By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Everybody had played at least five games, so we’re at or just past the halfway point of the season. A long season.

No better time than to figure out who will play into the postseason. There aren’t many locks. There are many scenarios of the last few weeks being a version of a play-in tournament.

Yes, there is nothing of the head-scratching and 🤦‍♂️ picture for GIAA, where – deeeeep breath – pretty much everybody is in (Participation Trophy anybody?). Gotta keep those adversity-blocking parents happy.

*Sigh, mumble*

Who’s in the GHSA postseason?

Class 6A: Northside and Houston County. Where the Eagles and Bears fit in is anybody’s guess, though odds are they’ll take up the No. 3 and 4 slots. And we’ll get an idea – don’t write it in ink – after Thursday night when they meet at Freedom Field.

Class 5A: Jones County can win the region title, or maybe drop down to fourth place. The Greyhounds are a little unsettled right now, between assorted injuries and inconsistency on offense.

Class 4A: Perry will win the Region 2 title by a game or two. There’s no lock as to who finishes second, but Baldwin may have found itself last week against Howard, and the Braves went into the season seemingly a lock.

Class 3A: Region 2 isn’t very strong these days, but it’s still Peach County’s. Mary Persons is next, most likely in second.

Class AA: There’s no suspense for Northeast and ACE, who will finish 1-2 in Region 2. There’s no suspense for Putnam County, inevitable Region 4 champ.

Class A, Division I: There’s no suspense for Bleckley County, which will finish first or second, Swainsboro the other one. The Royals have Dublin this week, and an Irish win doesn’t lock them in as outright champ. But the Irish are in, as a No. 3 at a minimum.

Lamar County plays on as the Region 4 champ. Alas, it’s one of the absurd – it’s not heavy lifting to not make participation an automatic 11th game - four-team regions, so Crawford County is playing for seeding, odds being a No. 3. Jasper County is doing the same in Region 5, where it’ll be fourth.

Class A, Division II: It’s thiiiiis close to saying there are no locks, but let’s go ahead and write in Dooly County. Where the Bobcats finish is the guess, first through third.

On the bubble?

Class 5A: “Don’t be surprised, though, if the Demons’ run of five straight state championship games is stopped.” Written right here back on Aug. 19, with another observation a day earlier: “reaching the semifinals would be a solid accomplishment.” Now, it’s not even automatic. The Demons can’t slip up against anybody other than Dutchtown and Jones County.

Class 4A: Make room for Baldwin, Spalding, Westside, and Griffin, pretty much in that order. Probably.

Class 3A: Upson-Lee has to beat Pike County this week to stay alive for the fourth spot, and a mild upset over Jackson would lock it in.

Class AA: Spencer, out of Columbus, is in as probably third place, though Game 10 against ACE is likely to be for second place. That leaves one spot – after Northeast, ACE, and Spencer – for Southwest, Rutland, and Central. And none, none, can afford an embarrassing – embaaaarrassing – loss to Jordan or Kendrick.

Washington County has already lost to two of the Region 4 locks, Laney and Thomson. A loss to Westside-Augusta this week would make it hard. A win keeps a shot a fourth alive and perhaps likely.

Class A, Division II: After Johnson County cruises away from the Region 5 field, who knows? Five teams are on the bubble. Under no circumstances wager on any game not involving Johnson County to win. This field won’t be settled, after No. 1, until the end.

Hawkinsville continues to seem to be on the verge. Some Maxwell Ratings are beyond deciphering – Dooly County is 35 points better than Hawkinsville? – and make the region seem top-heavy. It’s not. The Red Devils need to win at least two region games before the finale against Dooly County.

Who knows what Macon County and Taylor County have? On any given game night? Especially Macon County. Whatever’s going on in Montezuma, it’s hard to write them off completely just yet.

Thoughts and prayers?

Class 5A: Veterans has one contender out of the way, and faces another one this week. But it closes with Northside and Houston County, and will be serious underdogs in both. The Warhawks need help and at least one major upset.

Class 4A: Howard has reeling after a pair of convincing shutouts, by a 94-0 margin to Perry and Baldwin. One of those is a major surprise, and against a team in that hunt. Unless the Huskies turn it around and can at least be competitive with Spalding – and thus get some momentum for the stretch – odds aren’t good.

Class AA: Dodge County is in a hole at 0-2 in Region 1, with two ranked teams in the region, two undefeateds (overall), and four teams at 4-2 or better. The Indians are capable, though, of a surprise, and they’ll need two – and help - to make Game 11.

Class A, Division I: Region 2 has five teams, so East Laurens has to upset – yes, upset, another one-win team - Jefferson County for fourth.

Class A, Division II: After Johnson County cruises away from the Region 5 field, who knows? Five teams need thoughts and prayers. Under no circumstances wager on any game not involving Johnson County to win.

In Region 6, Taylor County is in this group because it still has to play the top two teams, and Macon County. The Vikings needs breaks and upsets.

About 68 percent of this can be 50 percent different in two weeks. Can’t trust most of these young ‘ns for anything in the fall of 2022.

Last week’s upsets

See Baldwin-Howard below, an upset only in the difference in pick and spread.

East Laurens was a 22-point underdog and nipped Bacon County by one. Rutland was favored by 10 and lost by 19. Six-point favorite Taylor County lost by 19 to Greenville.

Otherwise, favorites pretty much took care of business.

Last week’s surprises

I stopped by Thompson Stadium on Thursday – um, time to reschedule when the lights go on, folks, especially on Thursdays, always a 7 p.m. kickoff – to holler at Howard’s Paul Carroll and Baldwin’s Jesse Hicks.

Left with Baldwin up 14-0. Never woulda thought that game had 45-0 written all over it. Hicks couldn’t figure out why his team was playing the way it was all season, and then that happened.

Southwest beating Rutland wasn’t so much a surprise, but a 19-point spread sure was.

And Macon County getting obliterated 53-0? By a Class A Division II team? That’s not No. 1 or 2? Holy cow.

Maxwell Ratings had Lee County-Houston County waaaay too close, so technically, in those picks, the 29-point win was a surprise. Somebody else picked the Trojans by only four. Both were too nice just yet to Houston County.

Peach County and Carver teaming for all of 14 points was a surprise, Carver winning wasn’t, even if one of us was fairly off, picking the Trojans by 12.

Loughdmouthings

The Sagarin Ratings give a decent look where every college program ranks, in I-A and I-AA.

As of Wednesday at 11 a.m.:

1. Alabama, 99.18
2. Ohio State, 96.49
3. Georgia, 91.49
6. Clemson, 86.52
14. Tennessee, 83.76
23. Kentucky, 81.50
40. Florida State, 76.45
41. Auburn, 75.76
43. App State, 75.46
62. Duke, 71.51
78. Coastal Carolina, 68.74
87. Virginia, 66.49
89. Georgia Tech, 65.41
90. Georgia Southern, 65.29
108. Virginia Tech, 63.11
113. Georgia State, 61.24
121. Mercer, 58.89
127. Chattanooga, 57.21
149. Furman, 52.58
167. Kennesaw state, 49.08
168. ETSU 48.01
170. Western Carolina, 48.67

Brent Key appears to be so not Geoff Collins that it’s safe to start pondering the possibility of a bowl for Georgia Tech.

They’re 1-0 as underdogs under Key, knocking off an alleged top-25 team on the road.

Yeah, Tech can win four games and go 6-6. I don’t want to say easily, but almost. Georgia is the only team left they can’t beat. On the road at Florida still will be very tough, but at Virginia Tech won’t be as tough as usual. At this point, the Jackets are a favorite against the Hokies.

It could very easily start this week against Duke. …

Always remember that stat references – here and elsewhere – are mostly based on MaxPreps information. And teams – teams and coaches – are responsible for what’s on MaxPreps, not MaxPreps. Plus, not all stat people know the stat rules.

If teams don’t put the information in or update in a timely manner, it makes for an incomplete and misleading list (so if you want to ask your coaches why they’re not promoting kids – on offense, defense, and special teams …).

That said, Central Georgia’s unofficial leaders:

Rushing - 1. Nick Woodford, Northeast, 142-1,317; 2. CJ Allen, Lamar County, 97-898; 3. Hunter Kirkley, Westfield, 104-897; 4. Duke Watson, Mary Persons, 88-865; 5. Aaron Davis, ACE, 74-836

Passing yards (with completion pct.) – 1. Antwann Hill Jr., Houston County, 1,767/74.1; 2. Jeb Walls, Central Fellowship, 1,450/72.0; 3. Jake Maxwell, Veterans, 1,390/64.6; 4. Armar Gordon Jr., Pery, 1,343/61.2; 5.Jakhari Williams, FPD, 1,239/62.8

Receiving – 1. Carter Hays, FPD, 33-730; 2. Damare Franklin, Veterans, 55-688; 3. Carmelo Mays, Southwet, 27-642; 4. Ricky Johnson, Houston County, 35-600; 5. Dakarai Anderson, Perry, 30-585.

Auburn so shafted Bryan Harsin, that anybody who grumbles about the Tigers woes is a farce. What did you expect? Public sabotage doesn’t really set a table for success.

Makes you want Auburn to win just to aggravate the bejeebers out of the idiots-with-power who started all this because he wasn’t an ass-kisser from down the road.

This story is very interesting – nice to see a coach with an open mind try some different things – and makes you pull for Harsin.

Maybe he can pull off a 7-5 regular season, and then resign about 10 days before the early signing day and give them what they deserve.

Polls

Division 1 (6A-5A-4A-3A)

1. Perry

The Panthers didn’t really click as much as normal, and still handled Westside by 32. A Saturday game at Griffin is a bit of a setup for a sluggish game.

2. Houston County

The margin against Lee County wasn’t a surprise. Getting popped by so much so early, though, was. Still, Houston County battled, the kind of thing that makes a difference down the line.

3. Northside

The biggest margin of victory since the 9-6 runner-up season in 2018 is a sign the Eagles are getting close to playing like the old Eagles, even if some hiccups are still there.

4. Jones County

A QB shuffle hasn’t much been a problem the last two games, thanks in large part to the opponents. But the Greyhounds should have some momentum going.

5. Peach County, Warner Robins

If the offenses ever get some consistency, they’ll look fairly normal. But that’s not happening just yet.

Division II (AA-A-GISA)

1. Bleckley County

Man, it gets fun now. Dublin at Bleckley County. Something of a statement game for the Royals in the region opener.

2. Northeast

The Raiders may not win by less than 30 or so the rest of the regular season, meaning they need to play every kid in a uniform a little before the running clocks start.

3. Putnam County

The War Eagles are on a run of three straight shutouts. Odds for a fourth are pretty good.

4. John Milledge

Friday, Thursday, Monday. Same ol, same ol. But the same ol’ stops next week with the first game against a Big 4 Macon school since 2013.

5. Lamar County

The Trojans got back on track in a big, and expected, way, and now get some rest en route to finishing off a region championship run.

6. Dublin

Having last Wednesday’s game against Charlton County doesn’t help the Irish, who would’ve gotten a nice workout with Bleckley County next.

7. ACE

The consistency of the Gryphons remains impressive, even against teams they could – but shouldn’t – overlook. The official addition of RB/LB Fernando Washington lifts them a notch, especially on defense. Offense is doing fine.

8. Dooly County

Hammering Wheeler County by 47 was something of a statement.

9. Tattnall

The Trojans are a 5-1 team wearing a 3-3 uniform. And they host Stratford this week.

10. Stratford

The Eagles are a 5-1 team in a 5-1 uniform. And they visit Tattnall this week.