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Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009

Sunday Morning Quarterback

Game balls

Ÿ Montravious Gladden, Washington County: The guy known as “Whistle” continues to have a great season. He had his biggest game against Burke County, rushing for 280 yards and five touchdowns — two were longer than 60 yards — in a 44-31 win over the Bears.

Ÿ Shawn Hunneycutt, Dodge County: Hunneycutt had a career-best night when he passed for 285 yards and three touchdowns in the Indians’ 49-36 loss to Vidalia.

Ÿ D.J. Rozier, Johnson County: The junior quarterback led the Trojans to a 28-22 comeback win over Treutlen in overtime. He rushed for a touchdown in the fourth quarter and connected with Zack Walker for the game-tying two-point conversion. He rushed for the game-winner in overtime, the final of his four rushing touchdowns. He finished with 80 yards on the ground and 186 through the air.

Ÿ Myles Swain, Mount de Sales: Swain found three different ways to get into the end zone in the Cavaliers’ 35-14 win over Stratford. He scored on a 12-yard run, a 45-yard reception and a 27-yard interception return.

Ÿ Lamar Zanders, Peach County: Zanders caught four passes for 101 yards in the Trojans’ 36-13 win over Worth County. He also rushed for a 59-yard touchdown.

You might have missed

Ÿ Avoiding the upsets: Baldwin, Northside, Washington County and Westside all avoided upsets to set up big games this week. The Braves survived a road test in a 20-7 win over Liberty County, while Washington County beat Burke County in a 44-31 shootout to set up a matchup with Baldwin this week. Northside bounced back from a 13-0 road deficit to beat Tift County 27-13. And Westside didn’t struggle at all in a 44-7 win over Americus-Sumter, but it still has a big game this week against Thomas County Central.

What we learned

Ÿ It was a good night for veteran coaches: Five of the six Middle Georgia coaches with more than 250 career wins came up with important victories Friday. The winningest active coach, Mary Persons’ Rodney Walker, got his biggest win since returning to his alma mater with a 14-7 upset over Woodward Academy. Tattnall Square’s Barney Hester clinched a region championship with a 14-7 win over FPD. Northside’s Conrad Nix led his team to a come-from-behind win over Tift County. And Fitzgerald head coach Robby Pruitt and Greene County head coach Charlie Winslette led their teams to wins over Brooks County and Howard, respectively.

Quotable

“I’m the coach for Southwest; what do you think I’m going to see. I thought I had a good look, We’ll see. We’ll look at it on film.” — Southwest head coach Carror Wright on a late pass interference call on fourth down that gave Central a new set of downs. Central scored on the next play for a 12-7 win.

Coming up

Ÿ Northside vs. Warner Robins: This game lost a tiny bit of luster with Warner Robins’ 17-0 loss to Colquitt County. The Demons are now in a must-win situation to make the playoffs. The Eagles have pride on the line. They can clinch a region championship next week with a win over Colquitt County.

Ÿ Washington County at Baldwin: The winner of this game will claim the GHSA Region 3-AAA championship. Last year’s game was a classic.

Ÿ Westside at Thomas County Central: The Seminoles can win their second straight GHSA Region 1-AAAA championship with a win in Thomasville. Westside has won 17 straight regular-season games.

Ÿ Mary Persons at Spalding: The Bulldogs’ win over Woodward was huge, but they still need a win over the Jaguars to clinch a playoff spot.

Ÿ Tattnall at Stratford: The Trojans would sweep their region rivals in a supposed down season with a road win over the Eagles. Guess nobody told Hester or the Trojans that this was supposed to be a rebuilding year.

Ÿ Mount de Sales at FPD: Following the Cavaliers’ blowout win over Stratford, the winner of this game will clinch a home playoff game.

Ÿ Southwest at Greene County: The Patriots will need some help no matter what to reach the playoffs, but the Patriots can’t do anything without a win over the Tigers.

Ÿ Northeast at Putnam County: The region championship would have been on the line if the Raiders didn’t fall by 20 points to Henry County on Friday. A win here by the Raiders would create a three-way tie at the top of the region.

Ÿ Lincoln County at Wilkinson County: The Warriors can clinch the GHSA Region 7-A championship with a win, but standing in the way will be the most dominant Class A power in modern GHSA history.

Ÿ Lee County at Jones County: The Greyhounds can clinch a winning record with wins in their final two games, but they have a bigger goal. Losses by Bainbridge and Hardaway on Friday kept Jones County in the playoff hunt.

Ÿ Woodward Academy at Jackson: The Red Devils will clinch a second straight region championship with a win over the War Eagles.