In a week where 1-6A was off, lower classifications took center stage in South Georgia. Teams like Bainbridge, Clinch, Irwin, and Brookwood each performed well under the spotlight with standout performances from the following players:Dameon Pierce, RB for the undefeated Bainbridge, put on a clinic, rushing for 265 yards and 5 TDs. Clearly that performance alone is enough to land him our top spot, but his consistency throughout the year is also worth noting. This is his second time on our top 5, but his first time snagging the top spot.In a game that was extremely sloppy by both offenses, Jerrod Jones of Clinch took advantage. Of the 7 first half turnovers, Jones made 3 interceptions, one of which he took all the way to the house. As if that weren’t enough, Jones also had a receiving touchdown to vault Clinch ahead in the second half blowout.
D.J. Pollard, another familiar name to the list, manufactured another impressive performance. Averaging 9 yards per carry, Pollard’s efforts, including 3 TDs, secured the win in a close game over Telfair.
Back to the Clinch game in which the offenses sputtered and struggled with turnovers, that wasn’t the case for RB Shannon Young. Amassing over 200 yards on the ground and 2 TDs to his name, Young was one of the few consistent pieces of the Clinch offensive unit.
Last but not least, Cale Deese, the dual-threat athlete, got it done on the ground and in the air with 3 cumulative TDs. Brookwood rolled in their region opener against Southland, but Deese and company will face tougher competition on Friday against Deerfield-Windsor.
While Colquitt and the majority of 1-6A took the week off to rest up before region play, the rest of South Georgia was still very much in action.
Lee County’s 56-0 dismantling of Mitchell, as well as their upcoming matchup against Tift County, led to the only change in this week’s Top 5. Mitchell, like many others already this season, stood helpless against the potent offensive onslaught and stout defensive resistance of Lee. Next up on the Lee hit list is Tift, who was last week’s #4 team. That selection last week was a toss up between Tift Co and Bainbridge as both were undefeated. But despite Tift’s currently impressive, undefeated campaign, we don’t anticipate it surviving the weekend against Lee.
This caused a change in the #4 spot, with Bainbridge sliding in to replace Tift, but let’s not to forget Fitzgerald at #3. Fitzgerald’s running game did show mortality, however, despite their win. Fitzgerald’s dual-threat running game was mitigated this week by Early, holding both their star QB and RB under 100 yards rushing a piece. If you have been keeping track of these two athletes’ stats this year, you know that this is an incredible feat for the Early defense, who clearly game-planned to stop these two young men. And yet, possibly even to their benefit, Fitzgerald still won 30-0. This win may, in fact, prove strength for the Purple Hurricanes, disproving any theories of one-dimensionality in their ability to put points on the board.
Holding down the #5 spot is once again Brookwood, who breezed through their first region game in GISA 3-AAA. The Thomasville based school continues to prove that they are a force to be reckoned with in their region and entire classification.
* 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.
