The defending champion Bainbridge Bearcats answered a lot of questions last week in their season-opening win over Seminole County. A bigger test will come Friday when they line up against Class AAAA No. 6 Cairo.
No. 1-ranked Bainbridge has won eight straight games – including five in the playoffs en route to a state title. Coach Jeff Littleton’s team beat Cairo 15-7 last season before going on a four-game losing streak that including a gut-punch to the community that was delivered by Hurricane Michael.
The Bearcats got great effort last week from Quayde Hawkins, who completed 9 of 12 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns, and tailback Rashad Broadnax, who ran 10 times for 100 yards and three touchdowns.
This will be the 75th meeting between the two old southwest Georgia rivals. Cairo leads the series 35-32-7, but Bainbridge has won the last two games and four of the last five.
Four ranked teams will open their season this week. Here is a look at those games:
Jonesboro at No. 2 Buford: Buford was supposed to play defending Class AAAAAAA champion Milton last week at Coolray Field, but the game was postponed by torrential rains and will be played on Sept. 6. The Wolves beat Jonesboro 58-7 in 2018 and lead the series 3-0.
East Coweta at No. 3 Carrollton: The Trojans get their started against East Coweta, a team they defeated 32-27 a year ago. Carrollton has a ton of offensive weapons, particularly quarterback Myles "MJ" Morris and running back Mecose Todd. The defense has two of the best linebackers in the state in Kevin Swint, who has committed to Clemson, and junior Chaz Chambliss. East Coweta dropped a 38-7 decision to Mill Creek last week at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Carrollton leads the series 3-0.
No. 5 Stockbridge at Arabia Mountain: Stockbridge starts a new era under coach Steve Boyd, who had been the defensive coordinator the last two seasons and was promoted when Keith Whitley stepped down. Stockbridge beat Arabia Mountain 34-22 a year ago in their first meeting, but the Rams are undergoing a rebuilding project and hope to be ready to contend for a playoff spot in Region 5.
Long County at No. 10 Wayne County: The Yellow Jackets have won 14 straight regular-season games, including a 10-0 season in 2018, the schools first since 1993. Wayne County leads the series 3-0 and beat Long County 47-0 a year ago. The average margin of victory in the three meetings is 41.3 points.
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