Central Georgia HS football scouting reports
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Rankings are from Georgia High School Football Daily composite polls
đ Teams: Please email game information â stats (offense and defense), names, big plays, etc. â to centralgasports@gmail.com by 2 a.m. Saturday morning to be in Central Georgiaâs most comprehensive game-night coverage - the most names and stats and details - for the first roundup, and by 10:30 a.m. Saturday to be added.
Coaches and team officials can email or text some basic game details by 2 a.m.
GIAA Playoffs
Class AAAA
4. Bethlehem Christian, 11-0, at No. 1 FPD 10-1
Both teams are thrilled to see sunshine and feel football temperatures after gutting out home wins last week. Bethlehem Christian held off Tattnall 21-14, and FPD finally pulled away from Strong Rock for a 28-13 win. This is the first meeting between the teams, Tattnall ending BCâs season last year. The Knights have won 31 games the past three seasons, and have been stopped in the quarterfinals. FPD is the defending state champ, led by QB/DB Major Simmons, RB/LB Brady McHugh, WR/DB Benjamin McElreath, and LB Brady Lincoln, among others. The Vikings can be one-dimensional or multi-dimensional on offense, with Simmons as a run-throw threat. Zeke Clanton with 130.5 yards a game and Coy Buckner passing for 117.5 allow for balance for Bethlehem Christian.
Class 3A
4. Deerfield-Windsor, 8-3, at 1. Westfield, 9-2
Deerfield-Windsor gets almost 90 more yards a game on offense, but the pass defenses â Boyd Pollock has four picks for D-W - will be tested by D-Wâs Lane Sceales (223.9 ypg) and Westfieldâs Brayden Gay (196 ypg). That puts a premium on pass-blocking. Gay is 40 yards from 2,000 for the season, and he has 15 touchdowns to six interceptions, and adds an occasional rushing threat. Jackson St. Clair has 640 yards and 9 TDs on 47 catches. Cole Jones runs for 117.8 yards a game for Deerfield-Windsor, which edged Westfield 33-29 on Aug. 30. The Knights broke up a playoff drought by reaching the finals in 2022. Westfield has made 17 straight trips, including consecutive state titles in 2013-14.
Class AA
4. Gatewood, 5-5, at 1. Southwest Georgia, 8-1
The task is big for the defending state AA runner-up, on the road against a team thatâs allowed double figures only three times, in two wins and in a 38-0 loss to 4A semifinalist Brookstone. Gatewoodâs losses have been by 5, 16, 23, 22, and 18, including a district loss to defending AA champ Edmund Burke.
6. Southland, 4-7, at 2. Brentwood, 9-1
Former Tattnall and Stratford head coach Chance Jones got the Raiders going late after a 1-6 start, winning three of their last four, including last weekâs 30-14 win over Briarwood in an upset. Brentwood gets 43.2 points a game and gives up 18, a number thatâs improved as the season wound down. The War Eagles have scored 49, 45, and 49 in their last three games, and have sights set on their fourth title game in five years, Brentwood winning it in 2021.
CENTRAL GEORGIAâS BEST HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COVERAGE
This week
* Roundup
* Scouting Reports: This weekâs GHSA and GIAA games
* Maxwell Predictions
* Whoâs going to win this weekâs games
* Central Georgia state composite rankings
* Central Georgia rankings
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week
* Monday Morning QB: Kennesaw State colossal screw up; CFP sermon; Loughdmouthings-UGAâs slump, Beckâs slump, Techâs Canes pain, ripping a backup? âŚ
* GHSA playoffs are set: Whoâs at home? What Central Georgia teams play each other? Whoâs seeded where?
Last Week
* Roundup: FPD lone Macon GIAA survivor, road heartbreakers for Tattnall, Stratford; Milestone win for Gatewoodâs Ratliff; Southwest stays in playoff hunt; Jasper County, Brentwood roll
* Scouting Reports: This weekâs GHSA and GIAA games, coming Friday
* Maxwell Predictions
* Whoâs going to win this weekâs games
* Central Georgia state composite rankings
* Tuesdayâs Roundup
* Central Georgia rankings
* Monday Morning Quarterback Safe to hop on Falcons bandwagon; CFP sermon; Westside's Iverson & Northeast's Woodford; Northside news; Loughdmouthings-Cowboys/TV tiff, GHSA playoffs ...
* GIAA playoffs are set, GHSA picture much clearer but still has some fuzzy going on
* The schedule
Two weeks ago
* Roundup, Warner Robins wins thriller; Upson-Lee dumps No. 5; Dublin finishes perfect regular season; Spoon Risper gets milestone win; Washington County edges ACE
* Scouting Reports: This weekâs GHSA and GIAA games
* Maxwell Predictions
* Whoâs going to win this weekâs games
* Central Georgia rankings
* The GHSA and GIAA football playoffs are here, and almost here. Breaking things down, it's complicated
* Monday Morning Quarterback: Georgia-Florida week? Really?; CFP sermon; area HS stat stuff; Loughdmouthings: Good games, Falcons, hotseats, HS players, new coaches/old coaches âŚ
* Macon Touchdown Club players of the week
GHSA
Class 5A
2/4 Houston County, 6-4/10T, at 8/1 Clarke Central, 8-2
The secondaries and linebackers better have fresh legs, considering one is facing Antwann Hill Jr., owner of more than 10,000 yards in his career, and the other is Hezekiah Millender, who has but one interception against 26 touchdowns to go with 1,798 yards. The Bears have receiving threats galore, and the Gladiators counter with upper-level RB Corey Watkins, who will pass 1,200 yards in the game. Clarke Central, coached by former Georgia baseball player and head coach David Perno, missed the playoffs last year, breaking a seven-year stretch, during which it won five first-round games. Houston County enters on a three-game losing streak, while Clarke Central outscored its last three opponents 153-30.
Class 4A
5/4 St. Pius X, 7-3, at 1/1 Perry, 7-3/7
Both teams come in off losses, St. Pius X by eight to Tucker (7-3) and Perry by three to Warner Robins (7-3). Perry on a recent roll, but the Golden Lions havenât missed the postseason since 2005, and has won a first-round game every year but three in that stretch, reaching two finals. St. Pius X has played a team from the county of Houston once, losing 20-17 to Northside in a 2006 semifinal. St. Pius X doesnât post stats on MaxPreps, but averages 30.6 points a game, while Perry gives up 23.6, putting a little heat on Perryâs defense, led by Elijah Joseph, Jordan Donald, and Noah Clark. Perry has won five straight first-round games.
1/4 Warner Robins, 7-3/9, at 5/1 Marist, 10-0/1
Two teams with mighty full trophy cases have never played. The Demons have 29 region championships and six state titles, while the War Eagles have 32 region titles and three state trophies, the last coming in 2020. Marist has won five straight region championships, Warner Robins getting five in a seven-year stretch that ended this year. Warner Robins had a pair of UGA commits in DB Rasean Dinkins and DL Isaiah Gibson, while QB Skyler Williams is approaching 1,500 yards passing. Marist hasnât been challenged much, having scored 404 more points than itâs given up, and has had only two close games, 23-7 over Jefferson to start the season and 24-0 over St. Pius X a little more than a month ago. Only two teams have cracked double digits.
8/3 East Forsyth, 8-2, at 2/2 Jones County, 9-1
The Greyhounds are at home, but will need the Barking Lot to be in full force and throat against a young program that is having an upstart season. Both teams are pretty balanced, but Jones County has a little more explosiveness with QB Devin Edmonds (251.9 yards a game) and WR Jaivon Solomon (119.1 receiving yards). Edmonds has 29 TDs to 3 INTs while completing 66.8 percent of his passes.. Brock Szakacs throws for 156 yards a game for East Forsyth, which went 4-1 on the road, and has losses to ranked teams (3A Chestatee and region foe Eastside). Daniel Hawk and DJ Ingram lead a steady Jones County defense.
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 ă°ď¸
Class AAA
No. 30. 6/3 Chestatee, 5-5, at No. 3 3/1 Peach County, 9-1/1
Chestatee may be a more-capable-than-usual for a team that barely made the playoffs. The War Eagles havenât played a ranked team, but regrouped from a 1-5 start to win four of their last five, ranging from a 56-0 blowout to 24-21 win. The Trojans are doing it on both ends, averaging 44.7 points and giving up 17.9, with only Perry and Westover cracking 21 points. The War Eagles are in the postseason for the first time since 2016, a year Peach County went to the semifinals. Peach County is a win from its first 10-win season since 2019, and the programâs 13th this century. Chestatee is fairly one-dimensional, led by RB Benjamin Plemonsâ 135.4 rushing yards a game. Peach County doesnât post stats on MaxPreps, but QB D.J. Hudson has passed the 2,000-yard mark, according to stats provided to the Georgia High School Football Daily.
No. 19. 4/3 West Laurens, 8-2 at No.14 4/2 Baldwin, 6-4
The good news is that developing the game plan took less time than usual for both teams, who played on Nov. 5, West Laurens taking a 28-14 win in Milledgeville. Ty Cummings went for 171 yards and three rushing scores for the Raiders, who got a decent passing game from Cason Pollock. West Laurens has been off since that game, important because Baldwin played three games from Oct. 31 to Nov. 9, going 2-1 and getting a bigger test last Saturday from Richmond Academy than expected. Baldwin has threats with RB Sadur Salahuddin and QB Lamar Pounds. Baldwin is in its ninth straight playoff, West Laurens in its seventh since 2014, while also down 11-4 to Baldwin in the series.
No. 21 4/3 Long County, 7-3 at No. 12 2/2 Upson-Lee 7-3/12T
The Knights are 16-6 since the start of 2023, their best such run since 2004-05, and they won last yearâs playoff opener 46-45 over Savannah Country Day. Long County comes in having lost three of its final four regular-season games, by one, three, and 34 points. The Blue Tide are in the playoffs for the fourth straight year, breaking a drought that started in, unofficially, 2002. Long County lost 35-19 to Mary Persons in last yearâs first round. Malachi Character and Niko Wells give Upson-Lee a balanced offensive attack, and Character is a major player on defense, countered by Courtney Charles for Long County.
Class AA
No. 17 1/3 Spencer, 7-3, at No. 16 2/4 Westside, 5-5, Ed DeFore
Spencer has two playoff wins in less than a decade, and took consecutive region titles in 2022-23, going 9-1 against Bibb County schools in Region 2 play. Westside has lost four straight first-round games, and will ride the legs of Kadiphis Iverson, who has 1,655 yards â ninth/10th in the state, first in AA by 205 yards -and 24 touchdowns on the ground. Spencer doesnât post stats on MaxPreps. The series is even at 1, the teams playing in 2014-15.
Class A/Division I
No. 31 7/6 Gordon Central, 4-6, at No. 2 2/1 Dublin, 10-0
One team has made the postseason five times in this century, the other one every year but three in that span, and has two state titles, including in 2019. Dublin tries to keep its first perfect regular-season rolling, and is a huge favorite to do so. The Warriors, located in Calhoun, just south of Dalton, will be the latest to tangle with Dublinâs explosive and yet ball-control Wing-T, which has the Irish at 500 points in 10 games, the programâs fourth-highest total. Xavier Bostic leads the rushing parade of 363.9 yards a game with 94.8 yards a game.
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No. 25 3/3 Swainsboro, 3-7, at No. 8 2/2 Northeast, 8-2/5, Thompson
Swainsboro has dropped from consecutive trips to the state title game and a three-year mark of 36-7 to its lowest win total since going 2-8 in 2013. The Tigers went 4-7 before that three-year run. Northeast has won at least eight games in its last five years, the best mark of current Bibb County public school programs. And the Raiders have won three of their last four first-round games. Both like the run, but Northeast and Reginald Glover have a passing game more capable of doing some damage. Glover, though, adds a nifty 94.4 yards rushing to Nick Woodfordâs 161.7, Woodford with 24 rushing touchdowns and Glover with nine. Swainsboro has won all four meetings, dating from 1976 to 2021.
No. 20 7/3 Chattooga, 6-4 at No. 13 2/3 Dodge County/10, 8-2
Chattooga is back in the playoffs after an eight-year stretch was broken by missing out the last two years, a pair of 2-8 seasons. The Indians did reach the AA quarterfinals in 2016. Dodge County went from a 10-year streak of the playoffs to missing two years in a row, and is now back, too. Dodge County won six first-round games in that stretch, but it has been since 2018 that the Indians won more than seven games. Both teams prefer ground travel, with Chattoogaâs Zayden Cook getting 273.5 yards a game. Dodge Countyâs Alabama-bound Duke Johnson doesnât have those kinds of numbers, but his impact on both sides is no secret. He and Cook â unofficially the stateâs rushing leader for the regular-season - will meet several times in this physical showdown.
No. 24 Dade County, 4-6, at No. 9 4/2 Lamar County, 8-2/11
Lamar County went from a five-year playoff drought to consecutive region titles â that ended this year â and winning two straight first-round playoff games. The Indians havenât won three straight since a four-year stretch from 2011-2014, under three different coaches. Travis Ellington is the first Lamar County coach to go four years since Jason Strickland (2008-2011). Dade County is making its fourth straight postseason trip for the first time in program history, and will have to slow down a run-heavy ball-control offense led by QB Kaden Carter.
No. 17 2/4 Washington County, 6-4, at No. 16 1/4 Jeff Davis, 7-3/12T
A battle of the Wing-T and a versatile offense takes place in Hazlehurst, the run-heavy Yellow Jackets and balanced Golden Hawks. Jeff Davis was on a 1-3 stretch and finished 3-1, with a win over ranked Fitzgerald after a 62-17 pounding by ranked Worth County. QB Colby Beach leads Jeff Davis with 85.9 rushing and 76.6 passing yards a game, while Washington County has more threats, with RB Jusden Culpepper, QB Mack May, and wideout Jaden Jackson. The Yellow Jackets won 22-6 back in mid August, but the Golden Hawks have clearly improved. Washington County is looking for its first playoff win since its 2018 quarterfinal run.
No. 18 2/5 ACE Charter, 6-4, at No. 15 4/4 Jasper County, 7-3
A young program visits an old program with young facilities, each with different levels of hunger. Jasper Countyâs Jalen Stewart gets 110.6 yards a game, and offers a balanced defense of playmakers. Sawyer Raugh is a tough two-way player for ACE, trying to jump-start the run game â led by QB Ace Hatcher â while standing out at linebacker. ACE is going for its first playoff win in history, which started in 2018. Jasper County is going for its first playoff win since 1992, under longtime Mary Persons assistant Pat Burdette. Thatâs also the last time the Purple Hurricanes hosted a state game.
No. 27 2/6 Southwest, 4-6, at No. 6 3/2 Toombs County, 8-1/1
The Patriots won their finale to make the playoffs, the reward being an opponent ranked first much of the year. Toombs County went 11-2 last year and reached the quarterfinals. Southwest is looking for its first playoff win in program history. Steve Robinson has been huge at quarterback for the Patriots, not a position he went into the summer expecting to play. Toombs County gets 103.6 rushing yards from Dabyn Wadley and 166.1 through the air from T.J. Stanley.
No. 28 2/7 Bleckley County, 4-6, at No. 5 4/1 Social Circle, 7-3
The Royals eked into the playoffs, and have won four straight first-round games, two coming on the road (at Brooks County and Vidalia). Social Circle, winner of five of its last six (the lone loss by two in triple overtime to Jasper County), has only two first-round wins in 13 tries this century. Pass defenses will have a task against Bleckley Countyâs Kam Everett (153.8 passing yards a game) and Social Circleâs Luke Cross (127.4). The Royals will be a tough out, having lost five of six games by single digits, and won four games by an average of 38.8 points a game.
No. 23 4/3 Putnam County, 5-5 at No. 10 6/2 Temple, 8-2
The War Eagles are a win from matching last yearâs record, but this team might be better, scoring more and giving up less. They won five of their last seven, barely losing to Social Circle. Of the five losses, three are by single digits. Templeâs two losses are by 27 and 17. The Tigers outscore opponents by 17 points a game to 8.6 for the War Eagles, who face a deep rush attack that gets 302 yards a game. Putnam Countyâs Rashod Daniel is good for 124.9 yards.
Class A/Division II, Saturday (Scouting reports coming Saturday)
4/4 Hawkinsville, 7-3, at 3/1 Metter, 8-1/8T, 4:30 p.m.
1/3 Miller County, 7-3, at 5/2 Wilkinson County, 6-4, 3 p.m.
5/3 Hancock Central, 5-5, at 1/2 Mitchell County, 8-2, 3 p.m.
7/4 Greenville, 3-6, at 6/1 Macon County, 6-4, 3 p.m.
6/3 Taylor County at 7/2 Bowdon, 8-2/2, 6 p.m.