South Georgia Programs Look To Thrive in Round 2 of Playoffs

We knew all year that some of the best teams in the state played in South Georgia. It’s an area that lives and breathes high school football. Residents in small South Georgia towns take more pride in their team and their community than any other group in the state. Luckily, they’ve been able to watch some great football all season and many could see their teams take another step in the playoffs this weekend. Here are a few South Georgia teams to keep an eye on in round 2 of the playoffs... &nbsp; <strong>Colquit County:</strong> The Packers might be the only team standing in the way of Grayson and their quest for a state title. One of the best coached teams in the state, the 8-0 Packers have dominated every opponent so far this year and had arguably their best game of the season this past weekend with a big 49-3 win over now 8-3 Brookwood. The Broncos have multiple players with Power 5 offers and they still lost to Colquitt County by 46 points. The Packers look to continue their dominance this weekend as they play the 6-5 Walton Raiders. Walton has plenty of talent as well and are coming off an impressive 49-9 win over McEachern, but this game shouldn’t be close. Look for the Packers to run through the Raiders and play the winner of the Norcross/Roswell matchup. &nbsp; <strong>Lowndes:</strong> It hasn’t been a perfect season for the 8-1 Vikings who suffered their only loss to Colquitt County, but they are still recognized as one of the top teams in the state. They have a potent offense led by junior QB [player_tooltip player_id="33889" first="Jacurri" last="Brown"], but they have struggled on that side of the ball towards the end of the regular season. The Vikings defense has played lights out in recent weeks, but they’ll have a tough task against impressive 2023 QB [player_tooltip player_id="34008" first="Malachi" last="Singleton"] and the North Cobb offense. The 10-1 Warriors are having one of their best seasons in school history thanks to their offense. The Warriors have scored more than 30 points in 5 of their last 6 games. This should be a close matchup featuring two of the state’s top QBs. &nbsp; <strong>Lee County:</strong> The 9-1 Lee County Trojans have been one of the top teams in South Georgia this year, and they have a tough matchup this weekend against another South Georgia team in Brunswick. The trojans are coming off an impressive 49-17 win over Tucker, but beating Brunswick won’t be as easy. The 8-3 Pirates are playing their best football of the season and have won 7 of their last 8 games. They’re scoring on a consistent basis, but scoring on Lee County might be their toughest task of the season. &nbsp; <strong>Ware County:</strong> If you’re in Southeast Georgia, the team to know is Ware County. The 9-1 Gators are having an incredible season thanks to junior QB [player_tooltip player_id="33998" first="Thomas" last="Castellanos"]. The dual-threat QB has been tough to stop all season, throwing for 2,296 yards and 19 TDs. He’s also rushed for 763 yards and 18 touchdowns. The Gators have a favorable matchup this weekend against Creekside. Ware County’s only loss came to Warner Robins in a close game, and it doesn’t look like their second loss will come this weekend. &nbsp; <strong>Bainbridge:</strong> They started the season off on a slow start with two early losses, but the Bearcats, led by elite 5-star ATH [player_tooltip player_id="33865" first="Deyon" last="Bouie"], have won 8 of their last 9 games and continue to get better each week. They beat Westside 42-0 this past weekend and will play 7-1 Islands this weekend. The Bearcats are playing great offensively, and they’ll need to keep it up against an extremely stingy Islands defense. Bainbridge is the more talented team, and they’ll need a big game from their star ATH in order to secure the win.