Football Playoffs set to begin Friday

The high school football playoffs have arrived in Southwest Georgia and excitement on Friday nights has ramped up a bit for the first win-or-go-home weekend of high school football.

On Live 101.9, the 5-5 Bainbridge Bearcats will play host to the 8-2 Jones County Greyhounds from Gray, Georgia, who are 8th in the AAAAA state rankings. The Bearcats finished their regular season with a 44-11 drubbing of rival Thomas County Central to secure the 2nd seed in Region 1-AAAAA while the Greyhounds fell 17-10 at home to the Stockbridge Tigers which bound them to the road as a 3 seed out of Region 4-AAAAA.

The Greyhounds will be led by 4th year head coach Justin Rogers who has amassed a 45-14 record in his time at Jones County. The Greyhounds have won at least one playoff game in three of their four seasons with Rogers at the helm. The Bearcats are led by Head Coach Jeff Littleton, who in 6 seasons has led the Bearcats to 42 wins and a region championship in 2015.

This will be the third meeting between the two schools with each team having won their road game in the series. The Bearcats won in Gray in 2008 by a score of 48-20 and the Greyhounds won by a score of 28-19 the following year in Bainbridge. The rubber match in the all-time series will be this Friday night at Centennial Field with kickoff set for 7:30pm. The winner will advance to the second round and face the winner between the Starr’s Mill Panthers & the New Hampstead Phoenix.

On Rockin 106.3, the 6-4 Turner County Rebels from Ashburn, Georgia, and Region 2-A will travel to take on the 6-3 Miller County Pirates in a Class A Public School Round 1 contest. The Pirates finished the regular season with a 29-7 victory over rival Seminole County to earn the 16-seed in the power ratings while the Rebels finished the regular season with a 14-48 loss at the home at the hands of the number 1 ranked team in the state, Irwin County, and earned the 17-seed in the power ratings.

The Pirates are led by Head Coach David Bell who is in his first season at Miller County and this will be their first game this season outside of Region 1-A after their October 19th game against Sneads High School out of Florida was cancelled in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. The Rebels are led by their second year coach, Leroy Hood, who has led Turner County to the postseason in each year.

This will be the 23rd meeting between the two schools with Turner County holding an 11-9-2 advantage in the all-time series although their last win against the Pirates was all the way back in 1999. The Turner County Rebels and Miller County Pirates will kick off this Friday night at Pirate Stadium at 7:30pm. The winner will advance to the 2nd round where they will face the number 1 ranked Irwin County Indians who earned a first round bye in the playoffs.

On Q 92.3, we venture into the world of the GISA Playoffs where the 2-8 Westwood Wildcats will travel to Sandersville, Georgia, to take on the 7-4 and postseason regular Brentwood War Eagles. The Wildcats snuck into the playoffs with a thrilling 19-14 win over Crisp Academy last Friday night in Camilla. The War Eagles soundly defeated Thomas Jefferson Academy 45-13 in their regular season finale to earn the 2-seed out of GISA Region 4-AA.

This will be Wildcats Head Coach Jimbo Hale’s first time coaching a postseason game as he is in his first season as head coach of Westwood. He will be facing a coach in Bert Brown who has been at Brentwood for 19 seasons and has taken the War Eagles to the playoffs every year. He has led Brentwood to two state championships (2002, 2003) and a 22-16 record in the postseason.

This will be the fourth meeting between the two schools , all having come in the postseason. Westwood holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series with their last loss to Brentwood coming all the way back in 1995 when they fell 13-0 in Sandersville in the first round of the state playoffs. The War Eagles and the Wildcats will kick off at Eagle Field this Friday night at 7pm. The winner will advance to the second round where they will face the Memorial Day Blue Thunder who earned a 1st round bye in the playoffs.

Other Notable Playoff Games in the Area
Briarwood Academy at Southwest Georgia Academy
Brookwood at Bulloch Academy
Seminole County at Commerce
Early County at Jefferson County
Thomasville at Hephzibah
Screven County at Brooks County
Jackson at Monroe
Henry County at Cairo
Lovejoy at Valdosta
Mundy’s Mill at Lee County
Cherokee at Lowndes
Tift County at Roswell
Etowah at Colquitt County