The Region 2-AAA title will be decided Friday when No. 5 Peach County (9-0) hosts No. 6 Westside Macon (8-0) at Anderson Stadium. And while a region championship would be nice, it will also position the winner in the bracket that’s opposite from No. 1-ranked Washington County.
Although the Region 2 champion would still have obstacles before reaching the Georgia Dome for the championship game on Dec. 12, it would be nice to know that the Golden Hawks aren’t one of them.
The Peach County offense is led by quarterback Robert Allen, who has thrown for 1,376 yards and 11 touchdowns, with only two interceptions. The Trojans also have a strong runner in Keyshawn Lowe, who has rushed for 814 yards and nine touchdowns. Saire Davis has 41 receptions (13.9 yard average) and four touchdowns.
Westside’s offense is led by quarterback Marcell Williams, who has thrown for 1,057 yards and 20 touchdowns. The balanced running attack is led by Cedric Hollingshed (602 yards, four TDs) and Donta Pate (378 yards, two TDs). Steve Dolphus (26 catches, 17.5 yard average, five TDs) and Gerimie Mitchell (22 catches, 20.4 yard average, eight TDs) are the top receivers.
The series is tied 2-2, with Peach County winning the most recent meeting 27-7 in 2011.
In other big games this weekend:
Oconee County at Jefferson: No. 4 Jefferson (8-0) had a week off to prepare for Oconee County (7-1), which is coming off its first loss of the year. A Jefferson win sets up a final-week showdown with Hart County for the Region 8-AAA championship, while an Oconee win keeps the Warriors in position to nail down the No. 2 seed.
Jefferson has been a scoring machine, averaging 45.8 points and 434.6 yards. Quarterback Evan Shiffeffs has thrown for 1,611 yards and 15 touchdowns. T.J. Skelton (30 catches, 625 yards) and Dalton Hill (25 catches, 605 yards) are the top receivers and both have caught six touchdown passes. The running game is led by Sammy Williams, who has rushed for 826 yards and 14 TDs, and Colby Wood, who has 631 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Oconee will need to rebound from last week’s poor performance against Hart County. The Warriors are led by running back Chris Casey (881 yards, three TDs) and quarterback Zeb Noland (1,231 yards, 10 TDs.)
Jefferson leads the series 9-7, but the two schools haven’t met since 1987. Oconee County has won the last five meetings.
West Hall at Banks County: West Hall (7-1) hopes to keep its Region 7-AAA championship hopes alive against Banks County (5-3), which has won two straight after a midseason stumble.
West Hall prefers to keep it on the ground; the Trojans average 241 yards rushing per game. Kwon Williams (609 yards, 11 TDs, Tyquan Statham (498 yards, four TDs) and Jay Crawford (243 yards, five TDs) lead the attack. Quarterback Jacob Satterfield has thrown for 358 yards.
Banks has been in its share of close games. The last four were decided by a touchdown or less and last week’s game with Dawson County was determined until Will Ledford came away with an interception in the waning minutes. Quarterback Griffin Goodwin has been coming up with his share of big plays for the Leopards.
The series is tied 2-2. West Hall has won the last two meetings, including a 48-13 decision in 2013.
Washington at Westminster: Washington (4-4) still has a chance to snatch second place in Region 4-AAA Div. B away from the No. 6-ranked Wildcats (7-1). Both teams have already lost to subregion winner Blessed Trinity, so this game will determine who enters the region playoff with the better seed.
This is the first meeting between the two schools.
Dodge County at Pierce County: Dodge County (7-1) can nail down second place in Region 1-AAA Div. A with a win over Pierce County (6-2).
Dodge relies heavily on the run. Roscoe Wilcox has 457 yards, Gerard Davis has 317, Kyle Glover has 294 and quarterback Landon Martin has 321 yards. The Indians average 216.7 yards on the ground and only 53 through the air.
The two schools met only once. Dodge County won that game 21-7 in the first round of the playoffs in 2007.
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