The last time coach Bobby May and his Westlake Lions traveled to south Georgia, they came away with a 35-14 loss to eventual runner-up Lee County in the Class 6A semifinals.
The loss dropped Westlake to 1-6 all-time in the southern part of the state. The Lions will take another shot it this week when they go to Moultrie to face Class 7A No. 3 Colquitt County, which has won 23 consecutive games at Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.
The teams met three times from 2009 to 2011, with Colquitt County winning all three, including a first-round playoff game in 2009. The last two games were at Colquitt County. The teams were scheduled to meet in 2020, but the game was called off because of COVID.
May told GHSF Daily he wanted this game “to put our kids in a hostile environment. Feel like it really would’ve helped us at Lee last year in the semifinals.”
Westlake opened the season with a 29-14 victory over Class 7A Archer at Dacula last week in the Corky Kell Classic. The was tied 7-7 late in the second quarter, but Westlake got a 1-yard touchdown run from R.J. Johnson and a safety in the final three minutes of the first half and a 26-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Jakari Christian early in the third quarter for a 22-7 lead.
Johnson was 12-of-22 passing for 126 yards and ran for 57 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries. Jai’Den Thomas ran for a team-leading 129 yards on 19 carries. The Lions’ defense held Archer to 167 total yards – 103 passing and 64 rushing.
Colquitt County rallied to defeat then-No. 8 Marietta 28-25 in its opener last week.
The Packers trailed 12-0 less than five minutes into the game and 18-7 in the third quarter, but they scored 18 unanswered points in the second half and held on for the win. Qway McCoy gave Colquitt County the lead for good when he recovered a blocked punt in the end to make it 25-18 with 2:57 left in the third quarter.
“We didn’t have the first quarter we wanted,” Packers coach Justin Rogers told Wayne Grandy for the Moultrie Observer. “But did our guys step up or what? We gave relentless effort. What a great team win. I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of a team.”
Here are five more top games involving Class 6A teams. All games are Friday unless noted, and all are subject to change:
*Dacula at Brookwood: Brookwood four-star junior quarterback passed for 197 yards in a 36-10 loss to Collins Hill last week, but the Broncos ran for just 32 yards on 26 carries. They might have a tough time improving on those numbers this week when they face a Dacula defense the held Tucker to minus-88 yards rushing on 19 carries in a 32-7 victory. Brookwood leads the all-time series 9-7.
*Hughes at Allatoona: Both teams were ranked in the preseason top 10, both opened the season against 7A opponents, and both lost in overtime. Hughes dropped from No. 3 to No. 8 after losing to Newton 7-6, and Allatoona fell out of the top 10 from the No. 6 spot after losing to Harrison 25-17. Their only previous meeting came in 2017, when Allatoona won 27-7 in the first round of the playoffs.
*Johns Creek at Carrollton: This matchup came about after both teams’ original games were called off over COVID issues. Johns Creek was supposed to play at Travelers Rest in South Carolina, while fourth-ranked Carrollton was scheduled to host Newnan. This will be their first meeting. Johns Creek beat Gainesville 26-10 in its rain-shortened opener. Carrollton beat New Manchester 49-13.
*Kell at Hillgrove: These schools opened three years apart (Kell in 2003, Hillgrove in 2006) Cobb County but have never met in football. They were supposed to play last season, but the game was canceled over COVID issues. Kell lost its opener to McEachern 53-20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Class 7A Hillgrove lost at Norcross 42-30 in Justin DeShon’s first game as the Hawks’ head coach.
*Peach County at Northside-Warner Robins: Northside leads the series against Peach County 12-5, but Peach had won two straight until losing 14-7 last year. Northside opened the 2021 season with a 48-7 victory over Veterans, getting 118 yards passing from Cameran Brown. Peach County, ranked No. 3 in Class 3A, lost 42-23 to Central-Phenix City, the No. 5 team in Alabama’s Class 7A.
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