Central Georgia high school football scouting reports
The rankings are from the Georgia High School Football Daily composite. Scores noted are from last year’s meeting.
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GHSA
Class 5A
No.7 Houston County, 1-0, at Effingham County
The visiting Rebels gave Houston County a scare last year in a 44-41 loss, going 6-5. The Bears were impressive – and clutch – in last week’s 31-24 win over Brookwood.
3A Baldwin, 0-1, at Northside, 0-1
The Eagles won their second straight game to open the 2024 season, edging Baldwin 13-12. The Braves scored in the final minute, but the conversion failed.
5A Statesboro, 1-0, at Veterans, 0-1
The Blue Devils won 21-10, and went on to finish 4-6. They beat Southeast Bulloch 21-10 last week.
Class 4A
Jones County, 1-0, at Woodland-Stockbridge, 1-0
And just like that, region play is here. Jones County won 48-19 last year for its sixth straight win in the series, the Greyhounds winning five by at least 29 points.
Class 3A
4A/No. 11 Perry, 1-0, at No. 4 Peach County, 1-0
Perry won 49-39, but trails 33-12 in the series. The Panthers have won three straight, a first in the series, and by 19.7 points a game. With new starters almost everywhere, Perry racked up more than 550 yards in total offense while dispatching Baldwin.
AA Jackson, 1-0, at Mary Persons
The Bulldogs had to forfeit last year’s 23-0 win, boosting the Red Devils to a 4-7 mark. Mary Persons won 49-0 a year earlier, for two straight shutouts (forfeit notwithstanding).
A/I Manchester, 0-1, at No. 14 Upson-Lee, 1-0
The first meeting in the series between neighbors went to the smaller Blue Devils, who finished 10-2 and also hammered 6A Chapel Hill as part of a 10-game winning streak.
Groves at West Laurens
Click on it, and start - or continue - reading. It has been updated with Dodge County info.
The Raiders started a surprisingly strong year with a 28-0 win over the 3A Rebels, who finished 1-9 for the third straight year. Groves hasn’t won more than two games since going 6-4 in 2014.
Class AA
Rutland, 0-1, at A/I Jeff Davis, 1-0
Jeff Davis won 44-12 en route to an 8-4 season (that included a sweep of Washington County). The Yellow Jackets won 41-0 in 2021.
Westside, 1-0, at A-3A/No. 1 Prince Avenue Christian, 1-0
Both teams played private out-of-state schools a year ago this week, Westside getting a paycheck and losing 49-0 to First Baptist in Florida, Prince Avenue falling 31-21 to Mallard Creek, N.C. This is the first meeting between the Seminoles and the powerhouse from Bogart. Prince Avenue is 9-1 against Central Georgia (3-0 vs. FPD, 2-0 vs. GMC Prep and Jasper County, 1-0 vs. Stratford, 1-1 vs. Mary Persons).
Class A/Division I
No. 13 Bleckley County, 1-0, at No. 11 Dodge County
What will the 50th meeting hold? Well, six of the last eight have been decided by 7 points or less, Dodge County winning by 3 last year after the Royals won by 3 in 2023. The Indians lead the series 33-16, but last year’s win broke a 5-game Royals’ winning streak.
No. 8 Dublin, 0-1, at East Laurens, 0-1
The good memories in the 31-game series for East Laurens are mighty minimal. The lone win came in 2012, a stunning 46-17 home win. Since then, the Falcons have scored 80 points in 10 games, while the Irish have scored at least 41 points in every game in that span.
No. 5 Northeast, 1-0, at Southwest, 1-0, Thompson
There’s actually some intrigue in the 56th meeting, the sudden emergence last week of Chase Dupree at quarterback for the Patriots, after sitting out 2024 and with no indication of a return in the preseason. The Raiders won 48-6 in the 2023 meeting in which Dupree played. The Patriots are off an impressive and somewhat surprising 38-13 win over Macon County, while Northeast was beaten 33-14 by Class 3A top-5 Peach County. Northeast has a better defense than Macon County, and Southwest’s D – which has given up at least 36 points in the last five meetings – will have a challenge with some new wrinkles on Northeast’s offense.
Jefferson County at Washington County, 0-1
The Warriors are on a 1-20 slump, including last year’s 32-0 loss to Washington County. The Golden Hawks leads the series 13-1, and not many have been close.
Putnam County, 1-0 at Morgan County
The War Eagles opened with a quality 42-15 win over Greene County, which went 8-3 last year. The Bulldogs lead the series 32-16, last year’s 42-28 win breaking a 2-game Putnam County winning streak (37-0 and 5-2).
Class A/Division II
Jasper County, 1-0 at Hancock Central, 1-0
The neighbors have played only nine times, Jasper County leading 5-4 after last year’s 26-0 win.
Schley County, 0-1, at Hawkinsville, 1-0
The Red Devils are looking for their first 2-0 start since 2016, a 4-6 season. They lead the series 7-4 after last year’s 47-23 loss.
Crawford County, 0-1 at GMC Prep, 0-1
GMC is trying to avoid a fourth straight 0-2 start, and improve on last year’s 43-7 loss.
Macon County, 0-1, at A/II No. 2 Bowdon, 0-1
Stunned by last week’s loss to Southwest, Macon County has a tough task to avoid its first 0-2 start since 2022, a 5-6 season. Bowdon, off a 26-0 loss to Fellowship Christian, rolled 56-7 last year, and is facing its first 0-2 record since 2023, a state championship season.
Taylor County, 0-1, at Wheeler County, 1-0
Wheeler County won 15-0 last year in the first meeting since 1975 and third meeting overall.
GIAA
Class AAAA/AAA
FPD, 1-0, at GHSA A/I Marion County, 0-1
The Vikings are going for their third straight win against GHSA competition, a streak that started after a 44-all tie with Laney in 2023. They rolled 49-21 at home last year. Marion County finished 5-6 in 2024.
Deerfield-Windsor, 1-0, at Mount de Sales, 0-1
Mount de Sales’ QB Zavion DeShazier became the program’s all-time passing yards leader last week. He now has 3,503 career yards, passing Dexter Williams’ mark of 3,487. The Cavs are off a 2-point road loss and welcome the defending AAA champ, a 35-14 winner last year. The Knights turned a 1-9 2023 into a 10-3 title in 2024, and lead the series with MdS 12-5.
Piedmont, 1-0, at Lakeview, 0-1
New head coach Aubry Payne got a win in his first try at Piedmont, and now goes for the Cougars’ second straight 2-0 start.
Tattnall, 0-1, at St. Anne-Pacelli, 0-1
Tattnall and its new head coach face another new head coach (Walter “Smitty” Grider) for the second straight week. St. Anne-Pacelli opened 0-2 last year, and the Trojans haven’t been 0-2 since 2023.
Southland, 0-1, at Westfield, 1-0
Westfield recorded its biggest romp since thumping Heritage-Newnan 52-0 in 2023. first shutout. The Hornets lead the series 27-15 winning 47-7 a year ago.
Class AA/A
Brentwood, 1-0 at Pinewood, 1-0
The War Eagles rolled 67-48 last year en route to the AA state title, Pinewood going on to a 2-8 season. The teams hadn’t played in several years, Pinewood winning back to back 35-0 games in 2014-15.
Central Fellowship, 0-1, at Briarwood, 1-0
The Lancers lost 14-7 last week, their lowest-scoring game since a 14-7 loss to Thomas Jefferson to open the 2020 season.
Gatewood, 0-1, at Trinity Christian, 0-1
The Gators are trying to avoid a second straight 0-2 start, falling 28-12 to the Crusaders last year in Eatonton in the regular season before avenging it 34-23 in the playoffs. Gatewood leads the series 13-11.
Thomas Jefferson, 0-1, at Windsor, 1-0
Windsor spent six seasons playing 8-man football until last year, with 2017 its final 11-man season for awhile. That was an 0-10 year after 6-6. The Knights started 2-0 in 2014.
8-man
Covenant at Crisp County
John Hancock at Fullington