The spotlight in Class 6A will shine bright on Region 1 in the fourth week of the high school football season.
Top-ranked Valdosta and No. 2 Lee County will face top-four opponents from the highest classification in two of the biggest games in the state this weekend.
Valdosta will travel to No. 4-ranked Colquitt County in a game that will have plenty of subplots. Perhaps the most intriguing will be Wildcats coach Rush Propst’s return to Moultrie less than two years after he was let go after an ultra-successful 11-year tenure.
Propst’s Colquitt County teams were 119-35 (a .773 winning percentage) with four region championships and two state titles. Colquitt County fired Propst amid allegations of misconduct that Propst largely denied. Propst was hired this year by Valdosta after its controversial firing of Alan Rodemaker, who won a state title in his four seasons there. Rodemaker is now a co-defensive coordinator at Colquitt County.
“Is it a special game? I’m not going to deny that,” Propst told GHSF Daily’s Todd Holcomb. “I’ve got a lot of good memories over there, but when all is said and done, it’s not about Rush Propst but about the Wildcats and Packers.”
The other story to watch will be the status of Valdosta quarterback Jake Garcia, who transferred last month and started the Wildcats' season-opening victory Sept. 4 over Warner Robins. Garcia sat out the Wildcats' victory against Bainbridge last week with what Propst described as a lower leg injury. Meanwhile, the Georgia High School Association is now looking into Garcia’s eligibility. He has committed to Southern Cal, where he plans to enroll in January, and moved to Georgia from California after his home state postponed football into the winter because of COVID-19.
Garcia’s availability will be a game-time decision based on his health, Propst said.
Lee County will travel to second-ranked Lowndes for a matchup of two of the most successful programs in the two highest classes over the past three seasons. Lee County is 40-4 (.909) with two state titles since 2017, the best record in Class 6A. Lowndes has been second-best in 7A, posting a 35-6 (.854) record, and was the state runner-up in 2019.
Both teams have multiple players committed to FBS programs. The biggest name to watch is likely Lowndes quarterback Jacurri Brown, a four-star junior with 21 offers. He is second in Region 1-7A in both passing (383 yards, three TDs) and rushing (196 yards, three TDs).
Lowndes leads the series 5-1, but the teams split two games in 2014 and 2015 that were their first meetings since 2003.
Northside-Warner Robins, a fellow member of Region 1-6A with Valdosta and Lee County, has an important game of its own when it meets crosstown rival Warner Robins at McConnell-Talbert Stadium.
Warner Robins has won three consecutive games against Northside after losing 16 of the previous 21. The Demons' three-game winning streak in the series, which they lead 37-25, is their longest since winning seven straight from 1989 to 1995.
Here are five other games worth watching involving Class 6A teams that are on the schedule for Friday:
*Blessed Trinity at Kell: This game came together after both teams had holes in their schedules because of cancellations. The first four games on Blessed Trinity’s original schedule were called off, and Kell had an opening after Hillgrove canceled a game two weeks ago. Blessed Trinity, the three-time 4A champion now playing in 5A, beat Eagle’s Landing Christian 38-14 last week. Kell is 1-1.
*Clarke Central at Buford: Buford, now playing in 6A, suffered its only loss of the 2019 5A championship season against Clarke Central, 31-28 in the regular-season finale, in a game that determined the Region 8-5A title. The Wolves beat Clarke Central the three previous seasons by an average of 37 points and are favored to win this one by 18 points, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings.
*Mays at Hughes: These teams spent the past four years together in Region 5-6A. In that time, Mays won all four games against Hughes and claimed the region championship three times. They’re now separated after Mays was dropped to 4A in reclassification. Hughes slumped to 2-8 last year but opened the 2020 season with a 14-7 victory over Harrison, which won the 6A title in 2019.
*Rome at Collins Hill: Both teams come into this game after suffering their first losses last week – Rome 21-15 against Cherokee and Collins Hill 28-7 against Class 7A No. 1 Grayson. Rome likes to run the ball with powerful senior E.J. Lackey. Collins Hill loves to throw it, primarily from junior QB Sam Horn (795 yards passing) to Florida State-committed Travis Hunter (356 receiving yards).
*Westlake at Johns Creek: These two Fulton schools didn’t start the season until last week because of the county’s two-week delay related to the pandemic. Westlake beat Creekside 27-7, while Johns Creek lost to Milton 29-0. Westlake won region titles the past six seasons in 7A before dropping to 6A. Johns Creek won championships in Region 7-6A three of the past four seasons, including 2019.
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