AROUND THE STATE

Cumberland at Reinhardt, noon

Savannah State at Howard, 1 p.m.

LaGrange at Ferrum, 1 p.m.

Albany State vs. Fort Valley State (Columbus), 2 p.m.

Morehouse at Kentucky State, 2 p.m.

Sewanee at Berry, 2 p.m.

Western Carolina at Georgia Southern, 2 p.m.

Jacksonville at Mercer, 3 p.m.

Edward Waters at Clark Atlanta, 6 p.m.

Shorter at West Alabama, 7 p.m.

West Georgia at West Texas A&M, 7 p.m.

Sunday’s game

Georgia Military vs. Lackawanna (Blacksburg, Va.), 1 p.m.

DeRon and LeRon Furr are perfectly content at Fort Valley State.

It’s not the big-time football powers where they started their collegiate careers, but that’s fine.

Their move to Fort Valley State allowed them to play together again and provided a place where they could finish strong after tumultuous starts.

“I believe transferring to Fort Valley is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” DeRon said. “It’s all working out great. Our family gets to watch us play football, doing what we love to do.”

DeRon, a senior safety, and LeRon, a senior linebacker, are in their second seasons at Fort Valley State (4-5, 3-0 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference East). They’ve helped the Wildcats rise to No. 11 in Division II in total defense, allowing 294.6 yards per game, heading into Saturday’s Fountain City Classic against Albany State (4-4, 3-0) in Columbus (2 p.m., Bounce TV).

The winner will win the division and play either Miles or Tuskegee for the SIAC championship Nov. 16.

Fort Valley State ranks third in the country in tackles for loss with 95, thanks mainly to LeRon, who has 19, which is tied for second in Division II. He led Division II with 29 1/2 tackles for loss in 2012.

“That’s my style of play,” LeRon said. “I like to get the play over before it gets going. I love those. I just read and react. I see it and go get it, before it gets past the line of scrimmage.”

He also leads the Wildcats with 73 tackles. DeRon, who is two years older, has 11 1/2 tackles for loss among his 60 total tackles. Defensive end Bernard Little (Putnam County) has 15 1/2 tackles for loss.

That pressure has helped the Wildcats pick off 19 passes, third in Division II. Defensive back Thomas Wolfe (Wheeler) ranks second in the nation with seven interceptions.

“I feel like, as a team, we’re clicking,” LeRon said. “We’re a bigger threat than we were at the beginning of the season.”

NFL scouts are watching the Furrs, who were heavily recruited out of Carver-Columbus.

LeRon, who is 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, began at Oklahoma State, but left the team in 2011 because of a knee injury, and shortly after that, was arrested on drug charges.

DeRon, who is 6-3, 230, signed with Auburn as a quarterback in 2008 and transferred to Memphis, where he played as a redshirt freshman and started at linebacker as a sophomore in 2010.

He said he took a medical redshirt in 2011 before reuniting with his brother at Fort Valley State.

“It’s been great playing together,” LeRon said. “It took stepping down from a Division I to a Division II program, but we’ve enjoyed these couple of years. It’s had a nice outcome.”

Twin terrors: Georgia Military College DEs DaVonte Lambert (Burke County) and Kenderius Whitehead (M.L. King) have combined for 13 1/2 sacks.

That’s not surprising since Lambert has committed to Tennessee and Whitehead was expected to contribute at N.C. State this year before leaving to enroll at GMC (10-0), No. 1 in the NJCAA.

Lambert has 31 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks, and Whitehead has 6 1/2 sacks among his 15 1/2 tackles for loss.

Around the state: Mercer (8-1, 4-1 Pioneer Football League) will go for its fifth consecutive victory in Saturday's game against Jacksonville, which would tie the program record. The Bears won five consecutive games in 1914, 1930 and 1932. … Shorter QB Eric Dodson (Thomas County Central) set a school record for passing yards in a season with 1,017, breaking his own mark of 972, set last year in the Hawks' run-oriented offense. … Clark Atlanta LB Bre'nard Williams (Tift County) leads the SIAC and is 25th in Division II with 85 tackles. … Valdosta State's Seantavius Jones (Tucker) set a Gulf South Conference record with six TD catches in last week's 63-55 loss to Delta State. … Reinhardt (5-3) moved from 22nd to a tie for 20th in this week's NAIA coaches' poll. … Point RB Rufus Mason has 1,170 yards and has averaged 146.3 yards per game, third in NAIA. … West Georgia LB Tyrell Adams (Mays) has 72 tackles, 30 more than any other player on the team.