HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL OUTLOOK: Region, playoff stakes high in week 11 games

Area teams are getting down to the short rows on their schedules as the regular-season begins winding down this week. 

It’ll be the last for the GIAA, and first of two to go for the GHSA, before the state playoffs get under way in November. And though there’s still some hay left to gather into the barn for area regions, championship and playoff scenarios are now pretty clear-cut for the teams that remain in the hunt. 

Trinity (2-7, 0-4 district) enters its final game a long way from playoff contention, ranked last out of 12 teams in the current AA power ratings, but will look to go out on a strong note as it celebrates senior night against Gainesville’s Riverside Military (2-8, 0-5 district) at Cleve Warnock Field. 

No. 3 Dublin (7-1, 4-0 region 2-AA) needs just one more win to clinch the region championship, and will look to take care of that as it goes to Buck Cravey Field to take on Vidalia (2-6, 0-4 region). But the Irish have eyes locked on a bigger goal of winning both their last two to claim a top seed in the tournament, and more importantly taking another step toward the perennial ideal of playing their best football come playoff time. 

East Laurens (3-5, 2-2 region 2-AA) comes out of its bye week with a tall task at home against a No. 5-ranked Bleckley County team (8-1, 4-1 region 2-AA) that’s absolutely rolling as it also sets sights on a berth among the top four. The Falcons, who’ve overwhelmingly struggled against the Royals in seven-straight losses (all by double figures) since the start of the Von Lassiter era, will need a complete and mistake-free game to have a chance of changing those recent trends in the rivalry, and their discouraging track record in home games. 

Playoff implications abound for every team in the mix for a postseason spot, but a biggest of the area’s potential title-swinging matchups will take place region 4-A, where some major dominoes are set to fall in two separate matchups as Wheeler County (4-4, 3-1 region) takes aim at Telfair County (5-3, 3-1 region) and a fourth-straight win in its inspiring late-season rally, and Hawkinsville (4-4, 3-1 region) tries to hold onto its spot in the driver’s seat against a Treutlen team (6-2, 2-2 region) more than capable of inflicting some damage. 

Washington County (3-6, 2-3 region 4-AAA) will be in must-win mode as it welcomes Butler (3-5, 1-3 region) to the House of Pain for its regular season finale. Barring some unanticipated shifts in the PSRs, a win will be non-negotiable for the Golden Hawks if their long streak of playoff appearances is to continue. 

Dodge County (4-4, 2-2 region 2-AA) has some work to do to shore up its standing and track toward a hoped-for spot in the top 16, and will have a tough one on its hands at home against a Swainsboro squad (3-5, 2-2 region) with just as much to gain and lose in the season’s last two games. 

Wilkinson County (3-6, 2-3 region 5-A) will also look to make the best of its last shot to move up, from several spots back of the cutline, in its final regular season game at Hancock Central (2-6, 1-3 region). 

In the rest of the midstate’s week 11 matchups, No. 1 Johnson County (8-0, 4-0 region 5-A) looks to keep its dominant run chugging along in its home finale against GMC (4-4, 1-3 region) and Montgomery County (4-4, 0-2 region 1-A) tries to halt a three-game slide at McIntosh Co. Academy (4-4, 1-1 region).