By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

GHSA

Class 4A and AA scouting reports will run Saturday

Class 6A

No. 9 Houston County, 8-2, R1/3, at No. 11 North Atlanta, 9-1, R4/2
The host Warriors’ lone loss is 16-3 top region champ Marist, the War Eagles’ second-closest win. North Atlanta is on its best two-year run at 17-5 and has three straight winning seasons for the first time in program history. The Warriors are 119-212-1 in 33 seasons, while the Bears are 191-71-1 in 33 seasons, both starting up in 1991. The Bears outscore opponents by 21.6 points, the Warriors by 27.8. North Atlanta’s first playoff win came last year, and this year is a record for wins. Both are pretty balanced and have weapons. The Bears have played a much stronger schedule.

Northside, 4-6, R1/4, at No. 8 Marist, 9-1, R4/1
Marist and hall of fame coach Alan Chadwick are looking for their seventh straight 10-win season, and 11th in the last 12 seasons. The War Eagles – who haven’t posted any stats to MaxPreps - haven’t lost a first-round game since 2016. Marist beat Northside 32-13 in the second round last year, the Eagles winning a first-round matchup 30-6 in 2006. Marist WR/DE Luke Harpring is a Georgia Tech commit. The Eagles have lost a few players to discipline issues, and are more undermanned than they were a few months ago. They’ve lost three of their last four games.

Class 5A
McIntosh, 6-4, R3/4, at No. 8 Warner Robins, 7-3, R2/1
One team is warm, the other one not. McIntosh has lost three of its last four, the last two by 7-3 to Northside-Columbus and 14-6 to Harris County. The Chiefs haven’t played but two ranked teams in the last five seasons, and are in only their fourth state playoff since starting in 1982. Warner Robins, which doesn’t post stats on MaxPreps, average, is on a five-game winning streak, the last three by 30, 15, and 28 points. The Demons haven’t lost a first-round game since 2016, the three-win team losing 56-49 to No. 10/7 Griffin.

Teams/schools: Please send postgame information to The Sports Report with names and some details

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Teams/schools: Please send postgame information to The Sports Report with names and some details 〰️

Northside-Columbus, 6-4, R3/3, at Jones County, 7-3, R2/2
This is Jones County’s 10th straight playoff trip, while Northside is on a streak of two straight after a four-year drought. The Patriots won their first playoff game last year, 35-27 over Tucker, before losing 38-7 to Warner Robins in the next round. Devin Edmonds has 2,299 yards passing with 27 TDs and 8 INTs, completing 63.5 percent of his passes. Five Greyhounds have at least 200 rushing yards, and Tyler Stewart is a big-play receiver with 44 catches for 993 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Class 3A

Long County, 6-4, R3/4, at No. 3 Mary Persons, 9-1, R2/1
Long County gets some yards, averaging only 44 fewer yards than the Bulldogs, and the Blue Tide average 35.2 points a game. They were shut out 35-0 two weeks ago by top-ranked Calvary Day. This is only their third playoff appearance. Mary Persons is making its 11 trip under Brian Nelson. Duke Watson has 1,470 rushing yards and 27 TDs, and Mac Nelson has completed 56.6 percent for 1,195 yards, but three more INTs than TDs.

Savannah Country Day, 6-4, R3/3, at Upson-Lee, 8-2, R2/2
The Knights are going for the first playoff win since 2020, and second since 2005. This is their first home playoff game since 2018, a 34-28 loss to Thomson, and third in program history (starting in 1992). SCD has two 10-win seasons in the last six years, and made the playoffs twice with a losing record in that span. That was in Class A, and Class A/private. They went 5-5 last year in their AAA debut. Jaquan Bentley has 1,306 rushing yards and 18 TDs for the Knights.

Peach County, 4-6, R2/3, at No. 5 Savannah Christian, 8-2, R3/2

The Trojans will need a huge night to avoid their first first-round loss since 2014, and sixth this century. Savannah Christian, which outgains Peach County by 203 yards a game, has reached the quarterfinals five times in the last decade.

Class A Division I

Claxton, 2-8, R3/4, at No. 3T Bleckley County, 8-2, R2/1
The Royals are a clear favorite to win their fourth straight first-round playoff game, and get closer to a third straight 10-win season. Kam Everett passes for 128.7 yards a game, and Josh Stanley runs for 98.3.

Screven County, 4-6, R3/3, at No. 6 Dublin, 8-2, R2/2
Dublin leads the series 16-7, with one other state playoff meeting, the 2002 state championship, won 24-7 by the Gamecocks. They last played in 2015, a 26-10 Screven County win. Xavier Bostic leads Dublin with 851 yards and 14 TDs.

East Laurens, 3-7, R2/4, at No. 10 Bryan County, 9-1, R3/1
Region champ Bryan County outscores opponents by 24.8 points, and is in only its second postseason since 2015. The Redskins are looking for their first playoff win in team history (starting in 1976). East Laurens has lost four first-round games since 2000.

Bacon County, 4-5, R1/4, at No. 9 Lamar County, 8-2, R4/1
Lamar County is on a seven-game winning streak, a run that includes four shutouts. The Red Raiders are on a three-game losing streak during which they’ve been outscored 104-42. This is their sixth playoff trip since 2000, Lamar County’s 13th in the same span. Bacon County head coach Mark Wilson went 42-34-1 in seven seasons at Lamar County (1996-2002) with two region titles.

Crawford County, 1-9, R4/4, at Brooks County, 5-5, R1/1
The 2021 state champs enter the playoffs with their worst record since going 3-7 in 2007, a year before Maurice Freeman re-arrived to coach the Trojans. Since then, they’ve only lost one first-round playoff game.

Jasper County, 5-5, R5/4, at No. 2 Commerce, 9-1, R8/1
Commerce has made every postseason since 1997, with one championship along the way and three semifinal trips. The Tigers lead the series with Jasper County 8-4, but they haven’t met since 1995. Chevy Sands and Jalen Stewart have teamed for more than 1,000 rushing yards for the Hurricanes.

Come back around 8 p.m. for Central Georgia's only live scoreboard

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Come back around 8 p.m. for Central Georgia's only live scoreboard 〰️

Class A Division II

Hawkinsville, 6-4, R4/4, at Early County, 6-4, R1/1
Expect a four-quarter game between even teams in a tight 1 vs. 4 matchup. Only 16 yards in total offense separate them. Early County outscores opponents by only 10 points, and the Bobcats are on a three-game losing streak, dropping from the rankings. Hawkinsville split its final four games, and gets 4.5 more points than opponents. Zenard Smith leads a deep Hawkinsville rush attack with 808 yards and 7 TDs. Smith, Malek Brown, Nieem Blair Nelson Singletary and Dagan Mullis have combined for 30 rushing TDs.

Lincoln County, 6-4, R8/3, at Wilkinson County, 5-4, R5/2
The Warriors are going for their second straight first-round win, following the win over Macon County 13-7 a year ago, at home. Lincoln County is led by Lee Chomskis, nephew of Mary Persons coaching legend Dan Pitts. The Red Devils haven’t lost a first-round game since 2015, excluding missing the 2018 playoffs.

Hancock Central, 4-6, R5/3, at No. 6 Greene County, 9-1, R8/2
The Bulldogs have lost three of their last four games, while the Tigers’ lone loss was in their ninth game, 14-10 to Aquinas. They’re outscoring teams by 22 points in their best regular season since 2005.

No. 5 Macon County, 8-2, R6/3, at Christian Heritage, 4-5, R7/2
Christian Heritage is in its 13th season, and has made the playoffs more often than not, and has won three of its final four, losing 48-17 to No. 6 Bowdon. The Bulldogs have won four straight, all in convincing fashion, and have never dropped below No. 4 since August.

Taylor County, 6-4, R6/4, at No. 4 Bowdon, 8-2, R7/1
The Vikings were outscored 84-14 in their last two games, against a pair of top-2 teams. Bowdon is on an eight-game winning streak, with 22 points the closest margin. The Red Devils went 14-1 last year, winning the Class A/II state title.

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GIAA

Class AAAA

No. 10 Westfield at No. 7 George Walton
The Hornets have some nice momentum, with a 17-16 win over defending state champ St. Anne-Pacelli. George Walton’s four-game winning streak was broken last week, 27-12 to Bethlehem Christian. The Hornets lead the series 5-3, but the teams haven’t played since GW’s 59-13 semifinal win in 2003.

No. 8 Stratford at No. 9 Strong Rock
Stratford finished the regular season 1-3, giving up 34, 40, and 35 points in the losses. Strong Rock went 2-2 in the same span, including a 30-0 loss to St. Anne-Pacelli. The Eagles won 41-0 in 2021 and 28-21 in 2020.

Class AA

No. 9 Trinity Christian at No. 8 Piedmont
The Crusaders and Cougars opened the season, Piedmont winning 13-0, and then losing its next three. It was part of an 0-4 start for TCS.