Tiftarea Academy Panthers (4-3) at Deerfield-Windsor Academy Knights (5-3)
Series Record: Deerfield leads 19-2-1
Coming off of a heartbreaking 7-0 loss to Brookwood last week, the Tiftarea Academy Panthers will be back on the road Friday in Albany against the Deerfield-Windsor Academy Knights. Tiftarea has only won twice in 22 overall meetings against the Knights, but both teams come into this week's games with similar records. While Tiftarea lost 7-0 on a 71-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds left in the half, Deerfield was winning a key Region 3-AAA contest against Southland in Americus, 34-21. Cooper Roberts scored three touchdowns in that game for the Knights. In the game against Brookwood, Tiftarea controlled the ball for most of the contest as the Warriors only had seven possessions the entire game. However, the Panthers could not ever find the end zone. Spence Massey helped the Panthers control the ball with 127 yards on the ground. One common opponent between the two teams, Southland, could suggest the Panthers could once be favored against Deerfield. While the Knights defeated Southland, 34-21, the Panthers defeated the same Southland squad, 34-6, earlier this season at the Panther Pit.
Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes (4-1) at the Albany High Indians (0-5)
Series Record: Albany leads 10-7
The Class AA Purple Hurricanes ended their run against Class AAAAAAA opponents last week with a 35-28 loss against the Tift County Blue Devils in Tifton. Fitzgerald will look to get back on track this week against the Albany High Indians in a Region 1-AA matchup at Hugh Mills Stadium. While the Hurricanes have scored 246 points and are averaging 49.1 points per game, the Indians have only scored 42 points the entire season. That includes the 21 points Albany scored in its last game, a 27-21 loss to Dougherty. Against Tift County, Fitzgerald's JD King officially rushed 28 times for 171 yards. He now has 655 yards on 85 carries for the year. He also has caught nine passes for 178 yards. King has nine combined touchdowns in five games. Quarterback James Graham is a combined 34-for-64 passing this season for 670 yards. He has thrown for 10 touchdowns and has been intercepted twice. King and Graham's numbers are even more impressive when you consider the Tift game was the first time both have played four quarters in a contest this season. Markeylan Lundy and Donterious Milsap lead the team in tackles with 39 apiece. Josh Reliford and Marlon Jackson have added 31 total stops each.
Worth County Rams (3-3) at Cook High Hornets (3-3)
Series Record: Tied 14-14
This could be called the .500 Bowl as the both Worth County and Cook High will come into the contest with identical 3-3 records, and the overall series is tied at 14-14. To get ready for this Region 1-AAA opener for both sides, the Rams defeated visiting Harris County, 48-28 last week. Worth jumped out early when Lance Eldridge hit Malik Dassie on a touchdown pass. Chris McDaniel would score the Rams' second touchdown on a 6-yard run. After Harris tied the game at 14-14, Dassie put Worth back in front on a 7-yard touchdown run. Harris would tie the game back up, but Worth went into the halftime break up 27-21, thanks to a 67-yard run by McDaniel. Harris had one late chance to score in the first half, but the Rams' Quan Jackson intercepted a pass to end the threat. In the third quarter Dassie scored his third touchdown of the game with a 65-yard reception from Eldridge. The Ram quarterback would later make the score 41-21 with a 1-yard touchdown run. Worth scoring would end when Montravious Buford scored on a 8-yard run. The big play in t he drive was set up by a 50-yard pass play from Eldridge to David Little. Having been led all season by Brandon Doe's offensive rushing, Cook relied on its' defense last week in an 18-7 win over Early County. Derrick Allen led the Hornets on defense, recovering a fumble and returning it for a touchdown, and also intercepting a pass. Vincent Gray also returned a fumble for a score, as the Cook offense could only put up three points in the game. Shawn Cain added five tackles, three for losses, and Quinton Jackson had a sack for the Hornet defense. Early managed 181 yards in the game. Cook only put up 200 yards of offense, as Doe did rush for 145 yards on 21 carries. Darius Cleveland had two catches for 35 yards from quarterback Gunner George.
Berrien High Rebels (3-2) at Thomasville High Bulldogs (1-3)
Series Record: Thomasville leads 20-1-1
For the first time in school history, the Berrien High Rebels defeated the Thomasville High Bulldogs last season, 35-22. The two schools have been playing since 1960, and the only other time Berrien didn't lose to the Bulldogs was in 1967, a 7-7 tie. The two teams will face off again this week in the Region 1-AA opener for both schools. Berrien hasn't played since Sept. 23, a 16-12 win over Early. Thomasville was also off last week, after falling 43-18 to Cook on Sept. 23. Berrien has also faced Cook this year, falling 48-28. A win by the Rebels will double their win total of last season, when they finished 2-8.
Tift County, Irwin County and Turner County are off this week.
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