Wednesday, November 15, 2000
Wednesday, November 15, 2000 |
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Playoffs set to begin close to home By MICHAEL BOYLAN The regular season of high school football ended last Friday night. Some teams will live on in the state playoffs, while others must concentrate on the positive aspects of their seasons and look forward to next year on the gridiron. One such team is the McIntosh Chiefs (2-8), who hosted North Clayton Friday night and lost 29-3. They did improve on their record from last year and had to play a very tough schedule in a brand-new region. McIntosh players should be proud for never giving up this season, sticking to their game plan and playing as hard as possible. The players that will return next season will have a lot to look forward to, as they will try to improve on their record again. As for the teams heading to the playoffs, East Coweta (10-0) hosted Newnan Friday night and defeated them in front of a sold out crowd, 38-17. The win locked up the top spot in Region 4-AAAAA for the Indians because they had won a coin toss with the Starr's Mill Panthers earlier in the week. As the top seed, they will host Bradwell Institute Friday night. Bradwell Institute is 7-3 and has only allowed 89 points this season. They have allowed double digit points in three games, which were also their three lossses. The Indians must stay hot on offense and stingy on defense to for a win, which would put them against the winner of Northside-Warner Robins and Lowndes County. Starr's Mill, coming off a bye week, will take on Wayne County Friday night at Tiger Stadium in Fayetteville. Wayne County has put up a lot of points during the season and the Panther defense must play their intense style of play. The winner will face the winner of the Warner Robins-Colquitt County game. Sandy Creek (8-2) racked up a lot of points in a 49-19 win over Salem last Friday. The Patriots have been getting solid performances on offense from Kelvin German, Andre Green, Jack O'Neill and Mark Lawson this season and the defense has produced three shutouts this year. Sandy Creek will look to continue that production on both sides of the ball as they host Thomson on Friday night. Thomson is 7-3 and very similar to Sandy Creek. They have a solid offense, which has scored 108 points in the last two weeks of the season, and a defense that has produced three shutouts as well. The Patriots will need to stay focused on what has brought them this far. The winner of this game will get to face the winner of the Shaw-Worth County game. Sandy Creek would love a chance to avenge their loss to Shaw earlier in the season. Northgate (9-1) clinched the 5-AA title witha 35-6 win over Grady on Friday night. The Vikings have had consistent play on both sides of the ball all season long and look to stretch their momentum deep into the playoffs. They didn't know who their opponent would be until late Monday night because three teams had to play mini-games to determine the final two seeds in their region. Northgate will host Darlington (7-3) Friday night and the winner will face the winner of the Putnam County and Dawson County game. Landmark Christian lost a close one to Mt. Zion, Carrollton on Friday night, 36-32. The War Eagles finished the season 1-9 but have to be excited at pieces of their game coming together and their playoff opponent. They will travel to take on Adairsville (7-3) which defeated them 21-14 in September. The War Eagles' confidence level should be up and a win could put them in a game against the winner of Buford and Georgia Military College. The area has never seen so much playoff action so close to home. No matter which team you root for, this will be an exciting weekend. Kickoffs are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. |
