Thursday Afternoon Quarterback: Hold your breath for the playoffs; top Central Georgia stat performers; record-setters at Warner Robins, Westfield; and more Loughdmouthings
Hold your breath.
If you or your team and coaches and school and community have blown off guidelines for the last several weeks or months, hold your breath. If you need somebody to die of the virus to take it seriously, hold your breath.
If youâre in charge and youâve not hammered home the importance, sports aside, of doing your part for yourself, for people you know and love, for people you donât know, and now you worry about what might be right around the corner âŠ
If youâve followed the insane âwell, if we donât test, we canât be positive, and if weâre not publicly positive, and we avoid the hospital âŠâ philosophy, hold your breath.
Alas, even if youâve done things right, hold your breath.
Many, many folks need to look in the mirror and ask if theyâve done right by the people next to them, and the people â of whatever age â they oversee, whether itâs a classroom or a locker room. Sorry, thatâs reality.
The playoffs will be a rollercoaster. The ride may start sooner than later, and nearer than far.
A number of area teams have been sidelined more than once by COVID concerns. Based on the blatant lack of concern by fans â young and old â at many schools, itâs fairly stunning there havenât been more.
Letâs not talk any more about who has played and will play 10 games, because thatâs a jinx. But the season isnât over, and donât be surprised at anything that happens from here on out.
Indeed, eyes are on Peach County and the results this week of testing, although we donât know how extensive the testing is. Weâre not sure when weâll find out.
Regions â who determine the format for their playoff seedings, not the GHSA â must report their four playoff teams to the GHSA by midnight Saturday.
And Region 2-3A is loaded with drama and suspense.
It has three teams battling for fourth, and it wonât be determined until the final second has ticked off the clock at Matthews Field with Upson-Lee hosting Jackson, while Mary Persons looks to avoid a huge upset at the hands of Americus-Sumter.
That would be enough entertainment in itself. Jackson beat Mary Persons 28-27, and Mary Persons beat Upson-Lee 22-17, so fully expect the Knights and Red Devils to be a combo of football gumbo: itâll have a lotta stuff in there thatâll be tasty for one side.
Then, thereâs Peach County, and time frames and the possibility of forfeiting the first playoff game, and perhaps doing so after the region playoff teams have been submitted to the GHSA and thus leaving a team home.
The regular season has, really, gone smoother than any of us expected. Hold your breath that the postseason will come close to matching it.
Loughdmouthings
Peach Countyâs Chad Campbell has hit the 150-win mark, while Macon Countyâs Dexter Copeland and FPDâs Greg Moore are a win from 150. Brentwoodâs Bert Brown is at 146. âŠ
Westfield sophomore Gavin Vining broke the programâs mark for single-game rushing yards, bolting for 258 against Creekside Christian. The record was 256 set back in 1975 by David Bryant against Pineland. âŠ
Itâs never too late to fix rosters and schedules and stats on MaxPreps. âŠ
He doesnât get quite the attention he deserves, in part because his first name keeps getting misspelled all over the place, but Demarcious Robinson set the Warner Robins tackle record a few weeks ago with his 367th tackle. Right after being named homecoming king. âŠ
Dear schools and teams: If you havenât updated a website in a year, delete it or archive it. Ditto a Twitter account. Way too many teams have too many dormant accounts. Just kill it and start over when somebody will keep it going. âŠ
Some Central Georgia teams continue to have trouble updating MaxPreps stats, but hereâs the latest as far as 1,000-yard passers and rushers, and 500-yard receivers, and their state â albeit incomplete â ranking, such as they are:
Passers: 19. Blake Etheridge, Veterans, 1,915; 44. Lane Rucker, Perry, 1,418; 50. Parker Ingram, FPD, 1,347; 54. Logan Hickman, Mary Persons, 1,325; 55. Travion Solomon, Northeast, 1,323; 60. John Alan Richter, Jones County, 1,285; 66. Jalen Addie, Warner Robins, 1,257; 69. Dominic Sasser, Bleckley County, 1,241; 83. Jakalen Williams, Macon County, 1,130;
Rushers: 6. Jessie Phelps Jr., Rutland, 1,329; 15. Gavin Vining, Westfield, 1,194; 23. Daylon Gordon, Dodge County, 1,093; 28. Lebron Fields, Veterans, 1,061.
Receiving: 20. Jordan Jones, FPD, 737; 35. Justin McCarty, Veterans, 649; 75. Brandon Watkins, Northeast, 539; 83. Jaden Mobley,Bleckley County, 526; 87. Armon Porter, Warner Robins, 522; 89. Maleek Wooten, Jones County, 511. âŠ
Dear Fridaynightgamecasters: Really, why do you not have binoculars? Any idea how absurd it sounds for two or three people to not be able tell us what happened, and who did what, and what the call was? Or not see flags?
Itâs very absurd. Binoculars for the play-by-play person makes huge sense, since thatâs whoâs watch the ball and tackler. The âcolorâ person â thought the color is light beige â should offer something other than the same thing as the PBP person, and should see a flag or something. But everybody canât keep missing the same things.
This allergy to giving the time and score with every break remains astounding. âŠ
Itâs never too late to fix rosters and schedules and stats on MaxPreps.
Polls
Division I (6A, 5A, 4A)
1. Warner Robins (7-1)
2. Jones County (5-3)
3. Perry (5-4)
4. Baldwin (5-0)
5. Houston County (5-5)
Division II (3A, AA, A, GISA)
1. Peach County (6-1)
2. Dublin (8-1)
3. John Milledge (6-0)
4. Macon County (7-1)
5. Central (5-3)
6. Northeast (6-2)
7. Dodge County (5-3)
8. Washington County (5-4)
9. Bleckley County (6-3)
10. Putnam County (8-1)