Friday's Central Georgia HS football scouting reports
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
GHSA
Quarterfinals
No. 2 Creekside, 11-1, R5/1, at No. 8 Warner Robins, 9-3, R2/1
Warner Robins is mighty different than a year ago at this point, with a new head coach, new quarterback, different go-to wideout, new kicker, new go-to running back, among other changes. Creekside doesnât have as much newness, and is led by returning backs Roderick McCray and Travis Terrell. The Seminoles outgained the Demons 266-199 last year on nine more plays, and lost. Isiah Canion was last yearâs Demon playoff QB, and is now a top-level receiver. Judd Andersonâs up-and-down debut season at Jones County was over. And they certainly werenât thinking their head coach and several assistants would be gone in a few months. Alas, here the Demons are again, as are the Seminoles.
Creekside has four 300-yard rushing games, and a season high 463 yards on 63 carries last week. Quite a task. And they'll be almost overly focused against the team that keeps knocking em out. But Warner Robins, man, that South Davis Drive magic dust keeps sprinklin'. If Creekside gets control of the line of scrimmage early and Warner Robins canât force some turnovers, the Demons will have to come up with some huge plays as well as clutch stops.
Class 4A
No. 5 T Perry, 10-2, R2/2, at No. 12 Stephenson, 10-2, R6/1
The Panthers are off the kind of game that can launch a team, a defensive game of offensive patience. To win 7-3 on the road against a No. 2 team is huge for a team used to scoring. The confidence on defense should be stout. QB Colter Ginn is back, albeit not 100 percent, a reason last weekâs defensive effort was so massive. Ahmad Gordon had a normal game, over 100 yards, so that part of the offense was consistent last week.
Stephenson doesnât maintain stats consistently on MaxPreps. Of the five games reported, the Jaguars appear to be a mighty solid running team capable of 300-yard nights. Theyâre not far from being undefeated, losing by five to 5A Arabia Mountain (9-2, lost 14-13 to Jenkins in the first round) and 20-13 to region foe Hapeville Charter (5-6, lost 41-133 to Central-Carrollton in the first round). This is Stephensonâsâ first quarterfinal since 2016, Perryâs third in the last three years. But itâs a hump in front of Perry.
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 ă°ď¸
Class 3A
No. 2 Cedar Grove, R5/1, 7-5, (beat Bremen 49-14) at No. 3 Mary Persons, 11-1, R2/1
Think Mary Personsâ tradition resume is good? Meet Cedar Grove, which has grown in the last decade into a power, making the playoffs ever year since 2010 after missing every playoff since 1999. The Saints since 2010 have only two first-round losses, to go with three quarterfinal trips, two semifinal finishes, one runner-up, and four state championships, all under four coaches (Ray Bonner, Jimmy Smith, Miguel Patrick, and John Adams). The 2018 title win was 14-13 over Peach County.
Cedar Grove, which doesnât maintain public stats on MaxPreps, has only played two road playoff games since 2018, and went 10-1 on the road in 2021 and 2022, but 1-4 this year. The Saints have threats at QB (E.J. Colson has 2,111 yards, as per the Georgia HS Football Daily), RB (Bo Walker, 1,204 yards) and WR Devin Carter (776). Duke Watson has 1,865 yards, and QB Mac Nelson 1,455 passing yards. Nelson has 4 TD passes â with some sweet throws - and 3 INTs in the last two games, for 9 and 11 overall, so heâll need to be more efficient when the defense gets the ball back.
Class A/Division II
No. 5 Macon County, 10-2, R6/3, at No. 11T Telfair County, 9-2, R4/2
State postseason success is new to Telfair County, with more wins this year than since 1993, when the Trojans went to the quarterfinals. They couldnât get out of region playoffs twice since then, making the postseason four times since then. But this is their second straight nine-win season, a first since 1992-93. The opened this season with seven straight wins, four by two scores or less, and then lost by six to Dooly County and by eight to Treutlen to fall out of the rankings.
Macon County truly gutted out an overtime road win last week, Brian Harris completing only 8 of 20 for 71 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs, the run game coming through behind Harris and Tyler Felder (combined 149 yards).
GIAA
Semifinals
Class 4A
No. 5 Tattnall, 5-6, at No. 1 FPD, 7-3-1
On the line is something neither team has been part of in awhile: a state championship game. Tattnall hasnât been in one since winning the GISA Class AAA title in 2011, Barney Hesterâs next-to-last season and a few years before joining the GHSA. FPD eyes its first title-game visit since 2005, when the Vikings made it in consecutive years, losing in overtime to Stratford in 2004 and getting handled a year later by Riverside Military. Brett Collier is hoping to match Mark Farribaâs feat and win a state title in his first season as head coach, the Vikings winning it in 1985 after Farriba succeeded Bobby Brown.
The Trojans are one of the few teams with a losing record and yet have championship potential. Two losses came against GHSA Class A teams ranked in the top four, and still alive, in the quarterfinals, and one to a top-10 Class A team. Another was to powerful John Milledge, and to defending 4A champ St. Anne-Pacelli. Those five were by 41, 15, 27, 20, and 24. The other? To FPD, 29-26 on Oct. 27. The Vikings were regaining some health, and rushed for 174 yards and passed for 186. The Trojans rushed for 323 yards, 269 coming from Antone Johnson on 19 carries, but were only 3 of 6 for 62 yards in the air. Thatâll likely have to improve, in part because FPD is almost fully healthy, meaning QB Jakhari Williams is more of a running threat. Thus, FPD has the potential to be more explosive than it was in the first meeting and has a better defense. Regardless, another 48-minute game â FPD won it in the final 20 seconds â is expected, although âŚ
Class 3A
No. 5 Pinewood Christian, 5-6, at No. 1 John Milledge, 11-0
Javian Butts is seventh in the state, in both classifications, with 1,896 rushing yards. Kolt McMichael is 99th with 1,592 yards passing, despite missing some time with an injury. Jalen Butts is in the top 140 statewide with 615 receiving yards. And Bud Veal does a little bit of everything Thatâs what awaits Pinewood Christian.
Class AA
No. 3 Briarwood, 8-3, at No. 2 Gatewood, 9-2
The Buccaneers are on a nice roll, winners of four straight and three by at least 21 points, since a 42-6 spanking by Bulloch. The Gators are in a similar situation, going 5-1 after St. Anne-Pacelli delivered a 35-0 lesson. The lone loss in that run is to co-semifinalist Edmund Burke, by 20-14. Briarwood leads the series 21-18, but Gatewood has won six of the last seven, including 49-7 in the 2019 state championship.