By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Games of the Week

Peach County at Perry
Perry is anxious to erase the taste of the first losing season under Kevin Smith, one in which it went 4-7 but was outscored by only five points. But Peach County returns a load of talent in every phase while Perry will need a few weeks in a few phases.

Bleckley County at West Laurens
The usually stout Raider defense will have to tangle with Brody Fleming, one of the top QBs in the state. West Laurens has a lot of holes to fill.

Lamar County at Upson-Lee
An experienced offensive line is good news for Lamar County, which has a defense led by all-stater Bryson Johnson. The Trojans are working on mixing a fair number of new bodies into the lineup.

Stratford at St. Anne-Pacelli
The loaded defending 4A champs are going for their seventh straight 2-0 start, against a team they handled 49-17 to open last season after some recent struggles.

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Washington County at Baldwin
Washington County has lost four straight season openers. These two teams were to open the 2021 season, but COVID hit the Golden Hawks and the game was cancelled. Baldwin leads the series 22-21, having won the last two (20-10 and 35-28)

Dublin at Jasper County
Look for some slobber knocking, and defenses chasing running backs. Jasper County’s Chance Ross is an upper-level runner who was good for 124.5 yards a game in the Hurricanes historic 2025 season. Trav Bostic leads the Dublin Wing-T that has a loaded backfield, with Dontavious Cannon and Jamarcus Knight.

Houston County vs. West Forsyth, in Atlanta
Ryan Maxwell already has a huge resume at quarterback, throwing for more than 2,600 yards with a 3-1 TD-INT ratio as a freshman. Austin Stinson is a tough back. The Bears do have some holes on defense to fill.

Valdosta at Jones County
The Greyhounds have been promoting all sorts of new stuff in Gray, and Valdosta has opened a $14 million facility. The Barking Lot should be quite amped to host one of the state’s most notable programs. This is the first meeting.

Warner Robins at Veterans
The Demons have a 10-0 lead in the series. And last year’s 26-17 win was the second-closest game in the series. The door is open for another competitive game.

Eagle’s Landing at Northside
In 2022, Northside went 7-5. The Eagles are 7-24 since then. Yet there might be some legit anticipation on Green Street under second-year head coach Boone Williams, whose team eyes revenge from last year’s very winnable 20-14 loss.

Southwest at Howard (Thompson, 8 p.m.)
Howard has gone backwards the last four seasons, dropping from 6-4 to 2-8, hampered last year by injuries and undisciplined play. The Huskies have some key players back, while new Southwest head Roderick Cummings eyes a good start toward the program’s third winning season in a decade.

Mary Persons at Jackson
The Bulldogs lead the series 61-22, and haven’t lost on the field – they gave up a forfeit in 2024) since 2022, and return a chunk of players, led by RB/LB CJ Banks, likely to keep that run going.

Greenville at Central (Thompson, 5 p.m.)
A pair of struggling teams match up. Greensville has won 10 games the last four seasons, and Central hasn’t won since Oct. 21, 2023.

Wilkinson County at ACE
The Warriors have one of the state’s top quarterbacks with Quenterrion Stanford, who will give standout linebacker William Winters and the ACE defense plenty to deal with. The Gryphons have won three straight, by 29, 37, and 29. It’s the debut for Wilkinson County head coach Mack McCord.

CENTRAL GEORGIA’S BEST HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COVERAGE

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🏈 Who are the top players back in Central Georgia? Check out the area’s returning GHSA all-region performers

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🏈 GIAA football, opening-week report: Commentary, 5 questions and answers, players to watch, playoff analysis

🏈 GIAA: Who might end the season at Georgia Southern?

🏈 Remember, it’s a new collection of classifications and regions for GHSA and GIAA

Johnson County at East Laurens
East Laurens won 13-8 in 2024, the Falcons’ first win over the Trojans since 2007. The Falcons have had three straight three-win seasons, and have been fairly competitive in two of them. This year’s team has more playmakers than in recent seasons.

Putnam County at Greene County
Greene County has been up and down in recent years, and is on fourth head coach since 2021. Putnam County, led by Bryson Brown on offense and Jabius Farley on defense, is 16-17 under fourth-year head coach Joel Harvin.

Dooly County at Macon County
Macon County’s third head coach in four seasons is one who spent 17 seasons at one job. Spoon Risper takes over a team that won a region title two years ago and barely missed on last year, and has UGA commit Noah Parker at RB.

GMC at Atkinson County
The Bulldogs’ 4-7 season was an impressive improvement from 0-10 in 2024, when they scored but 63 points. Atkinson County went 8-1 last year.

Hawkinsville at Marion County
The Red Devils are going after their fourth straight winning season, which hasn’t happened since the big two-championship run from 1999-2006. The won last year’s meeting 28-18 to even the series at 6 all.

Pike County at Taylor County
Taylor County is off a good effort in a scrimmage against Upson-Lee, and is only a mild transition with a new head coach, having promoted Jess DeVoursney, part of a football coaching family. The Vikings have six returning all-region players.

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Claxton at Twiggs County
Somebody will celebrate a win like it’s a December game in a dome, not in Jeffersonville. Claxton went 0-10 last year, after 1-9 in 2024. Twiggs County went 0-10 last year, 2-8 in 2024 following an 0-9 season.

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Brentwood at Bulloch
The War Eagles lost to John Milledge in the opener in 2021, and didn’t lose again. They’ll try that again, but Bulloch – which leads the series 7-5 – is off an 8-3 season. Brentwood last opened 0-2 in2022, an finished 9-4 and state runner-up.

Creekside Christian at Mount de Sales
Mount de Sales turned it around at halftime last week against Central Fellowship with some big plays in the passing game. In taking on a GAPPS opponent, the Cavs have a good shot to go 2-0 for the first time since 2019’s 10-1 run.

FPD at Deerfield-Windsor
D-W’s perfect season in 2025 ended in the 3A championship with a 28-20 loss to John Milledge. FPD is trying to avoid its first 0-2 start since 2019 when the Vikings opened with losses to Howard and Mount Vernon Presbyterian in the GHSA days.

Gatewood at Briarwood
The Gators will try to rebound from a surprisingly dominant defeat, 47-7 at Tattnall last week.

John Milledge at Tiftarea
After losing twice in 2024 to Tiftarea, John Milledge got revenge last year with a 42-7 win. The Trojans already seem in mid-September form after pulling away from Brentwood last week. The Panthers of veteran head coach Erik Soliday finished 4-6 last year.

Piedmont at Tattnall
This is the first meeting of the Cougars and Trojans since 1976, a 9-6 Tattnall win. No, Barney Hester was still six years away from starting his legendary career on Trojan Trail. The Cougars finished 7-5 last year.

Sherwood Christian at Central Fellowship
This is the first meeting since 2019, a 47-24 CFCA win to pull within 4-3 in the series. CFCA faces a team returning to 11-man football after five successful years in the 8-man game, something familiar to the Lancers.

Strong Rock at Westfield
The former region mates meet with Westfield looking to go 4-1 against Strong Rock, and open 2-0 for the third straight year under head coach Chad Campbell. Last week’s win over Brookstone and the Hornets holding on in the fourth quarter are momentum-builders.

Trinity Christian at Robert Toombs
Trinity Christian hasn’t started off 0-2 since 2023, a 2-9 season. Robert Toombs is off its third 7-5 season out of the last four, 2025 ending with a GIAA Class A state title. RTCA won 34-7 last year to even the series at 17 all.

Windsor at Thomas Jefferson
The Knights go from playing the 4A state champ to a team that went 1-10 last year. Windsor remembers well that lone Jaguars win: 27-18 at Windsor.

Saturday, GHSA

Crawford County at Rutland (Thompson, 5 p.m.)
Rutland has a 21-game losing streak staring at it, a stretch dating back to a 41-14 win over Kendrick on Oct. 27, 2023. The Hurricanes lost six games by two touchdowns or less during that slump. Crawford County hired a new coach, Matt Wilson, during the summer after going 4-6 under new Macon County defensive coordinator Dusty Jump. Rutland leads the series 5-0, but the teams haven’t played since 2007.

Northeast vs. Westside (Thompson, 8 p.m.)
Finally, the Raiders and Seminoles meet. That hasn’t happened since 1999. The head coaches were Carror Wright and Robert Davis. The current head coaches were high schoolers at the time. The Raiders have passed the Seminoles as the top Bibb County public school program, so there’s likely been some chirping during the offseason. Westside is off its worst season in program history, while Northeast went 10-3 and to the Class A quarterfinals.