Posted on August 28, 2017
by walterljohnsonii@yahoo.com
By Walter L. Johnson II
Two weeks of the Georgia high school football regular season have come and gone-or three weeks in the case of the GISA-and so far, there have been mixed results for teams in Dougherty and other surrounding counties in the post-Albany High School era.
For those first-time readers that are just now reading this column, the Dougherty County Board of Education voted on June 6 to close Albany High for good, effective immediately. That move leaves the Dougherty County School System with just three high schools: Dougherty, Monroe, and Westover.
With that said, let’s take a brief look at how some of those teams are faring in 2017:
Lee County Trojans (2-0): After rallying from behind in the final quarter to defeat Mary Persons, 21-17, at the Corky Kell Classic in Macon on August 17, the Trojans from Leesburg had a much easier time in their home opener last Friday, beating the Bainbridge Bearcats, 38-13. They’ll look to start a season at 3-0 for the seventh year in a row this Friday when they host Hardaway.
Monroe Tornadoes (1-0): The Tornadoes downed the Westover Patriots, 21-6, in the first game played at Hugh Mills Stadium since the sudden shutdown of Albany High last week. Head Coach Charles Truitt and his charges will have their work cut out for them this week, as they travel to Thomasville to face a Bulldogs team that won their program’s 700th game with a 41-7 blowout of archrival Thomas County Central.
Westover Patriots (1-1): After outlasting defending GHSA Region 1-A Pelham in their opener on August 18, the Patriots struggled in their 21-6 loss to Albany area archrival Monroe in their home opener last week. They get a much-needed bye week before returning to Hugh Mills Stadium to do battle with the Dougherty Trojans on September 8.
Dougherty Trojans (1-1): Speaking of the Trojans from East Albany, they bounced back from a 29-28 season-opening loss to Turner County with a win on the road, outlasting the Mitchell County Eagles, 18-14, on Saturday night. Dougherty plays its first home game of 2017, welcoming Berrien to Hugh Mills Stadium on Friday.
Worth County Rams (0-2): The Ben Simmons era has gotten off to a rough start in Sylvester, as the Rams followed up a 30-13 loss to Thomas County Central with a 27-13 setback at home to this aforementioned Turner County team. The Rams will hit the road for the first time this week, as they travel to middle Georgia to face Veterans.
Deerfield-Windsor Knights (1-1): The GISA Knights of Albany have split their first two contests so far in 2017, outlasting Trinity Christian of Sharpsburg, 26-21, on the road on August 21, before falling to perennial Florida powerhouse North Florida Christian from Tallahassee, 21-0, in their home opener last week. DWS is back on the road again this week, making the short trip to Dawson to do battle with Terrell Academy.
Top Games This Week
Turner County at Crisp County: The Cougars will open their home portion of the 2017 schedule against their archrivals from Ashburn in an unlikely early season battle of 2-0 teams. After crushing Dooly County 40-18 in their season opener on August 18, Crisp County struggled against another archrival Americus-Sumter, finally outlasting the Panthers 20-18 on the road last week. On the other hand, both of Turner County’s wins thus far have come against Class AAA teams, thanks to a 1-point win over Dougherty, as well as a 14-point win over Worth County.
Monroe at Thomasville: The 1-0 Tornadoes from Albany make the 60-plus mile trip south on U.S. 19 to Thomasville, taking on the 2-0 Bulldogs in another battle of unbeaten teams. Thomasville has gotten off to a fast start despite having both games delayed by lightning in the first two weeks of the season with their season-opening game against Cairo not kicking off until just after 10 p.m.-while last week’s contest against Thomas County Central was stopped early in the fourth quarter, also due to bad weather. So far, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 78-15, crushing Cairo 37-8, and TCC 41-7.
Tucker at Colquitt County: The Packers continue their run of playing one of the toughest schedules in the state of Georgia, if not the nation, as they play host to the Tigers, who lost to Valdosta in last year’s Class AAAAAA state title game. The Pack picked up wins over Norcross 20-17 in the Corky Kell Classic in Atlanta on August 18, before rolling past Vista Murrieta (Calif.) 26-7 in their home opener last week.
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