By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

          The sports world brings us joy and entertainment, and it brings us aggravation and headaches.

          Part of inspiration aggravation and headaches is the list of myths. Like the lazy, absurd rush to blame coaches for everything.

          Blame players. A lot more. On all levels, high school on up.

          Coaches don’t teach offsides and procedure.

          Coaches don’t teach running the wrong route.

          Coaches don’t teach forgetting an assignment.

          Coaches don’t teach the wretched decline in tackling fundamentals.

          Coaches don’t teach throwing into double or triple coverage. Or dropping snaps. Or leaving one’s feet for a high tackle.

          Watch any practice. Watch any video where players and/or coaches are mic’d. Nope, they’re not teaching or asking about how to make mistakes or look incompetent.

          Ask a player why they did what they did next time you want to bellow or hear a broadcast bozo with “That’s coaching.”

          Al of the above, plus more, makes play-calling and strategy look silly. When people don’t do their job, their often simple job, the overall attempt at a successful task is sabotaged.

Thanks to ACE, FPD, John Milledge, and Northside for game-night boxes and Brentwood for game-night info, and boxes Sunday/Monday from Jones County, Macon County, Perry, Rutland, and Upson-Lee.

Teams should send game information on game night by 2 a.m., or by 10:30 a.m. Notes by email or text, or a picture of a stat sheet suffice. Please have MaxPreps or Hudl boxes -check stats and score on Hudl - sent to centralgasports@gmail.com as soon as updated.  

          With TVs on other channels, you can still almost hear ESPN’s Squawking Heads squealing about Denver losing by 50 and putting all the blame on Sean Payton.

          Did you seeeee any highlights? Holy cow. I’m on the opposite coast of Conspiracyland, but you look at video and you start legitimately thinking of the possibility of the Broncos throwing the game.

          The players were pretty disgraceful. Payton had a poor day, no doubt, but this was the same set of players who lost by one to Las Vegas and by two to Washington?

          While it appears time to call a jeweler about Russell Wilson’s retirement watch – what a stunning fall the past couple years – there are clearly some problems with that roster and organization after all, yes?

          This includes the whining about high school coaches, who have a tougher job, spending less time with mentally frisky 16- and 17-year-olds, (hopefully) prioritizing the bigger picture of life rather than just the game, parents and uncles and entourages, and a group in which all forms of social media hold a stronger grip.

          When a team plays as coached, and adds a stronger effort, it can be quite the joy to watch. When players slack off, pout, lack a certain zip because of something life may be handing them, and fall into bad habits, it’s can be ugly.

Central Georgia’s best coverage

Last week
* Roundup: Houston County rolls, Northside upset, dueling 55-0 wins in same region, CFCA stunned, Macon County stumbles in showdown, blowouts galore
* Scouting Reports: This week’s GHSA and GIAA games
* Maxwell Predictions, Central Georgia state rankings
* Who’s going to win this week’s games
* Monday Morning Quarterback:Get on board with the Falcons;  Notes, review, Central Georgia polls, Loughdmouthings
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week

          Coaches try to duct tape as much as possible, but it still comes down to players – 17, 27, or 37 - more than people admit. Coaches can’t cover up players execution nearly as much as players can cover up coaches’ mistakes.

 

Who’s going to the playoffs?

          Or, “what do we know about teams?”

          We know a lot about some teams, on the positive and not-so-positive side, and plenty are still confusing.

          Who can plan on at least an 11th game? That’s actually easy (excluding the four-team regions, and maaaan, the GHSA has to fix that).

          Class 6A: Houston County

          Class 5A: Jones County

          Class 4A: Perry

          Class 3A: Mary Persons, Upson-Lee, Peach County

          Class AA: Northeast, ACE, Putnam County

          Class A/I: Dublin, Bleckley County

          Class A/II: Hawkinsville, Hancock Central, Macon County

          In because there are unfortunately four-team regions: Lamar County (would be in anyway), Crawford County, Jasper County (probably in)

          Then there’s the “odds are pretty good” category.

          Class 4A: Baldwin

          Class A/I: East Laurens

          Class A/II: Taylor County, GMC or Wilkinson County

          At this point, Northside and Veterans will battle for the final spot in 1-6A. Warner Robins has no momentum in returning to 2-5A play, where five teams are even, and with a level of inconsistency. Amid all that early-season hullabaloo, turns out Jones County adjusted much quicker.

          After Perry and Spalding in 2-4A, we have Baldwin (no idea about the Braves), Howard, Westside (good record, weak non-region schedule), West Laurens (just when you thought the Raiders were under consideration, they lose going away to winless Griffin), and Griffin (a baffling program the past few years that was 0-4 until beating West Laurens).

          Makes each week in 2-4A fun to watch.

          Northeast appears to have a solid grip on 2-AA, with the ACE-Spencer winner on the final week likely to get second. Rutland has an edge on Southwest for the fourth spot, and they play this week.

          The new era of Washington County bears no resemblance to the old one, and the Golden Hawks will have to battle again to avoid missing the state playoffs for the first time since 2007 and second time since 1995.

          Don’t count out Dodge County for the final spot in 1-AA, because the Indians right now are a little more competitive than the three other teams eyeing the fourth seed.

          All of it is yet another reminder that the GHSA needs a power rating system for the fourth spot because of four-team regions, and bad fourth-place teams. You shouldn’t be rewarded simply for showing up.

          In about every class every year, one or two fourth-place teams don’t deserve an 11th game, and two or three fifth-place teams – occasionally a sixth-place team – should be playing longer.

          Just like parents don’t instruct their kids to do dumb, coaches don’t coach to do dumb.

Last week’s upsets

          Northside lost to a team that was a 31-point favorite a week earlier and lost. That one leaves a mark.

          Central Fellowship was a favorite of more than two touchdowns was stunned by a sub-.500 team, scoring only seven.

          The Maxwell computers had Rutland as a six-point favorite over Spencer. Sometimes, as we all know, computers have issues. Spencer won by 19.

Last week’s surprises

          Veterans being behind so early and by a bit was unexpected, the guess here that the Warhawks would be sharper to get momentum heading into region.

          Warner Robins being kind of knocked out so early against Houston County qualifies.

          Often-unpredictable Baldwin was again unpredictable, and nobody saw a 34-point loss and/or a shutout to a region team not named Perry.

          Schley County turning a showdown into pretty much a snoozer in a battle of 1 vs. 2 with Macon County was a head-turner.

          Washington County’s 28-point loss to Thomson is the Golden Hawks’ fifth loss in the last two seasons by 25 points or more.

Loughdmouthings

          The shutouts last week were thrown by FPD, Mary Persons, Perry, Putnam County, and Upson-Lee.

          Everybody or most everybody played – aka margins of 35 points or more – for FPD, Jasper County, John Milledge, Mary Persons, Northeast, Peach County, Perry, Putnam County, Taylor County.

          On the third hand, only four games were decided by a possession (eight points) or less, with one overtime game, and thankfully no ties.

          Of 31 Central Georgia games, 16 were decided by 28 points or less. Average margin? A staggering 28.6 points a game.

          Dang coaches. …

          Pssst. A college team that was disbanded in 2014 and restarted in 2015 and who’s coach retired for health reasons in June of 2022 gave the No. 1 team in the nation at home at night a better game Saturday, start to finish, than No. 19 did with No. 10 after the first minute.

          Sorry. …

          I’m in general a Matt Ryan fan, but if the Jets sign him and use him, I might have to bet a little bit. …

          Coach Patrick Nix had a game Friday night at Central-Phenix City, and daddy Patrick Nix was in Eugene, Oregon Saturday.

          Somebody’s jaw Sunday was probably pretty tired from a day of yawning. And smiling. …

          Brilliant recent Friday night screaming streamin’ observations: “This is the part of it that’s part of it.”

          On a two-point game in the final minute, ball on the 15: “For all practical purposes, this drive is the game.” Ya think?

          Two people needed 20 seconds to figure out what the final score actually was. And don’t get overly excited for a decent play in the final minutes of a 30-point game. Sounds silly. …

          Every time a coach says, “Well, we’re open this week, so we’re not gonna lose” or “We’re undefeated against ‘Open’ and a broadcast bozo giggles uproariously, a little part of me cries and dies. …

          No region title will be determined this week, so folks, give your knees a rest from jerking. …

          Has the epicenter of the sports world started changing yet? Are college coaches still contemplating early retirement all of a sudden?

          Just checking. …

          Your Sports Report’s time-saving not-paid-by-the-word skipping-weather-three-time-zones-away early kickoff weather this Friday: daytime high of around 81, nighttime low just short of 65, chances of rain less than 10 percent all day long.

          So around a glorious 72ish at kickoff, and still comfy for the ride home.      

Polls

          Division I is crumbling. Again.

          Warner Robins was hammered. Northside collapsed. Veterans stumbled. Baldwin was skunked. West Laurens was humbled.

          That’s opened the door to 3A, and not to the 3A team that’s usually a candidate.

          Jones County sure would like another crack at Northside, and goodness, how juicy is the Greyhounds’ visit to The Mac on Oct. 27 looking?

          Division II isn’t any easier. Macon County was hammered, Washington County and Dodge County were handled, Central Fellowship stunned.

Division 1 (6A-5A-4A-3A, 13 teams)
1. Houston County
2. Perry
3. Vacant
4. Mary Persons
5. Jones County
In the hunt: For this week, um …
Division II (AA-A-GISA, 34 teams)
1. Northeast
2. John Milledge
3. Dublin
4. Bleckley County
5. Lamar County
6. Macon County
7. ACE
8. Hawkinsville
9. Dodge County
10. FPD
In the hunt: Jasper County, Taylor County, Stratford.