By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

 

          First and foremost, this isn’t how the season will finish, just where teams look to be now. At the start of the season.

          After the second week, the regular poll will have five Division I teams and 10 Division II teams. As has been the case for years now, Division II will have regular shuffling, and Division I won’t have much.

          Remember: records can be deceiving, mainly because of a schedule. A team two games under .500 can easily be better than a team two games over .500.

          That’s where knowledge-seeking and objectivity come in.

          Hopefully.

          The poll was finished before the first week of action, so you’ll see how much shuffling will already take place.

 

Division I (5A, 4A, 3A) 12 teams

Top 10

(For the weekly regular-season poll, five teams will be ranked)

10. Veterans

          It wasn’t much of a move “down” after the GHSA cut 7A, and the Warhawks – starting their 15th season – don’t get a break in the region. The non-region schedule? No breaks there, either.

9. Upson-Lee

✔ Breaking down Central Georgia Class A and GIAA teams
✔ Central Georgia rankings
✔ Breaking down Central Georgia Class 5A to 2A teams
✔ Good days for Houston County, Bleckley County, Westside and Perry
✔ Saturday’s Central Georgia scouting reports

✔ HS FB 2024 roundup: John Milledge shocked at home; FPD stuns ELCA, Chastain takes top spot, big Hicks debut, Stratford's road upset, Westfield wins big
✔ HS FB 2024: Column-Sit down, get comfy, and let's just babble high school football for a bit
✔ Friday’s Central Georgia's HS football scouting reports
✔ Who's going to win this week's Central Georgia high school football games?
✔ HS FB 2024: Maxwell Computer ratings (all Central Georgia GHSA, GIAA teams), and GHSFB Daily composite GHSA rankings

✔ Northeast loses top wide receiver to Houston County days after appearing at Bibb County media day (updated)
✔Southwest takes a big hit, likely to be without standout QB Dupree for at least two months
✔Changes galore for Bibb County public  teams, from coaches to regions, should make for a mighty interesting season
✔ Group of Central Georgia HS teams talk football at ScoreAtlanta event

          The Knights hadn’t had a 9-win season since 2005, and haven’t had consecutive winning seasons since 2004-05. The second streak will change this year, but a bigger region will make 9 wins tougher.

8. Northside

          It’s a big season for the motto-oriented Eagles. But it’ll be hard to make enough improvement in such a tough region to quiet the masses. Lots of work to do, but a team can be better than its record.

7. Baldwin

          Will new blood on the sidelines start some revival at Baldwin? The Braves haven’t better than 7-5 since 2011, and probably should have been better than 7-5 more than that.

6. Mary Persons

          There some quality pieces to replace, but the Bulldogs return a whole lot of bodies on both sides, even with almost a half-dozen expected starters out for the year. Might mean they’ll be a little slow to get going but rocking along by October.

5. Jones County

          Devin Edmonds hopefully quieted the doubters – in the Barking Lot stands and elsewhere – after emerging from the quarterback debate. He’ll be a focal point on offense after losing quality WRs Zion Ragins and Tyler Stewart, among others, and on a team solid on defense.

4. Peach County

          Nobody was surprised that Peach County fell off last year, but few expected an 0-4 start en route to a 4-7 record. There was a need for some personnel subtractions, and no doubt some attitude adjustments. The Trojans will be more Trojan-like.

3. Perry

          Last year was one of more progress than expected, but Perry was A Program before the state championship. An absurdly cramped-with-talent region will make repeating just about impossible, yet the Panthers could have a better team and folks won’t realize it.

2. Warner Robins

          After the long championship-game run, the Demons returned to the world of normal, and not quite as blessed. Warner Robins won’t play a 15th game, but will still be a contender for a playoff run

1. Houston County

          The Bears lost some serious weaponry at wideout and running back (Ryan Taleb was severely underrated in the big picture) and elsewhere. Houston County is something of a reloading program in an elite region, so, again, might be better than the record and/or playoff finish indicate.

 

Division II (2A, A, GIAA) 33 teams

Top 20

(For the weekly regular-season poll, 10 teams will be ranked)

20. Vacant

19. Stratford

          New coaching staff – very new blood – and some tweaks on offense make for quite the transition year.

18. Westfield

          What will the second year of Chad Campbell and his staff bring? Improvement, no doubt.

17. Rutland

          The Hurricanes have been fairly competitive, and are in a region that should allow for some progress.

16. Southwest

          Without a two-year starting quarterback returning, can the rest of the Patriots make up for that?

15. Hawkinsville

          Returning six first- and second-team all-region players in the second year of a new coaching staff, plus some players with playmaking potential means another playoff trip.

14. Jasper County

          The Purple Hurricanes have progressed under head coach Ashley Henderson. They’ll need quick progress up front, first and foremost, to keep it going.

13. Tattnall

          A 12-12 mark the last two years doesn’t quite indicate how good Tattnall was. That, among other things, should lead to better than 7-5, though a state championship date is the goal after two straight semifinals.

12. FPD

          The defending GIAA 4A champs have some holes to fill, but rode a lot of good non-headliners last year.

11. Dodge County

          Among the best one-win teams in the state last year? Dodge County, with a new head coach, lost games by 3, 4, and 3, plus another by 17. The Indians have another head coach, but the players remember the ones that got away.

10. ACE Charter

          New turf, same Gryphons. Mostly. The young program is in better shape to replace starters who graduate. New blood at key positions might make for a mildly sluggish start execution-wise.

9. Washington County

          The Golden Hawks are looking to avoid their first stretch of three straight losing seasons since 1977-79.

8. Putnam County

          There’s no reason to think the steak of five straight playoff trips - program’s best run since 1994-2004 – doesn’t continue. There’s a nucleus back, plus improving up-and-comers.

7. Macon County

          A tough team to figure out, with a new head coach and partly new staff, and maybe some rumblings after Dexter Copeland’s departure. The rumblings will likely quiet pretty quick.

6. John Milledge

          The streaks are over. And frankly, it’s not hard to expect something of a hangover. Note that J.T. Wall’s last season of more than two losses was 2011, 7-4. His first season. Hmmm.

5. Westside

          With good fortunes – health – and general improvements fundamentally, the Seminoles – in their lowest classification in program history - might be in position for the first region title since 2012.

4. Bleckley County

          The Royals have a postseason hump they’re trying to get over. Bleckley County will again go far enough to face that hump.

3. Lamar County

          There are big holes to fill (ATH Ty Head, LB Hunter Hammock, etc.), but Lamar County has done well filling holes for awhile.

2. Northeast

          The status of RB Nick Woodford remains iffy, and the departure – still, as of now – of WR Kavon Conciauro hurts. Tweaks on offense will be mighty interesting to watch, but this is a tough team to gauge.

1. Dublin

          There is plenty of returning talent, including most of the top ground-gainers. And the schedule allows for some momentum and muscle-flexing. Being in a crammed region with a half-dozen playoff-caliber teams makes for an interesting season, and Dublin’s “bigger” region games are on the road. With the power rating system, Dublin should get a pretty high playoff seed.