Central Georgia Sports ReportComment

Friday night's Central Georgia football scouting reports

Central Georgia Sports ReportComment
Friday night's Central Georgia football scouting reports

Teams: Please email game information – stats (offense and defense), names, big plays, etc. – to centralgasports@gmail.com by midnight Friday or by 10:30 a.m. Saturday for inclusion in Central Georgia’s only comprehensive roundup.

 

Class 5A

No. 10 Jones County (6-3/6-0) at Dutchtown (6-3/5-1)

          The Greyhounds win the region with their seventh straight W of the season, but the last three meetings between these two have been decided by 11, eight, and five. Last year, both were ranked in the top 5. Dutchtown has given up more than 20 points only once this year, last week in a 27-21 win over Locust Grove. The Bulldogs had a three-game stretch of wins by 28, 27, and 22, while the Greyhounds haven’t been tested but once since the start of October. Andrew Carner is 25 yards from 1,000 for the year, and he has 19 rushing TDs.

No. 2 Warner Robins (7-1/2-0) at Veterans (4-5/0-3)

          County pride, and either playoff momentum or ending the season with a huge win are what this one’s about. The Demons win the region outright, but are already the top seed. Veterans’ Blake Etheridge is 85 yards from 2,000 passing for the season.  The Warhawks’ D faces the three-headed monster of Jalen Addie, Jahlen Rutherford, and Malcom Brown, who have teamed for 17 rushing touchdowns and almost 1,600 rushing yards.

Class 4A

No. 9 Baldwin (4-0/4-0) at Perry (5-4/5-0)

          Perry’s passing game struggled against Howard last week, the only sub-100-yard game of the year. Lane Rucker has gone two straight games without an interception, and Baldwin has some quality DBs. The same goes the other way around: Derrick Lewis has 682 yards passing in four games, with nine TDs and three INTs, and Perry has eight interceptions, three by Jakhius Jackson, who also has nine breakups. The Region 4-4A championship will be action-packed and probably have some key mistakes.

Spalding (1-8/1-4) at Howard (2-4/0-3)

          Howard is trying to avoid its first winless region season since 2016.

West Laurens (4-4/3-2) at Westside (5-3/3-2)

          The winner gets third in Region 4. West Laurens has been up and down, following a 35-0 loss to Veterans with a 31-0 win over Howard a month later. Three of the Raiders loss have been by a total of 26 points. Westside has a number of ground threats, led by Vansean Jackson (632 yards, 7 TDs), but are inconsistent through the air, with seven TDs and eight interceptions. The Raiders’ Jathan Willis has five sacks and Caden Snell three interceptions.

Class 3A

Americus-Sumter (1-7/1-5) at Mary Persons (4-5/2-4), cancelled

Central (5-3/5-1) at No. 3 Peach County (7-1/6-0), cancelled

Jackson (4-4/3-3) at Upson-Lee (4-5/2-4)

          Upson-Lee needs to win and keep Jackson under 23 points to get into the playoffs. Jackson wins and is in. The Red Devils average 21.9 points a game, the Knights give up 24.9 points a game. Upson-Lee has battled some skill injuries as well as ways to lose games. The Knights have losses by one, seven, and five points, and were seconds two weeks ago from beating Mary Persons for the first time.

Class AA

Northeast (6-2/4-1) at Lamar County (4-5/2-3)

          The Trojans are out of the playoff picture, and have been a bit of a puzzle. They lost to Bleckley County and Dodge County by a combined 68-0 on consecutive weeks, but they’ve scored at least 43 points in three of four wins. QB Devin Bateman (612 yards passing, 487 yards rushing) is among the area’s more underrated players. The Raiders want to stay healthy but go into the playoffs and a home game with momentum.

Putnam County (8-1/5-1) at Butler (4-4/2-4)

          The War Eagles are trying to be the 10th defense to give up less than 10nine points a game, and the first since 1990. The margin of 27.1 points a game this year is a program record.

Toombs County (6-3/2-2) at East Laurens (3-5/0-4)

          The Falcons have been more competitive this year than in recent seasons, even if the record doesn’t show it. They’re trying to break a region losing streak that dates back to 2013.

Washington County (5-4/3-2) at Jasper County/Monticello (2-7/1-4)

          The Golden Hawks clinch their 12th winning season under Joel Ingram with a win. At a minimum, they’ll keep alive a streak of never having a losing region season under Ingram.

 

Class A

ACE (2-6/1-3) at GMC (5-4/2-2)

          A playoff spot is on the line. GMC is going for its first winning overall and region season since 2000. The Bulldogs have played a non-region schedule six times in that span, and their last winning season was 7-3 in 2011, a non-region season.

No. 8 Chattahoochee County (8-0/6-0) at No. 6 Macon County (7-1/6-0)

          The Panthers have been playing football since only the 2006 season, and this is their best season in all phases. They’ve not played for a region championship before, and do so at a place that is hungry amid a drought of no such titles since 2016, which coincided with Macon County winning the state championship. The Bulldogs have the edge on offense, the Panthers on defense. Macon County is 7-4 at home the past two seasons.

Crawford County (0-9/0-4) at Hancock Central (5-0/4-0)

          The Eagles haven’t gone winless since 2013, which followed a winless 2012, and 2011, and 2010.

Deerfield-Windsor (2-7/0-4) at Stratford (6-2/3-1)

          The Eagles are the third seed from the region with a win over the Knights, in their first year in the GHSA. Stratford has won three straight, and five of its wins have been by single digits.

No. 2 Dublin (8-1/7-0) at Montgomery County (6-3/4-3)

          Montgomery County faces two backs, Quay Ashley and J.T. Wright, who average 12.8 and 12.4 yards a carry and have 20 rushing touchdowns. The Irish take the region outright with a win.

FPD (5-4/3-1) at Strong Rock (4-5/1-3)

          FPD clinches the top seed for the first time in GHSA with a win. The Vikings were held to their third-fewest points of the year last week against Stratford.

Johnson County (7-2/5-2) at Hawkinsville (3-6/2-5)

          The Red Devils lead the series 12-7, winning two of the last three by four and two points, losing last year 21-12.

Mount de Sales (6-4/4-1) 24, Tattnall (4-6/2-3) 21, Thursday

Telfair County (4-5/2-5) at Dooly County (3-4/3-4)

          The Bobcats got a late start to the season, but can salvage a .500 overall and region season with a win, and finish in fifth place in the nine-team region.

Warren County (6-2/3-1) at Wilkinson County (2-5/2-2)

          The Warriors have to beat the No. 2 team in the region to force a playoff tiebreaker.

GISA

Frederica (5-3/1-1) at Trinity Christian (0-8/0-3)

          The Crusaders have never had a winless season, and are on a five-game losing streak to Frederica.

Gatewood (8-1/1-0) at Brentwood (7-1/1-0)

          The winner is the region champ. Brentwood leads the series 17-12, but the Gators have won six straight over the War Eagles.

Westfield (6-1-1/2-0) at John Milledge (7-0/2-0)

          The Hornets weren’t necessarily expected to be in this position, after a coaching change at the top and within the staff, but here they are, with their highest win total since 2015, Ronnie Jones’ final year. Westfield leads the series 19-12, but John Milledge has won four straight, by an average of 42-5. The Trojans have given up one touchdown since the start of October, and played all year without standout RB Amaad Foston.

GAPPS

Central Fellowship at Community Christian

John Hancock at Fullington