GHSA

Class 6A

No. 4 Lee County, 6-1/2-0, at Northside, 3-4/1-1
          The roller coaster Eagles season doesn’t get any smoother. Standout DB Ricardo Jones was dismissed a few weeks ago, and QB Damien Dee sat out the last game with a team punishment. The region was off last week. Lee County beat Veterans 56-16 two weeks ago. The Trojans’ last loss to an unranked team was a year ago, 23-20 at home to Northside. But it’s been a good awhile since they lost a team with a losing record.

Tift County, 1-6/0-2, at Veterans, 3-4/0-2
          Veterans needs a win to (unofficially) make next week’s game against Northside be (most likely) for the fourth playoff spot. Tift County barely lost to Northside, in OT, then lost 56-0 to Thomas County Central before last week’s off day. Veterans QB Jake Maxwell sat out the last game, and the Warhawks will need to play well to avoid the upset and playoff elimination.

No. 1 Thomas County Central, 7-0/2-0, at No. 6 Houston County, 6-1/1-1, Saturday. 2 p.m.
          The sun will be shining and the passes will be flying. TCC’s Jaylen Johnson is 66 for 108 for 1,093 yards, 12 TDs and only 2 INTs, Malachi Thomas and Trevon Pringle teaming for 29 catches and 630 yards, plus 10 TDs. Trey Benton is good for 97.7 yards a game, and has 12 rushing scores. Houston County quarterback Antwann Hill has completed a sizzling 69.5 percent for 1,814 yards, 23 TDs and 2 INTs. Top targets Ricky Johnson, Kale Woodburn, Recordo Tarver and Ryan Taleb have teamed for 1,608 yards and 19 TDs, Taleb running for 616 yards and 8 TDs. The average TCC score: 48-7. Average Houston County score: 47-20. TCC has won the only three meetings, including 42-21 last year.

Class 5A
No. 10 Warner Robins, 4-3/3-0, at Eagle’s Landing, 3-5/2-2
          A loss to Ola dropped Eagle’s Landing into the pack battling for the third and fourth Region 2 playoff spots, instead of the Golden Eagles having a real chance – with help - at second. The Demons, off last week, are on a two-game winning streak, nipping Ola, which thumped Eagle’s Landing 41-13. Warner Robins can’t look ahead to next week’s home showdown with Jones County.

Class 4A
West Laurens, 2-5/0-3, at Baldwin, 4-3/1-2
          The Raiders are in unofficially in spoiler mode for Region 2, and the Braves are a loss away from being in two must-win situations to get into the playoffs. Baldwin started off well against Perry only for the second half to belong to the Panthers in a 33-16 win. The Raiders gave Westside fits, and then was handled by Spalding.

No. 5 Spalding, 8-0/4-0, at Westside, 6-1/2-1
          The Seminoles aren’t getting much attention at 6-1, in part because of the strength of schedule. Three non-region opponents are local AA teams with a combined 6-15 record and a 1-6 team. Westside lost 55-14 to the only opponent with a winning record, Perry. Spalding is on Perry’s level, with a QB at 1,108 yards and top rusher at 828 yards, the Jags defense with three shutouts, including 34-0 over Baldwin.

Class 3A
No. 13 Peach County, 2-5/0-1, at Upson-Lee, 7-1/2-0
          The Trojans may not be on their normal level, but this is still the biggest game at Matthews Field in awhile. The Knights must win to make next week’s game even bigger, for a region title, something Upson-Lee hasn’t claimed since 1993. What else happened in 1993? Current Upson-Lee head coach Justin Elder was Mary Persons’ quarterback when the Bulldogs went to the Class AA state championship game. Peach County is playing for a shot at a home playoff game. The Knights are led by JaQuan Bentley, who is good for 154.7 rushing yards a game, and has 18 touchdowns. Malachi Character gets 7.8 tackles a game and Adonis Brazil has 11 tackles for loss for Upson-Lee, owner of three straight shutouts.

CENTRAL GEORGIA’S BEST HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COVERAGE

This week
* Roundup: Coming Saturday morning
* Scouting Reports: What you’re reading
* Maxwell Ratings picks, Central Georgia state rankings
* Who’s going to win this week’s Central Georgia football games?
* Monday Morning Quarterback: That was one sloppy Sunday for Atlanta; good big games in CGA this week; no more CFB ‘epicenter’ in the mountains?; Loughdmouthings; ranking Central Georgia's top teams
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week: Jones County, Tattnall
Last week
* Roundup: Bleckley County stuns Dublin at home, Howard battles Spalding, goal-line stand saves Westside, Hawkinsville wins in OT, Tattnall pops Stratford
* 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: Dear Arthur Smith; upsets/surprises; Loughmouthings (Northside, Warner Robins; toughest CGA regions, GHSA/NIL, UGA-Auburn, verbal 'brilliance'); the best teams in Central Georgia?
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week

Class AA
Butler, 2-4/1-3, at Washington County, 3-4/2-2
          The Golden Hawks are tie for fourth, a game up on Butler. Washington County rolled 42-6 last year, to go up 9-3 in the series

No. 10 Cook, 5-2/3-0, at Dodge County, 1-7/0-4
          The Indians are out of the playoff hunt as perhaps the best one-win team in the state, but knocking off a region title contender would be a boost. Cook has won four straight, but was on a five-game win streak last year when the Indian pulled off the 47-37 road upset.

Rutland, 2-4/1-2, at ACE Charter, 6-1/3-1
          The Gryphons are solidly in third and can bolster their chances for a second-place finish with a win over Rutland, which needs an upset to stay in the race for fourth. The Hurricanes have scored at least 20 points in every game but one, and ACE has two straight shutouts, five for the season.

Spencer, 5-2/4-0, at No. 1 Northeast, 6-1/4-0
          The region championship is at Thompson Stadium, Northeast going for the first Bibb County public school outright title since 2012 and first school region championship since 2009, also the only school region championship. Spencer stunned the Raiders last year despite a huge night from Nick Woodford, who is 49 yards from 1,000 for the season. Spencer QB Gary Gaither has 1,193 yards passing, according to the Georgia High School Football Daily, 533 of those yards going to Demarcus Horne. Spencer is not submitting stats to MaxPreps. Northeast’s six-game winning streak is its longest under head coach Jeremy Wiggins.

No. 3 Thomson, 6-1/4-0, at Putnam County, 5-2/4-0

          The War Eagles are will try to keep alive hopes for their second region title in three years, and their first win over a No. 1 since taking down Lincoln County 32-7 in 1966. They were close last year, losing 28-20 to Fitzgerald in the second round of the playoffs. The War Eagles get almost 200 yards a game rushing.

Central, 0-7/0-4, at Jordan, 0-6/0-3, Saturday, 12 p.m.

A battle to get the first win between teams that have combined to score 74 points.

Class A/Division I
No. 10 Dublin, 5-2/0-1, at Jefferson County, 0-8/0-2
          Jefferson County won at least eight games from 2013-2020, but is working to avoid its first winless season, with first-year head coach Marlo East, who played and assisted at Washington County. Dublin won 51-0 last year, breaking a five-game losing streak in the series.

Jasper County, 5-2, at Social Circle, 2-5
          QB Chevy Sands is all over the place for Jasper County, good for 129 yards a game rushing and passing, while Social Circle QB Sean Crews gets 97.1. more than what Social Circle averages each week. The Purple Hurricanes clinch their first six-win season since 2003 with a win.

Class A/Division II
GMC, 2-6/1-2, at Glascock County, 3-6/1-2
          Glascock County will look to slow down Jessie Washington, who gets 73.6 yards a game on the ground. The Bulldogs won 49-28 last year. Both are battling for a fourth seed, Glascock County in its second straight year of region play after not competing since 1995.

Hancock Central, 3-4/1-1, at Twiggs County, 1-6/0-2
          The Bulldogs will try to take out the frustration of last week’s loss to GMC on the Cobras, who have scheduled two games this season after the season started, winning one. Hancock Central all but seals a playoff spot with a win.

Hawkinsville, 5-2/1-1, at Treutlen, 1-6/0-2
          The Red Devils bring a strong run game east to take on the struggling Vikings. Zenard Smith gets 98.9 of Hawkinsville’s 299.7 rushing yards. Hawkinsville is in the hunt for second in Region 4-A.

No. 6T Macon County, 5-2/2-2, at Chattahoochee County, 0-7/0-4
          The Bulldogs have won the last three years by seven, eight, and 24. The Panthers’ closest loss is 34-14 to Taylor County. Macon County won 30-6 last year, part of a four-game winning streak that pushed the Bulldogs into the playoffs.

Marion County, 4-3/2-2, at Taylor County, 5-2/3-1
          The Vikings all but clinch a playoff spot with a win, and it’ll be a battle. Marion County averages 316.1 yards a game to 198.3 for Taylor County. Marion County won 17-0 last year in a battle of teams that finished 2-8.

Wilkinson County, 4-3/2-0, at Johnson County, 4-3/2-0
          It’s a battle for sole possession of first in Region 5, rare are for Wilkinson County, which last won a region title in 2010. Johnson County is the defending region champ, and thumped the Warriors 47-6 along the way. The Trojans haven’t been ranked since the first week

GIAA
Class AAA
John Milledge, 7-0/1-0, at FPD, 4-2-1/1-0
          The banged-up Vikings face a still-mighty-good Trojans team led by Javian Butts’ 1,256 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns, plus 586 from Bud Veal. Butts also has 13 catches for 278 yards, Veal 16 for 224, and 6 TDs between them.

Stratford, 4-4/0-2, at Mount de Sales, 0-7/0-2
          The Eagles have lost four of their last five, including the last two by 73-13 to Tattnall and John Milledge. Mount de Sales hopes to break a 16-game losing streak.

Westfield, 4-4/1-1, at Brookstone, 3-4/0-1
          It’s the battle of former Peach County head coaches, Westfield’ Chad Campbell (168-38 from 2007-2022) and Brookstone’s Rance Gillespie (65-16 from 2001-2006).

Class AA
Piedmont, 2-4, at Brentwood, 3-4
          The War Eagles are amid a rare three-game losing streak, after a three-game winning streak. Piedmont would be on a six-game losing skid, but the Cougars came up with a huge 14-7 upset of Central Fellowship on Sept. 22.

Edmund Burke, 7-0, at Gatewood, 5-1
          Is this a preview of the state title game? Gatewood’s lone loss is 35-0 to defending 4A champ
St.Anne-Pacelli. Edmund Burke has given up only 23 points in the last six games, including 35-6 over Brentwood two weeks ago.

Central Fellowship, 4-2-1, at 3A Terrell, 5-1
          After slumping a bit, CFCA got back on track last week with a 41-6 win over Trinity Christian. Terrell’s five-game winning streak ended last week, 52-13 to Valwood.