Sept. 9
Valdosta High Wildcats at Tift County Blue Devils
Series Record: Valdosta leads 48-8
After playing two of their first three games to new opponents, the Tift County Blue Devils will meet a very familiar face Friday night at Brodie Field as the Valdosta High Wildcats come to town. For the first time in several years, it will not be a region game as Valdosta is now in AAAAAA, while Tift County is in AAAAAAA. However, both teams are unbeaten and it will be one of the top games in the state of Georgia this weekend. After struggling against Wayne County in this psat Saturday's 28-0 Valdosta win, Josh Belton has benched as Wildcat quarterback and will be replaced as the starter by Hunter Holt. Against Wayne, Holt took over in the middle of the third quarter and was 6-of-7 passing for 111 yards and also rushed for 117 more yards. Holt threw for a touchdown and ran for a score. Belton could also see action against Tift, as going into the Wayne game, he had been 26-of-34 passing for 315 yards in Valdosta's first two games. He also ran for 175 more yards and four scores. Even with the dueling quarterbacks, Valdosta's defense has been the story, holding opponents to just 25 points in three games. That'll be the key battle in the game as 25 points is a half of scoring for Tift County this season. Led by quarterback Griffin Collier, the Blue Devils have put up 152 points in three games. In a 55-19 win over ThunderRidge High (Colo.) last Thursday at Walt Disney World, the Blue Devils didn't put up Mickey Mouse numbers as Deonte Coleman had a 70-yard scoring run, while Fred Lloyd caught a 71-yard scoring pass from Collier. Not to be outdone, Brant Watson also scored on a 57-yard scoring pass, while Rashod Bateman scored on a 34-yard scoring play. Cam Cobb added two touchdowns, and Mike Jones added a score. While, Valdosta holds a big lead in the overall series, Tift usually plays extremely well at home against the Wildcats. Three former Devils are on this year's Valdosta coaching staff, Stacy Duckworth, Ryan Branch and Israel Troupe.
Bacon County Red Raiders at Berrien High Rebels
Series Record: Berrien leads 16-10
After an unexpected off week due to their game with Dougherty High being canceled due to Hermine Friday, the Berrien High Rebels will return to the field Friday against the Bacon County Red Raiders. It will be the first meeting between the schools since 2003, which was won by Bacon, 44-0. Berrien will come into the game with a 1-1 record, while Bacon stands at 0-1, a 49-6 loss to Pierce County.
Early County Bobcats at Worth County Rams
Series Record: Worth leads 7-6
After a narrow 13-10 loss to AAAAA Veterans High, the AAA Worth County Rams will return home Friday to host the AA Early County Bobcats. It will be the first meeting between the schools since 1983. Worth is 1-2 on the year with a win over Turner County and losses to Veterans and Thomas County Central. Early is 0-1-1 with a loss to Eufaula (Ala.) and a 7-7 tie to Seminole County. It was the third year in a row for a 7-7 tie for Early, as the Bobcats had identical scores against Irwin County in 2014 and 2015.
Sept. 10
Fitzgerald High Purple Hurricanes at Macon County Bulldogs
Series Record: Fitzgerald leads 4-0
This game was scheduled for Friday, but was moved to 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Montezuma after Irwin County forced Macon County to play on Monday this week. It will be an unique matchup as Fitzgerald has only played once in the four weeks of the season, a 56-19 win over Irwin, while it will be the second game in six days for Macon County. In Monday's 57-15 win over the Indians of Irwin, K'hari Lane showed why he was named the preseason All-State quarterback in Class A. He passed for 278 yards and four scores against the Indians. He also ran for another score. Unofficially, he threw the ball to seven different receivers. Fitzgerald will counteract Lane with All-State performers of its own, including running back JD King, quarterback James Graham and tight end Lectius Smith. All three scored against Irwin in the Canes' only game this season. Macon County is ranked first in public school Class A by the GHSF Daily e-mail newsletter, while Fitzgerald is ranked first in Class A.
Tiftarea, Irwin, Cook and Turner are all off this week.
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