By Steve Carter
ellisarnall2567@yahoo.com
Camden County at Tift County
Series Record: Camden leads 3-1
Game: After missing last year's state playoffs, the Camden County Wildcats have come back with a vengeance. Coach Welton Coffee's team is a perfect 7-0 on the year, and are 2-0 in the Region 1-AAAAAA standings. The Wildcats have defeated Valdosta 31-10, and Lowndes, 38-19, in league play. In the brief four game series between the two teams, Tift has won only once. That was last year, 37-34, in overtime at Camden. That win helped the Devils make the state playoffs. To make a return trip, Tift will have to again knock off Camden. After going 5-0 to begin the 2015 season, Tift fell 41-14 to Lee to open region play, and were defeated by Valdosta, 26-23, in a controversial loss last week. A holding call wiped out an apparent game-winning touchdown in the waning seconds of the contest.
Brookwood School at Tiftarea Academy
Series Record: Tied 14-14
Game: After a week off, the 1-5 Tiftarea Academy Panthers get back on the field at the Panther Pit this week against one of their biggest rivals, the Brookwood School Warriors. Brookwood will come into the game with an impressive 7-1 mark, having defeated Terrell Academy, 26-13, last week. While the Panthers have only one win on the year, coach Tully Payne's club has been close in most of its' ball games. One common opponent between Brookwood and Tiftarea this season is Deerfield-Windsor. Deerfield handed Brookwood its' only loss, 27-16. D-W also defeated Tiftarea, 43-29, so both teams lost by a comparable margin. Brookwood is 2-1 in the league, and Tiftarea is 0-3. The game will be the last home contest during the regular season for the Panthers this season.
Thomasville at Berrien
Series Record: Thomasville leads 20-0-1
Game:Two teams with identical 1-5 records will do battle in Nashville. The host Berrien High Rebels will come into the game fresh off of a 32-0 loss to Early County in a Region 1-AA matchup last week. Meanwhile, Thomasville fell 20-13 to Pelham on the road. With a 0-3 league mark, Berrien needs a win to stay in the 1-AA playoff hunt, but a victory will also set major history for the Rebels as Berrien has never defeated Thomasville. In a series that dates back to 1960, the Rebels only non-loss was a 7-7 tie in 1967. Other than that one tie, the closest game in the series was a 17-7 win by Thomasville in 1998.
Cook at Appling County
Series Record: Cook leads 10-6-1
Game: After a 41-14 loss to Pierce, the Cook High Hornets have been on a roll. On a current four-game winning streak, the Hornets have put up 138 total points, while having allowed only 40. That run has helped give Cook a 3-1 mark in sub-region play. To keep that hot streak going, the Hornets will be in Baxley Friday to face the 3-3 Appling County Pirates. However, the Pirates also have a 3-1 mark in the sub-region. Both teams have defeated Toombs County in recent weeks by very similar scores. Cook defeated Toombs last week, 43-14, while Appling owns a 42-21 win over Toombs.
Brooks County at Fitzgerald
Series Record: Fitzgerald leads 12-5
Game: After taking a week off, the Fitzgerald High Purple Hurricanes will jump back in the Region 1-AA wars this week by hosting the Brooks County Trojans. Fitzgerald is 6-0 on the year, and ranked second in most state Class AA polls, but Brooks is also red hot having won five games in a row, after dropping its' first two games this season. Brooks has a 3-0 mark in league play with wins over Pelham, Berrien and Seminole. Fitzgerald is 2-0 in league play with wins over Early and Thomasville. Even though Fitzgerald has 12-5 advantage in the all-time series, both teams have won two of the last four meetings between the two schools.
Irwin County at Lanier County
Series Record: Irwin leads 7-2
Game: The Irwin County Indians will look to rebound Friday night after a tough 28-14 loss to Charlton County two weeks ago. The loss put Irwin at 3-2-1 on the year, and 2-1 in league play. The Indians will try to rebound this week with the team's homecoming matchup against the visiting Lanier County Bulldogs. Lanier picked up its' first win on the year last Friday 26-14 in a non-region game against Wheeler County. Irwin defeated Lanier, 48-0, in Lakeland last year.
Turner County at Clinch County
Series Record: Clinch leads 9-5
Game: The most surprising team in the Tiftarea, and in all of South Georgia, the Turner County Rebels will try to stay unbeaten on the road Friday against the Clinch County Panthers. Turner is averaging over 40 points per game on the year, and have only allowed 52 points in six games, 20 of those coming in a 29-20 win over Terrell County. Clinch is 5-1 on the year, the only loss coming to Irwin County, 28-12. The Panthers also own a 33-20 win over AA power Brooks County on the year.
Westover at Worth County
Series Record: Worth leads 21-8
Game: The 3-3 Worth County Rams will play host to the 1-4 Westover High Patriots in a key sub-region contest in Sylvester Friday. Worth is 1-1 after a 30-14 loss to Bainbridge last week. Westover had a game cancelled this season against Northside (Columbus), and after last week, is 1-0 in sub-region play after a 26-7 win against Americus-Sumter. That win came after Westover began the year with four straight losses.
