Things are about to get real this week in Region 4. After most teams took last week off, the Henry County-heavy league will dive in with some excellent matchups.
The schedule features defending region champion Dutchtown (1-2) at No. 10 Ola (3-0), Union Grove (2-1) travels to Jones County (0-3), Locust Grove (2-1) is at Stockbridge (0-2), and Eagle’s Landing (0-3) visits Woodland (3-0). Results from this week will settle nothing, but will likely mean a great deal by the middle of November when determining who goes to the playoffs.
Ola, which won seven games last year and made the state playoffs, will be trying to reverse a historic lack of success against Dutchtown. The Mustangs have only beat Dutchtown once in 10 meetings, that coming by a single point I 2016. Dutchtown won 13-7 last year. Dutchtown has been battle-tested, with loses coming to state-ranked Lanier and Douglas County.
Union Grove will also be trying to reverse its trend against Jones County, which has failed to win a game against a very challenging schedule. The Wolverines were led in their loss to Starr’s Mill by Dechavion Williams, Buck Barrett and Demetri Boozer. Jones County’s top players from the Veterans were Joseph Hill, Jitavius Whipple and Javion Clark. Jones County leads the series 5-1 and has won the last five, including 28-21 a year ago.
The odds are even longer for Locust Grove, which has never beaten Stockbridge in eight tries. The Tigers won 21-6 a year ago. Locust Grove has discovered a quarterback in sophomore Justin Reynolds, who has thrown for 465 yards and five touchdowns, and junior Kaivon George has rushed for 431 yards and three scores.
The Woodland-Eagle’s Landing series has been closer. Eagle’s Landing leads the series 3-5, but the two teams have split the last four meetings. Eagle’s Landing won last year’s game 34-14. Woodland’s Joshua Weems, James Woods and Noah Ross were chosen as the team’s player of the week for the first three games.
In other interesting Class 5A games this week:
Harris County at Newnan: Harris County is off to its first 3-0 start since 1993 and hasn’t started 4-0 since 1990. The Tigers, who entered the state rankings this week at No. 10, will have their hands full this week against Newnan (3-0), one of the contenders in Region 2-7A. The two teams have never met.
Junior quarterback Cooper Corey leads the Harris County offense with his arm and feet; he threw a touchdown pass on the final play of the first half against Upson-Lee to tie the game and change the momentum. He has thrown for 354 yards, rushed for 156 yards and accounted for four touchdowns.
The Harris County team will play with heavy hearts. Former head coach Tommy Parks died last week at age 48. In ten seasons at the school (2004-2013), Parks was 55-54 with a region championship, five trips to the playoffs and a quarterfinal appearance in 2012.
Bainbridge at Ware County: The No. 4 Gators host its third consecutive ranked team in Class 4 No. 7 Bainbridge. Ware’s Thomas Castellanos continues to post big numbers and has thrown for 753 yards and seven touchdowns and run for 324 yards and six touchdowns. Bainbridge quarter Quayde Hawkins has thrown for 317 yards and four touchdowns and Rashad Broadnax has rushed for 212 yards. Ware has won the last six meetings, but the teams haven’t played since 2013.
Benedictine at Wayne County: Wayne County will play a ranked team for the fourth time in five weeks when the Yellow Jackets host Benedictine, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A. The rivalry dates back to 1932 and has been dominated by Benedictine since 2000, when the Cadets have won four of six meetings. Benedictine prevailed 37-14 in the last contest in 2015.
Southwest DeKalb vs. Tucker (Hallford Stadium): The long-awaited return of football in DeKalb County features two of the most recognizable brands. SWD has gone 19-3 over the last two years, but must replace a quarterback and running that deserted the program during the COVID shutdown. The teams haven’t played since 2013 and Tucker has won the six of the last seven meetings.
Westminster at St. Pius: The two private school titans have been playing on a irregular basis since 1959. Westminster won 42-14 last year to end a four-game losing streak against the Golden Lions.
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