Central eyes streak-breaking win against Peach County
Jesse Hicks let loose with a huge laugh at the non-football question in the middle of a football conversation.
Where was he on Sept. 17, 1971, when Richard Nixon was president, Southwest Airlines was about three months old, and Macon high schools had been renamed by direction for about a year?
“I was about 5 months old,” Hicks said. “May 31, 1971, Augusta, Georgia. Why’d you ask me that question?”
That’s the last time Central beat Peach County.
Peach County head coach Chad Campbell was a little over two years old and living in Macon.
The win was part of a winning streak, albeit one that stopped at two games and was followed by a 10-game losing streak against the Trojans in a series that was dormant until 2002.
Another blast from that past: Al Pollard transferred from Northeast to Central a year later, and led the Chargers to the GHSA Class AAA title game in 1972, his senior season, 43 years before he was to be named principal at Peach County.
Central will try to update history in its favor at 8 p.m. Friday when the Chargers visit No. 3 Peach County in a Region 4-3A battle.
The Chargers had their five-game winning streak to open the season stopped last week with a sloppy night in losing 30-20 to Pike County. The Trojans were off to heal up a bit after getting all of their points in the fourth quarter to knock off Class 4A Mary Persons 20-19 a week earlier.
Hicks, who is also aware that Central broke a streak last year of being handed four straight shutouts by the Trojans in a 25-14 loss, said the performance against Pike County was quite uncharacteristic of this year’s Chargers.
“We should be 6-0 right now, and we’re not,” Hicks said. “We caused the 19 penalties, we caused the six turnovers.”
That the Chargers are disappointed to not be undefeated may be a surprise to some, considering how much firepower they lost from last year’s 6-4 team that barely missed the playoffs. Central cracked the 30-point mark five times last year behind quarterback Derrick Evans, wideout Ivory Childers, , as well as defenders Chandler King, Stephen Parker and Carlos Ferguson, among others.
Running back Antonio Sanders, lineman Javius Johnson and defensive back Kanuri Williams are among those taking over.
The culture continues to change, and success against Peach County is part of that.
“When I got in (here), just going down to Peach County meant you thought there was an L,” Hicks said. “Our kids don’t think like that anymore.”
All that is a sign of the program’s progress as the Chargers are all but assured a second straight winning season for the first time since four straight from 1994-97.
Campbell knew what Central had in 2015 and how close the game was, and thus how close this meeting can be.
“They lost some key people from last year’s team, some offensive firepower, and lost some good defensive lpayers, too,” Campbell said. “They’ve done a good job.”
There’s some history to be addressed for Campbell, as well. He is going for his 100th career win, his record standing at 99-20 in his 10th season.
The Trojans will be as tough to beat at home as usual, especially considering the improved health of running backs Chris Gibson and James Jackson, and defender Kevin Nixon.
Peach County has won 18 straight region games at home. Carver-Columbus got Peach County 26-17 on Nov. 2, 2012. The Trojans’ lone home losses since then have been to Appling County in the first round of the 2014 playoffs, Warner Robins last year and Houston County this year.
Central will keep an eye on wideout Kearis Jackson, who is moved around in Peach County’s offense. His being double-teamed has opened up opportunities for the running backs and receiver Devontea Howard.
The current members of the Chargers know about last year’s loss to the Trojans, and a few were part of the 33-0 loss in 2014 and 35-0 a year earlier.
So the earlier history – which quickly went into Hicks’s general game plan – only adds to their hunger to break a streak.
“You think about Peach County and the reign they have in football the last 20, 25 years, maybe more,” Hicks said. “It’d be a great time to get it. It’s their homecoming, they’re ranked high. I think it’s a perfect time for our kids to set themselves up for a great victory.”
This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 6:31 PM with the headline "Central eyes streak-breaking win against Peach County."