Tift County Blue Devils (5-2) at Lowndes High Vikings (6-1)
Series Record: Lowndes leads 27-23
It's the Region 1-AAAAAAA opener for the Devils and the Vikings Friday night at Martin Stadium in Valdosta. This is an unique series as Lowndes only leads by four wins all-time, however the Vikings have dominated recently. Tift defeated Lowndes 13-3 in 2006 that ended a 11-game Devil losing streak in the series. Lowndes then responded by winning six of the next seven meetings. Tift ended that streak in 2014 with a 35-28 win at Lowndes. The Vikings responded last season with a 42-16 victory in Tifton. This is an important game for both sides as it is the league opener. Tift has lost twice on the year, to Valdosta and Parkview, while the only loss on the Vikings' ledger was to Valdosta. Tift quarterback Griffin Collier has some of the top passing numbers in the state. He has completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,849 yards. Collier has thrown for 19 touchdowns on the year and only has been intercepted four times. Rashod Bateman has been his favorite target with 40 catches for 607 yards on the year. Other top receivers are Cameron Cobb (26 catches for 288 yards), Fred Lloyd (28, 383) and Brant Watson (15, 301). Watson leads the team in touchdown catches with six, including two against Fitzgerald and Tift's 35-28 win two weeks ago. Brenton Jones has been Tift's leading rusher with 375 yards on 85 carries. Linebacker Cody Thompson leads the Devils in tackles with 49 total stops, including nine for loss yardage. Fellow linebacker Elvin Coney also has 40 total stops on the year. Lowndes is led by quarterback Michael Barrett, who has completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,495 yards. He has thrown 14 touchdown passes and has been picked off only two times. Barrett also leads the team in rushing with 493 yards on 67 carries. The Lowndes has scored seven touchdowns with his legs this season. Tyson Harris is Lowndes' leading receiver with 21 catches for 452 yards and six touchdowns. Jeff Davis leads the Vikings in tackles with 41 on the year.
Westfield School Hornets (1-6) at Tiftarea Academy Panthers (4-4)
Series Record: Westfield leads 12-0
The Tiftarea Academy Panthers have already doubled their win total from last season. But coach Tully Payne's team could post some additional accomplishments with a win over Westfield. First off the Panthers have never defeated the Hornets on the football field in 12 previous meetings. In fact of those 12 meetings, the closest game between the Hornets and the Panthers came in the first meeting ever between the schools, a 12-6 Westfield win way back in 1988. The last time the two teams played was in 2013, a 49-26 Westfield victory. The two schools have some common opponents this season as both lost to Deerfield-Windsor (34-7 Westfield, 35-13 Tiftarea), and both teams also suffered losses to Gatewood (39-7 Westfield, 41-6 Tiftarea). However, both schools also played Southland with very different results, Westfield lost 12-6 to Southland, while the Panthers defeated Southland by a convincing 34-6 margin. The Panthers' last game was against Deerfield. Panther quarterback Spence Massey accounted for both Tiftarea scores in that contest.
Berrien High Rebels (3-3) at Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes (5-1)
Series Record: Fitzgerald leads 30-5-2
The second-ranked Hurricanes of Fitzgerald return to the friendly confines of Jaycee Stadium this week for a Region 1-AA encounter against the Berrien High Rebels. Playing without quarterback James Graham, who is out with a sprained ankle, Fitzgerald opened up league play last week with a convincing 48-7 win at Albany. Matthew Howell stepped in and performed well, going 7-for-10 passing for 150 yards and a touchdown. Playing in less than a half, JD King had seven carries for 142 yards and two scores. Montrell Harris added an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Lanier County Bulldogs (1-5) at Irwin County Indians (3-3)
Series Record: Irwin leads 8-2
Homecoming week in Ocilla as the Irwin County Indians, on a two-game winning streak, hosts the Lanier County Bulldogs in a Region 2-A encounter. The game is of utmost importance for the Indians as Irwin is 2-1 in league play. A win would keep them in the running for the region title if Clinch were to slip up twice in the league standings. The Indians are fresh off of a 36-13 win over the Charlton County Indians. Lanier is 1-2 in the league with a win over Wilcox, and losses to Atkinson County and Turner County. The last time the Bulldogs scored on Irwin was way back in 2013, a 51-13 Indian win. The past two seasons have seen Irwin outscore Lanier by a combined score of 103-0, 48-0 in 2014 and 55-0 last season.
Clinch County Panthers (5-1) at Turner County Rebels (4-2)
Series Record: Clinch leads 10-5
This could be the Region 2-A championship game as both teams will come in with perfect 3-0 league marks. Clinch already has a win over third place Irwin, while Turner will take on the Indians in the season's last game. In a similar situation last season, Clinch emerged with a 30-16 win in Homerville. The Panthers have won the three previous meetings in the series with Turner's last win coming in 2012, 30-20. All three combined losses the teams have suffered have come at the hands of schools in higher classifications, as Turner has fell to Crisp and Worth, while Clinch was defeated by Brooks County.
Dougherty High Trojans (2-4) at Cook High Hornets (3-4)
Series Record: Cook leads 2-0
Down in Adel, the Cook High Hornets hope to rebound after a 37-30 loss to Worth County last week to open up play in Region 1-AAA. The Hornets will be hosting a Dougherty team from Albany that is 1-0 in league play after a win last week over Monroe. Last week junior sensation Brandon Doe became the leading rusher in the state of Georgia with 373 yards on 31 carries against Worth. He now has 1,528 yards rushing on 165 carries with 12 touchdowns. He has averaged 218.3 yards per game and 9.3 yards per carry this season. Kejon Deberry has 44 total tackles with three for loss yardage to lead the Hornet defense.
Worth County is off this week.
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