neither was anything then as they are now.

Class 4A

Houston County, 2-0, at West Laurens, 1-0
          It’s too early to determine if West Laurens has retained the stellar defensive standards of the past several years, with only a 14-12 win over Class AA Dodge County. The Raiders have been so-so on offense in that span, having cracked 30 points only 15 times in the past three season, 10 coming in 2019. The Bears have scored 98 points in two games, and will have to find a way to win a grinder of a game. West Laurens has split its last 10 games against higher-classification teams.

Morrow, 2-0, at Westside, 2-0
          The Class 6A Mustangs already have more wins than in each of the last two seasons, and have matched the 2020 scoring output at all of 60 points. Last year, they gave up 452 points and scored all of 110. Morrow is amped up, thanks to a batch of new facilities. Westside ventures outside of Bibb County competition, having beaten Southwest and Central 94-31. The teams last played in 2002-03, Westside winning 64-0 and 35-0, feats unlikely to be repeated against an improved Mustangs team.

No. 4/5A Ware County, 1-0, at Baldwin, 0-2
          The Braves are pretty much reeling with a poor mistake-prone start to what was a fairly promising season. First, a running-clock thumping by 3A Peach County and then a humbling at AA Putnam County, both full of errors and penalties. Now, one of 5A’s top programs of the past several years, the Gators play a pretty hefty non-region schedule each year to go with a respectable region, and they haven’t lost to an unranked team in any class since 31-7 to 6A Glynn Academy to open the 2017 season, and Glynn finished 9-4 and reached the semifinals. Baldwin was No. 9/4A and Ware No. 2 last year when the Gators won 41-20.

Class 3A

No. 11T/4A Trinity Christian, 0-2, at No. 11T/3A Mary Persons, 1-0
          The Lions from Sharpsburg are adjusting to the multiplier-forced move from GHSA Class A for the past four years after life in the GISA from 2011-2017. They haven’t stepped up the competition much in the GHSA, starting this season with a 26-3 record the last two years with a Class A Private runner-up finish (12-3) followed by a state title last year and 14-0 record, playing only four ranked Class A private teams and going 2-2 two years ago but going 7-0 last year. Trinity Christian has played only five higher-classification teams since 2018 entering this season, including two wins against Northeast. Mary Person’s Duke Watson will be a revelation for the visitors, coming off a school-record 290 yards rushing against Spalding, his 10th 100-yard game in his last 12 games, and fourth 200-yard game.

Upson-Lee, 0-2 at Worth County, 2-0
          The Knights are off to another frustrating start, with two losses to quality teams by 12 points. Life gets no easier against AA Worth County, which opened the season with a 22-6 win over Class A-II No. 4 Turner County on the road. Upson-Lee will need pretty much mistake-free football to avoid its first 0-3 start since 2010, when the Knights went 3-7.

Class AA

No. 1/AA Fitzgerald, 2-0 at No. 12/AA Northeast, 0-1 (Henderson)
          The Raiders had a week off to prepare for Fitzgerald’s Wing-T offense, one that’s a little more than the basic Wing-T, which earns more time and focus and stress on defenses anyway. Fitzgerald is 28-3 since the start of the 2020 season, with a state title and runner-up finish in that span. One loss was to No. 3/3A Pierce County, and another was in region to No. 3 Thomasville. The Purple Hurricane have knocked off 4A Cairo twice and 3A/No. 6 Pierce in that stretch. Northeast has yet to beat a team ranked No. 1 in any of the prime state polls over the years, overall going 0-8, including 35-18 to Fitzgerald in 2020.

No. 6/AAA Oconee County, 1-1, at No. 7/AA Putnam County, 1-0
          Freshman quarterback Branan Griffin had a burly debut, against 4A Baldwin, completing 14 of 20 for 1167 yards and a TD with an interception, taking over for do-it-all Gerald Kilgore (now at Tennessee Tech). Tamarion Peters went for 113 yards on 19 carries, and the War Eagles held Baldwin to one offensive score, giving up a TD on a scoop-and-score. They also turned a field-goal attempt into a fake and a touchdown for a 16-7 halftime lead en route to a quality defense-oriented win. But Oconee County is on a run of three 10-win seasons and two trips to the AAA finals.

Pataula Charter, 2-0, at ACE Charter, 2-0

          They’re two young programs, Pataula Charter starting its seventh full year and ACE its fifth. Both are 2-0 for the first time in their short histories. PC is on its sixth head coach, and is still stung from the loss of head coach Todd West last October in a car accident. Aaron Davis has been explosive for the Gryphons, with 208 rushing yards against GMC.

Southwest, 0-2, at Pike County, 0-2
          The AA Patriots are looking for their first win over a higher-classification school since beating Central 34-33 in 2019, and first over a non-Bibb County team since 15-14 over Class AAA Ola in 2007. Pike County – trying to rebound from being Jasper County’s first victim in 16 games - leads the series 3-1, winning 48-0 in the last meeting in 2013.

Washington County, 0-1, at Dodge County, 0-2
          Both teams need a win, but Washington County at least needs a good performance to eliminate some of the nasty taste from last week’s 42-0 embarrassment at home to Class A Swainsboro. The Indians bounced back from a thumping by Bleckley County to lose by only two to 4A West Laurens. Dodge County led 6-0 after on a Duke Johnson TD pass, but the Raiders scored twice in the second quarter, and made both PATs. Dodge County got within two, and the teams struggled through the fourth quarter.

Class A

Dublin, 1-0, at No. 8/A-I Lamar County, 2-0
          The Irish aren’t ranked, but that doesn’t detract from this being a big game. Dublin is still Dublin, and a win by Lamar County over a program like that – one that stood on the state championship podium just a few years ago, in 2019 - would be another confidence boost amid a decent, and long, non-region schedule. CJ Allen will be the best player on the field again, but the Trojans have other weapons. Dublin is 8-2 in its last 10 games against a ranked team, and the Irish have gone nearly 10 regular-season weeks without a ranking, their longest stretch since 2017.

GSIC, 0-2, at Twiggs County, 0-1
          Twiggs County continued a frustrating trend with its opener, a 47-0 loss to Portal. The Trojans have been shut out 20 times since the start of the 2017 season, with the 2019 season canceled because of COVID-19. The Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics is again playing a non-region schedule.  

Hancock Central, 1-1, at Greene County, 1-1
          Greene County leads the series 39-6, Hancock Central winning 42-3 in 2020, though, before losing 16-14 last year.

Hawkinsville, 0-2, at Claxton, 1-1
          Maybe a road trip is what Hawkinsville needs, after losing two heartbreakers at home, by one to Portal and six to Rutland. Claxton has gone 2-8 and 3-6 the past two seasons. The teams have played only three times, Hawkinsville winning 25-7 in the last meeting in 2009.

Jasper County, 1-1, at Morgan County, 2-0
          Can Jasper County start its first winning streak since 2020 (vs. Greene County and Southwest)? And do so against neighboring rival Morgan County? It’ll take quite a performance, the Hurricanes holding a 4-30-1 mark against Morgan County. The last win came not terribly long ago, 28-21 in 2014. The Bulldogs’ two wins are over teams that went 10-11 last year, when they went 4-7. Cedrion Stone has 18 tackles, five for loss, for Jasper County, which has only 49 passing yards so far.

No. 6/A-II Macon County, 0-2, at Dooly County, 0-2
          Here is proof that not all 0-2 records are the same. Macon County has lost to No. 8 and No. 6 by nine points, and Dooly County has lost to No. 2 and No. 5 by 11 and 42. The Bobcats took a step back after losing to Crisp County by getting smoked by Irwin County.

Montgomery County, 1-0, at Taylor County, 1-1
          The Vikings bounced back nicely from a surprising home loss to GIAA Southland with a road win against Crawford County. Montgomery County handled a respectable Warren County team 33-8, and is off an 8-3 season.

Wilkinson County, 0-1, at Crawford County, 0-2
          Crawford County stumbled more than expected against Taylor County after opening with a 70-53 loss to ACE. The Eagles topped the Warriors 42-8 last year, to break a three-game losing streak against them, dating back to 2000-01. Crawford County’s Terrel Ashley is averaging 119 yards a game rushing, and QB Judd Puckett looks to rebound after a 6-for-11 night passing with 62 yards.

GIAA

Class AAA

Brookstone, 1-0, at FPD, 1-0
          FPD leads the series 4-3, and has won the last two by 28-7 and 22-7. This is the sixth straight year the teams have played, being GHSA region rivals. It’s the final year for Greg Moore as FPD’s head coach, and first year for Rance Gillespie, who has been at Peach County, Valdosta, Hart County, and Georgia Southern to bring a huge resume to the GIAA. FPD QB Jakhari Williams brings a huge game to the GIAA, too.

Tattnall, 1-1, at Athens Christian, 1-0
          The Trojans gutted out a home win last week over Pacelli, scoring in the final minute, after losing a heartbreaker to Schley County. Tattnall takes some momentum on the road for another visit back to the GHSA against the Eagles, who dipped into the GIAA last week for a  42-8 win over Lakeview Academy. The Eagles went 7-5 last year in GHSA Class A Private, losing in the second round to state champ Trinity Christian 48-14. The teams haven’t played since Tattnall’s 42-21 win in 1999, and the Trojans are up 6-0 in the series, none of them close.

Westfield, 0-2, at Southland, 2-0
          The Hornets are finding some rebuilding to be tough early on, losing by 17 to Deerfield-Windsor and 22 to Stratford for the first 0-2 start since 2019. Southland upended Taylor County and Marion County for some nice GHSA Class A-II wins.

Class AA/A

Brentwood, 0-2, at GMC Prep, 0-2
          Here are two teams who didn’t expect to be 0-2 at this point, 1-1 at worst, and in need of at least a more complete Friday night, if not a win. The GIAA/GHSA neighbors haven’t played since 1987, a 10-7 Brentwood win. Brentwood has six turnovers in two games, albeit against John Milledge and Mount de Sales, Class AAA teams. GMC is giving up 35.5 points a game after two, and it took seven-plus weeks last year just to match that as a total.

Edmund Burke, 1-0, at Trinity Christian, 1-1
          Edmund Burke opened with a 34-14 win over GHSA Glascock County, while TCS has shown some offense in splitting with Piedmont and Gatewood, scoring 70 points in two games.

Fullington, 1-1, at Georgia Christian, 1-0-1
          Yes, Georgia Christian has a tie, with Riverside from Florida last week, 12-12. The Trojans are averaging 38 points a game, still stinging a little from the 36-35 opening loss to Aucilla, Florida.

Gatewood, 1-0, at Augusta Prep, 0-1
          Gatewood took care of business in its 50-29 win over Trinity Christian to start getting past last year’s 5-7 mark, but the Gators started out 2-0 then. Gatewood leads the series 3-1, winning 34-8 in the last meeting, in 2017.

Tiftarea, 0-2, at Central Fellowship, 2-0
          The Lancers have outscored two opponents 75-6. The Panthers of veteran head coach Erik Soliday have been outscored 76-47, against two 3A opponents. CFCA won the last meeting, 29-14 a year ago, but is 2-5 against Tiftarea.