Two of the state’s biggest high school football rivalries are on the schedule Friday night, and both involve teams from Region 1-AAAAA.
Sixth-ranked Valdosta (2-2) will host Lowndes (4-1) and seeks to avenge a 45-0 loss in 2017 that was the Vikings’ most-lopsided victory in the history of the series. Lowndes has won 13 of the past 19 meetings, although Valdosta still leads 37-19.
This will be Valdosta’s third game this season against teams from Lowndes’ Region 1-AAAAAAA, and the first two didn’t go well for the Wildcats. Valdosta lost to Tift County 24-10 on Aug. 24 and to No. 1-ranked Colquitt County 48-13 two weeks ago.
“I think all three opponents in 1-AAAAAAA are similar this year, more than they have been in years past, in they’re all running the football,” Valdosta coach Alan Rodemaker told Derrick Davis of the Valdosta Daily Times. “They’ve got really talented running backs and really good offensive lines, all three of those schools do. I just think it’s going to be a similar challenge as the other two, and we’re 0-2, so this is a really big game for a lot of reasons.”
The other big rivalry game matches eighth-ranked Northside (3-2) against Class AAAAA No. 6 Warner Robins (3-1) at McConnell-Talbert Stadium. Warner Robins ended a three-game losing streak in the series with a 28-17 victory last year, but Northside has won 15 of the past 20 and closed Warner Robins’ lead to 35-25.
The game will match two quarterbacks with very different styles. Warner Robins’ Dylan Fromm is 79-of-136 passing for 1,233 yards and 10 touchdowns. Northside’s Jadin Daniels is the leading rusher in 1-AAAAAA with 522 yards and has passed for 619 yards.
Northside lost consecutive games against Peach County and Jones County at the end of August but has bounced back with blowout wins over Whitewater and Baldwin. Warner Robins is coming off a 41-14 loss to Colquitt County that ended the Demons’ 13-game winning streak in regular-season games.
Here are four other games involving Class AAAAAA teams to keep an eye on this weekend:
*Allatoona at Sprayberry: Allatoona and Sprayberry both have one loss in Region 6 and sit just behind the region's undefeated teams – Harrison, Creekview and Sequoyah. With only four playoff berths available in the region, neither can afford to fall too far behind. Both were competitive in their region losses – Allatoona 24-13 against Creekview, and Sprayberry 21-14 against Harrison.
*Effingham County at Burke County: Effingham is 4-1 but undefeated against Georgia teams (its loss came against Beaufort, S.C.), and another victory would match last year's five-win season. The Rebels will have a tough task at Burke County, which is ranked No. 7 in AAAA and has won two games decisively after starting the season with one-point losses to Benedictine and Ware County.
*Morrow at Lovejoy: Morrow had high hopes as it moved up from AAAAA after posting its first non-losing season (5-5) since 1998 last year, but a 1-2 start in Region 4 has those hopes fading fast. After consecutive losses to Mundy's Mill and Stephenson, and with Lovejoy and Tucker the next two on the schedule, this is a must-win game for Morrow. Lovejoy is 2-2 overall but 2-0 in region play.
*Northview at Johns Creek: Northview, Johns Creek and Centennial are 2-0 in Region 7, but the winner of this game will take over sole possession of first place because Centennial has the week off. These are two vastly improved teams over last year, when Johns Creek finished 3-7 and Northview was 2-8. Johns Creek was the region champion in 2016, but Northview has never won a region title.
