Late in the regular season. Rivalry games in front of thousands. Playoff spots on the line. Pressure that could easily crumple players actually had the opposite effect: Week 11 produced quite possibly our most impressive performances this season. Narrowing down over 15 very eligible candidates was extremely difficult, but these student-athletes not only separated themselves from the pack, but they separated themselves from even the elite players.
To see Lowndes and Valdosta top performers, click here to see our Winnersville Top 5.
Two Tift County offensive players came dangerously close to breaking school records on Friday night, most spectacularly against the #1 team in the state. Tift travelled to Colquitt County, fell behind in the first half, and then hit another gear entirely. Quarterback Griffin Collier had a half for the ages, throwing for 411 yards and 4 touchdowns. R.J. Merriweather was on the receiving end of the vast majority of these passes, hauling in 9 catches for 248 yards and 3 TDs. This duo hasn’t exactly been silent all year, but no one predicted such an incredible surge in the Tift passing game. However, the Packers were able to hold on to their early lead, keeping Tift without a win in region play. The Blue Devils face the Vikings this Friday though, and if they continue with this level of performance, it could spell trouble for the Vikings secondary.Demontay Jones isn’t slowing down. Coming off of what he described as an unforgettable game last Friday night, it appears that he has found his game at the perfect time of the year. His 310 yards and 5 TDs led the Trojans in an easy win over the struggling Thomasville, and now the playoffs loom on the horizon for Brooks.
There isn’t much more to say about Dameon Pierce. This Top 5 regular makes it impossible not to include him each and every week. This week’s performance of 207 yards and 5 touchdowns has almost become the norm for Pierce, and the undefeated Bearcats have every reason to be extremely confident heading into the playoffs.J.D. King, cover athlete for our November magazine that releases this week, has proven to every opponent and fan that he can run against just about anyone. His dominant, physical running style continue to be problematic for defenses. Case and point: 196 yards and 4 TDs against Berrien last Friday.
Colquitt County had a scare on Friday. After jumping on Tift by 30 points in the first half, it appeared to be the usual rout for the Packers. The second half was a completely different story. As we already documented, Griffin Collier and R.J. Merriweather put on a clinic in the passing game. Colquitt had absolutely no answer for the duo, causing the Packer faithful to sweat for the first time this year. However, Colquitt found a way to win, even if it wasn’t pretty. Colquitt proved fallibility, yet they also proved resilience, which may be a crucial component in Friday’s region championship game against Camden.
Bainbridge is the only other undefeated team in South Georgia. The Bearcats weren’t challenged yet again, rolling past Westover 42-7. The playoffs look promising, carried by the run game of Dameon Pierce behind a powerful offensive line.
Clinch was able to outlast Charlton in the “Swamp War” rivalry game against Charlton County. It wasn’t a pretty win by any means, and the Charlton fanbase has plenty of complaints about some calls by the officials, but the end result is a 8-1 (5-1) Clinch crew. Telfair is the final opponent on their regular season schedule.
Fitzgerald got into a surprising shootout against the formerly 2-6 Berrien. The Fitzgerald defense continues to struggle to stop opponents from putting points on the board, but their offense, headlined by J.D King, has outscored all but one team this season.
With Valwood losing in the GISA 3-AAA championship game to Deerfield-Windsor, it left open a spot for a new face in our Top 5 Teams. In comes the Coffee Trojans. Having a relatively quiet but impressive 2015 campaign, the Trojans control their own fate in region 3-AAAAA.
* Our criteria is NOT creating hypothetical matchups amongst teams in an effort to crown a champion; that is settled on the field within each respective division, from A to AAAAAA. Since high school, unlike college, crowns multiple champions per year, our Top 5 is meant to highlight great teams who are excelling within their schedules, regardless of classification. It would be unreasonable and unfair to eliminate teams in lower classifications from our Top 5 simply because of that fact. We can only hold teams accountable to whether or not they are impressively performing against the teams that they are scheduled to play. In short, our criteria is based upon projecting performances and the likelihood of championships, regardless of classification.
