In Week 6, Dodge County travels to Worth County, and Sumter County visits Cook, with both matchups helping to shape the Region 1 playoff picture. East Jackson plays at Banks County in a matchup that will serve to begin the separation of teams in Region 8, where all teams cames out of non-region play with winning records.
Region 1, with seven teams, and Region 8 (six) are the two smallest in 2A, so the loser of those games will be facing an uphill battle to clinch a playoff spot, with longer odds of a coveted No. 2 seed or better.
For previews of the Appling County-Pierce County and Fellowship Christian-Rabun County games, see GHSF Daily’s Top 10 games of Week 7.
Dodge County Indians at Worth County Rams
When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Worth County Stadium, Sylvester
Records: Dodge County is 1-4, 0-1 in Region 1; Worth County is 3-2, 0-1.
Last meeting: Worth County won 47-38 in 2022.
Watch the game: NFHS Network
Maxwell’s projection: Dodge County by 7
Notes: Last year, this game sealed the playoff fate of Dodge County, with the Indians on the losing end of a tiebreaker for the No. 4 seed with Berrien, which also finished 3-3 in league play. The Rams grabbed the No. 3 seed for their first playoff berth since 2016, finishing 8-3 in Jeff Hammond’s first year as coach. The Indians went 4-6 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2011 in coach Ray Hardin’s second and final season leading the team. He’s been replaced by Thomas Smith, and on paper, the Indians’ record is three games below .500, though it’s worth considering the opponent and the scores in their losses, which were mentioned in last week’s preview of the Fitzgerald-Dodge County game. Fitzgerald was the Indians’ first sound defeat — the No. 7 Purple Hurricane won 36-7 in the region opener for both teams. The Rams started this year 1-2, beating A Division II’s Mitchell County 44-12 and losing 22-21 to A Division II’s Turner County, and 41-7 to 3A’s Upson-Lee. They rebounded to beat Region 2′s Central 49-0 in a cross-classification game, and last week won their region opener 62-34 over Berrien. Rams junior receiver D’ontae Fulton holds 10 offers, including Arizona, Indiana, Washington State and UCF.
Sumter County Panthers at Cook Hornets
When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Cook Memorial Stadium, Adel
Records, rankings: Sumter County is 2-2, 0-0 in Region 1 and unranked; Cook is 2-2, 0-1 and No. 10.
Last meeting: Cook won 13-7 in 2022.
Watch the game: NFHS Network
Maxwell’s projection: Sumter County by 4
Notes: The Panthers started 0-2, losing their opener 56-12 to 6A’s No. 4 Houston County, then 30-18 to 4A’s Westover. Since then, they’ve beaten 3A’s Crisp County 24-15, and Northside-Columbus 23-7. They come into this game following a Week 6 bye. Already, they’ve matched the win total of the past two seasons combined, when they went 1-9 last year, and 1-8 in 2021. A win over Cook will give them as many wins as the past three seasons combined, because they went 1-7 in 2020. The Panthers are 0-3 against Cook lifetime, with the other losses coming in 2010 and 2011 in non-region contests. The Hornets are coming off a 21-6 win over Jeff Davis in their region opener, which broke a two-game skid where they lost 37-20 to 7A’s Valdosta, and 35-27 to A Division II’s No. 6 Clinch County. They beat Pelham 28-0 in their opener. Last year, in coach Byron Slacks’ first season, they went 8-4 for their first winning season since 2015. They’ve reached the playoffs ever year since 2000.
East Jackson Eagles at Banks County Leopards
When, where: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Leopards Stadium, Homer
Records: East Jackson is 5-0, 0-0 in Region 8; Banks County is 4-1, 0-0.
Last meeting: East Jackson won 55-24.
Watch the game: NFHS Network
Maxwell’s projection: East Jackson by 1
Notes: The winner of last year’s game, East Jackson, earned the No. 4 seed in the playoffs, while Banks County finished in fifth place in the region. The Eagles already reached their win total from last year, when they went 5-6 and qualified for the playoffs for just the second time in their history, the other coming in 2009 when they went 10-2 for their only other winning season. The program was founded in 2007. They’ve outscored their opponents, Oglethorpe County, Social Circle, West Hall, Franklin County and Johnson-Gainesville a combined 193-38. Sophomore quarterback Drew Richardson is 59 of 83 passing for 964 yards and 8 touchdowns to 0 interceptions. Senior Talan Jackson is Richardson’s leading receiver with 17 catches for 284 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Quay Hill has 91 carries for 438 yards and nine touchdowns. The defense has six fumble recoveries, three interceptions and 13 sacks. The Leopards are hoping to avoid a repeat of last year, when they started 4-0 and lost five straight and missed the playoffs after two consecutive appearances. They also won four in a row to start the season, but lost 38-21 to Commerce last week. The Leopards are led on offense by junior Aucy Jacobs, who has 442 yards and nine touchdowns on 60 carries. Senior Robert Walker leads the team with 47 tackles, followed by Camden Cooper (45). Aaron Scott and sophomore Caden Watson each have three interceptions.
Sources: Georgia High School Football Historians Association, MaxPreps, GHSF Daily
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