There is region title on the line when No. 4 Mary Persons (7-1, 2-0) travels to unranked but region-leading Upson-Lee (8-1, 3-0) for the Region 2 championship game. And there’s one thing to focus on in the contest: Can Upson-Lee stop Mary Persons Louisville-commit running back Duke Watson?
Watson has 1,461 rushing yards and 25 touchdown runs on the season – including 29 carries for 315 yards and five touchdowns against Class A Division I No. 1 Prince Avenue Christian in a 45-28 victory on Sept. 29.
Upson-Lee has offensive weapons of its own in senior Ja’Quan Bentley, who has 159 carries for 1,212 yards and 18 touchdowns. And the Knights are riding momentum from a 21-20 victory over Peach County last week. But Mary Persons won 33-0 last season and have been formidable in region play beating Jackson 49-0 and outlasting Peach 13-7 on October 13.
In other key games:
-- No. 6 Lumpkin County (8-0, 4-0) is chasing the greatest start in school history when it travels to Dawson County (2-7, 2-3). The Indians outlasted White County (4-4, 2-3) in a four-overtime thriller last week to tie the best start for the traditional basketball power. In 1967, Don Thompkins led the Indians to an 8-0 start but the season ended early with closing losses to White County and Union County kept arguably the greatest team in Lumpkin history out of the playoffs. Heath Webb has been coaching the Indians for two seasons and is already the fourth-winningest coach in school history (16 wins).
-- No. 10 Thomasville (5-4, 3-1) re-entered the rankings after a 41-12 victory over Dougherty last week and is second in the Region 1 standings. The Bulldogs will travel to Crisp County (5-4, 2-2) to try to maintain that spot. However, if Crisp wins, a tie-breaker scenario could be needed to determine the region’s playoff seedings.
Class 3A Top 10 Schedule
1. (1) Calvary Day (8-0, 5-0) at Long County (5-3, 3-2)
2. (2) Stephens County (8-0, 3-0) vs. Oconee County (3-5, 2-1)
3. (3) Cedar Grove (4-5, 2-0) does not play
4. (4) Mary Persons (7-1, 2-0) at Upson-Lee (8-1, 3-0)
5. (5) Savannah Christian (6-2, 4-1) at Groves (1-7, 0-5)
6. (6) Lumpkin County (8-0, 4-0) at Dawson County (2-7, 2-3)
7. (8) Morgan County (7-1, 3-0) vs. Cross Creek (3-4, 1-2)
8. (7) Sandy Creek (6-3) does not play
9. (9) Carver (Columbus) (6-3, 4-0) vs. Dougherty (4-5, 1-3)
10. (NR) Thomasville (5-4, 3-1) at Crisp County (5-4, 2-2)
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