Prep notebook: Peach County football, baseball All-Americans, Class A power ratings

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

 

Peach County tweaks football schedule

          The Class 3A runner-up has made, in the middle of the reclassification period, some notable changes for the 2018 football schedule.

          The Trojans retain Houston County and Mary Persons, but have swapped Warner Robins and Perry for Northside and Lee County. That's a 5A and 4A for two 6A programs that have been to state title games in the past few years.

          Perry and Peach County have played 42 times, and ever year since 2000, and with a few breaks in the late and early 1990s, after playing every season from 1972-1989, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association website.

          The Trojans lead 33-9, and the Panthers' last win was in 2007, 1989 before that. Since that Panther win, five games have been decided by 28 or more points.

          The teams will, however, scrimmage in August at Perry.

Tattnall, Bleckley County repped on All-America team

          A pair of Central Georgia high school players will open the baseball season as All-Americans, according to Collegiate Baseball.

          Bleckley County's Carter Raffield is a first-team pitcher, as is Tattnall infielder Logan Simmons.

          Raffield, a 6-4, 215-pounder who has signed with Clemson after initially committing to Georgia, struck out 80 batters in 59.2 innings last year, with a 1.76 ERA. He also batted .337 with four homers.

          Simmons plays the middle infield, and batted around .380 with nearly 50 runs and almost 50 RBI. As a sophomore, he hit a walk-off homer in the first game of the GHSA Class A private finals series, and then pitched a complete game to win the title.

          Georgia had several other players selected: North Oconee pitcher Kumar Rocker, Walton pitcher Luke Bartnicki, Loganville pitcher Joseph Brandon, Brookwood catcher Will Banfield, Cartersville, pitcher/catcher Anthony Seigler, Heritage pitcher/first baseman Cole Wilcox, and Parkview catcher Logan Cerny.

GHSA Class A basketball power ratings

2 p.m., Feb. 1, 2018

Central Georgia teams

Girls

Private

Rank        School     Reg.Rec.          Ranking

6.      Stratford            7-A   20-2          12.82

18.    Tattnall              7-A   11-10          8.05

19.    Mount de Sales 7-A   8-9             7.70

35.    FPD                    7-A   5-15           5.23

Of 43 schools

Class A Public

7.      GMC                   7-A   19-1            11.80

9.      Macon County  4-A   17-4           11.54

18.    Taylor County   4-A   13-9           8.35

25.    Hancock Central 7-A 9-14          7.22

29.    Dooly County    4-A   10-13         6.86

31.    Wilkinson Co.   7-A   5-17           6.50

32.    Twiggs County 7-A   8-15           6.46

50.    Crawford Co.    4-A   2-21           4.28

53.    Hawkinsville     4-A   0-23          4.09

Of 60 schools

Boys

Private

Rank        School     Reg. Rec.         Ranking

9.      Stratford            7-A   16-3           10.91

24.    FPD                    7-A   10-10         8.05

33.    Tattnall              7-A   8-11           5.98

37.    Mount de Sales 7-A   3-20          4.55

Public

2.      Macon County 4-A 18-3             14.21

7.      Wilkinson Co.   7-A  17-6           12.84

10.    GMC                   7-A   18-2           11.33

14.    Dooly County    4-A   13-11          9.78

18.    Hanc.-Central  7-A   12-10         8.74

31.    Hawkinsville     4-A   9-15           7.72

37.    Twiggs County 7-A   12-11          7.07

43.    Taylor County   4-A   7-16           5.97

50.    Crawford Co.    4-A   3-22          4.93