By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Rankings are from the Georgia High School Football Daily Composite poll. Stats are mostly based on what teams report to MaxPreps.

🏈🏈🏈GHSA🏈🏈🏈

Class 6A

Northside, 2-3/0-1, at Tift County, 3-3/0-2
Here’s one of those games that would be big in the old days, like, last year, when region placement mattered. Now, it pits No. 33 vs. No. 25 in the PSR. The game is bigger for No. 33 Northside, which took hit with the loss two weeks ago to Veterans. The Eagles are again a little better than their numbers. Tift County is balanced yardage-wise, and took a 56-28 hit from Houston County last week. The Eagles won 35-34 in OT in 2023 and 42-0 in 2022.

No. 1 Thomas County Central, 6-0/2-0, at No. 14 Houston County, 3-2/1-0
Will this one be something of a shootout? There’s a chance, since Houston County is involved. But Thomas County Central counters the ability to roll up points while preventing points. Since the start of last season, TCC has allowed 21 or more points only to Lee County (twice, 21 points each), Roswell (28) and Gainesville (21). The Yellow Jackets have cracked 50 points 12 times. But not against the Bears in the four current-era meetings.

Veterans, 4-2/1-1, at No. 3 Lee County, 5-1/1-1
Quite the stretch facing the Warhawks: Thomas County Central last week, Lee County this week, next Friday off, and then Houston County. The Warhawks are in the playoff hunt, but the road is tough. Still, a competitive night is a good thing, and that’ll be a challenge against a team that has a 4-0 series lead and the smallest margin was 36 points in 2022.

CENTRAL GEORGIA’S BEST HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COVERAGE

This week
🏈 Maxwell Predictions (Coming Friday morning)
🏈 Who’s going to win this week’s games?
🏈 Notes: Northeast update, Thursday’s scouting reports
🏈 Central Georgia state composite rankings
🏈 Central Georgia rankings
🏈 Macon Touchdown Club players of the week

Last week
🏈 Roundup: Jones County stuns in OT; Warner Robins hammer; Baldwin’s Patterson explodes; Mary Persons falls on final play; Northeast, Dublin, Stratford take showdowns; Taylor County goes off
🏈 Scouting Reports: This week’s GHSA and GIAA games
🏈 Maxwell Predictions
🏈 Who’s going to win this week’s games?
🏈 Central Georgia state Maxwell/composite rankings
🏈 Notebook: A look at some polls, Houston County’s O, who ranks where in state stats?
🏈 Howard’s Poole takes state honor
🏈 Central Georgia rankings
🏈 Macon Touchdown Club players of the week

Class 4A

Westside, 2-4/0-3, at No. 2T Peach County, 6-0/3-0
These two were region foes off and on for a little while, playing every year from 2014-2019, but not since then. In the battle of former coaches, Peach County’s Chad Campbell was 8-0 against Sheddrick Risper and 0-2 against Robert Davis. Only one time in 10 has the margin been single digits, and four times has it been more than 30. Odds favor something closer to the latter number, with the Trojans averaging 259 more yards a game.

Class 3A

Central, 3-3/1-2, at No, 3T Northeast 5-1/3-0
The Raiders followed up a sluggish start with an explosive finish last week, going from down 19-7 to winning 59-19 over Rutland in Northeast’s first game since five players were victims of a shooting at Central City Park. Central has been up and down under first-year head coach Jamoski Ward, from a 2-0 start to a humbling rout by Brookstone to topping Southwest and battling Pike County. LB Cedric Jackson leads Northeast with 61 tackles, while Maurice Wilson has 10 tackles for loss. Central leads the series, but Northeast has won the last six, by at least 39 points in the last five.

Washington County, 3-3/2-0, at Hephzibah, 5-1/2-0
Hephzibah has the balance that Washington County doesn’t, the Golden Hawks still working on the passing game to go with a respectable run game. Marderius Poole and D Holmes have teamed for 676 rushing yards, but only 3 TDs on the ground. The teams haven’t played since 2015, a reason WACO has a 9-1 series lead.

Class AA

ACE, 5-1/1-1, at No. 7 Bleckley County, 5-1/1-1
This game could have some juice, even though it’s only the third meeting. ACE won 29-28 in OT in 2024, and Bleckley County left a mark with a 48-9 win a year later. Both visitors have won. It’s even on paper, ACE with a 51-yard rushing edge and Bleckley County getting 73 more passing yards. The Royals are close to being undefeated, and have only really been fully challenged in one win, 34-19 over Cook. Cody Register leads a defense that will focus on QB Ace Hatcher the runner and force him to be a passer, the Gryphons coming off a shaky offensive night in a loss at home to East Laurens.

Class A

Hawkinsville, 3-3/2-0, at Wilcox County, 0-6/0-2
The Red Devils are way down in this series, 27-18-1, having gone 1-8 since 2017. They won 19-14 two years ago and lost 28-23 last year. Wilcox County may be on target for its worst season since going 1-9 in 2016, which was followed up by 2-8 in 2017. Martin McDonald is good for 84.8 rushing yards a game, and Tony Whitehead leads the defense with 9 tackles each week.

GIAA

Central Fellowship, 0-6, 0-1, at Tiftarea, 3-4/0-1
A pair of coaching lifers go at it, one in his 38th season as a head coach (Tiftarea’s Erik Soliday) and the other (CFCA’s Ted Belflower) in his first. Tiftarea leads the series 7-3-1, winning 14-7 last year after rolling 48-0 in 2023. The teams tied at 28 in 2023.