Dublin-Perry reunion, key tests for East Laurens/Trinity part of area’s week 2 football slate

For two teams who are among each other’s most common football rivals, Dublin and Perry have gone an awful long while without playing. 

The programs, whose 31 past meetings (the Irish lead the all-time series 21-10) place them seventh and fifth respectively on the other’s list of most recurring opponents, last got together way back in 2003, when now-25th year Dublin head coach Roger Holmes was only a year removed from taking over the program. The Panthers, who had been blown out on their home field amid a 14-game Irish win streak that led to the state title game the prior year, took that last reunion 14-0 in the Shamrock Bowl. 

After 23 years, their long-lost rivalry will finally be revived this Friday (7:30 p.m.) as No. 3 Dublin returns home for the first time this fall in search of its second win. 

The non-region matchup occupies the marquee on a busy week 2 in the Heart of Georgia, which will have all the area’s teams out to either build or establish momentum in some important games. 

The Irish (1-0 after last Friday’s rolling of Jasper County) will have to contend with some slight advantages held by Perry (0-1) in the depth department that stem purely from larger roster numbers and ability to two-platoon that are luxuries of a big school, though Dublin’s skill positions, defense and line units appear they’ll be able to go toe-to-toe, if not play with the upper hand. 

Its range of big-play possibilities, and ground game that proved last week that it’s capable of adapting to any tempo, may be a problem for the Panthers’ young defense, which struggled to contain or tackle a similarly-talented stable out of Peach County a first time out. 

Neither opening week went entirely well for East Laurens (0-1) or Southeast Bulloch (0-1), who collide in search of first wins in Brooklet. The Falcons were pretty squarely overrun by Johnson County’s physical ground attack, and the Yellow Jackets the same against a 463-yard rushing effort from rival Statesboro, in first games that both would like to erase from their memory in a fresh re-start.

Taking better control of the trenches, and winning more of the physical battles on both sides, will be East’s first priority against a Wing-T style ground attack of SEB that it can’t allow to be the first offense of the two to gain its early-season confidence. Fortunately, the Falcons only seemed to be a few missed blocks and completed catches away from doing so a week sooner last Friday.

Trinity (1-1) will look to seize the momentum built up in a come-from-behind win at Robert Toombs last week as it returns home to face longtime rival Edmund Burke. Local product Andy Woodard has molded the Spartans (off to their fifth-straight 2-0 start) into a perennial title contender, though RTCA narrowly denied them a three-peat as state champion in the 2025 Class A final. 

More of the physical ground game and opportune defense that carried the Crusaders last Friday will be needed to survive this latest test against a well-coached team whose strength and smarts have won out in three of the rivals’ last four meetings, though last year’s 3-0 Trinity victory, hinging on a Wade Register field goal, ran its all-time record in the series to 16-8. 

No matter how well No. 4 Johnson County (1-0) performs in its debut, a traditional week 2 tilt with Warren County (1-0, off a 35-27 victory over Jenkins County) never fails to turn into a barnburner. Expect another lively challenge that the Trojans will have to work hard to put away in the second half as the Screamin’ Devils (this year led by new head coach Rashad Carter) return to Herschel Walker Field (in a 7 p.m. kickoff Thursday night) expecting to make some noise.

In the area’s other top games, unbeaten No. 3 Wheeler and Montgomery counties reconvene in Mt. Vernon for one of the longtime rivals’ most looked-forward-to matchups in some time, and No. 4 Bleckley County (1-0) returns home for a second-straight top-10 matchup against No. 5 Cook (1-0). 

Washington County (0-1) also opens up the House of Pain for the first time in the Jay Ware era against a well-rounded ACE Charter (1-0), a fairly loaded No. 8 Dodge County team goes on the road to show what it’s got against upstart Lamar County (1-0), Brentwood (0-2) tries to dig out of its early-season hole back home against Gatewood (0-2), Twiggs County (0-1) visits Central of Talbotton (1-0) and Wilkinson County (0-1) tries for a bounce back at Greene County (0-1). 

More midstate matchups…

Swainsboro at ECI (Thursday)

Windsor at Augusta Prep 

Hephzibah at Baldwin

Jordan at Central Macon 

Jeff Davis at Clinch Co. 

GMC at Crawford Co. 

Jefferson Co. at Cross Creek

Crisp Co. at Dooly Co. 

Westfield at FPD

Mitchell Co. at Hawkinsville 

Peach Co. at Jones Co.

Northside WR at Mays

John Milledge at Piedmont

Mount de Sales at Pinewood

Westside Macon at Rutland

CFCA at Southland 

Bulloch at Tattnall Square

Veterans at Trinity-Sharpsburg

Toombs Co. at Vidalia

Howard at Valdosta

Northeast Macon at Warner Robins

Macon Co. at Wilcox Co.