GREYHOUND FOOTBALL
Region title hopes and more at stake for Greyhounds, Demons
When region alignment brought Warner Robins into the region that is now GHSA 2-AAAAA, anticipation began to build across middle Georgia and statewide for whenever the football matchup between Jones County and Warner Robins would take place.
Jones County was coming off a third region title in a row. And then, in came the Demons, the two-time defending state champions who knocked off the Greyhounds en route to each of those titles with postseason wins.
And although each team has been dealt a loss within the region, a hearty weight is hanging around Friday’s matchup. In fact, as this Friday begins, there’s a four-way tie for first place in the region between Jones County, Warner Robins, Ola and Dutchtown.
Plainly put, neither team can win a region title without a win on Friday. It’s simple for the Greyhounds. Win on Friday as well as next week at Union Grove, and Jones County is region champions again as long as Dutchtown beats Ola next week. If Jones County loses? That’s where it gets complicated.
Warner Robins would then be tied with Dutchtown for first place but lose the tiebreaker with Dutchtown by virtue of a loss to the Bulldogs earlier this season.
That is, unless Ola beats Dutchtown. In that case, Warner Robins, with a win next week against Locust Grove could win the region. As for Ola? Winning the rest of the way would give the Mustangs the region title, as long as Jones County beats Warner Robins on Friday.
Got that?
Both Jones County and Warner Robins are similar in the fact that both have found a recent surge after earlier losses in the season in addition to facing challenging non-region competition.
Warner Robins started 1-4, with losses to Lee County, Valdosta, Houston County and a region setback to Dutchtown. In that span, the Demons scored no more than 10 points in a single game. Since, Warner Robins has righted things, topping Ola 38-0, Union Grove 30-7 and Eagles Landing 49-18.
The Greyhounds rallied from a two-game losing streak to Perry and Peach County that followed seasonopening wins against Northside and Dacula. After easing past Eagles Landing and Locust Grove, a stumble in a 22-15 loss to Ola set up the Greyhounds for their previous big win, a 24-7 road victory at Dutchtown.
Recent trends suggest that the defensive secondary could be key on Friday.
The Greyhounds defensive backs helped turn the tide of the win against Dutchtown with three interceptions, one being a pick six by Javion Clark. That level of play helped Jones County hold a commanding field-position advantage in the win against Dutchtown. Warner Robins, for its part, has thrown for 168 yards in its past two games. In the three games that the Demons have thrown for more than 100 yards this year, two have been wins for Warner Robins.
