Windsor ready to step up its play in playoffs

Suffering through a three-game losing streak heading into the regular-season finale, things didn’t look great for Windsor.

But the Knights came alive and beat Bethlehem Temple 43-12 last week to earn a spot in the GISA Class 2A playoffs. Windsor will try to make the most of that chance when it hosts First Presbyterian Christian at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in the first round.

“I think we’re peaking at the right time,” Windsor head coach Jimmy Watts said. “The guys are real excited and working hard at practice. They want to see good things happen.”

Windsor’s win last week forced a three-way tie with Bethlehem Temple and Piedmont for seeding. During the regular season, Bethlehem Temple beat Piedmont and Piedmont beat Windsor, meaning Windsor’s win over Bethlehem Temple sent the tiebreaker to first-half points allowed.

In the game last week, Bethlehem Temple had a chance for a late score in the first half, but a pass play deep into Windsor territory was nullified by a penalty. Had Bethlehem Temple scored, Piedmont would have been the No. 2 seed and Windsor would have been third. As it is, Windsor is Region 1-2A’s No. 2 seed, while Bethlehem Temple is No. 3.

And Piedmont missed out on the postseason.

“(The players are) pumped up,” Watts said. “We had a little run where we didn’t do so well in the middle of the season, and it came down to the game Friday night and ended up in a three-way tie for points allowed in the first half. It really put a breath of life into the program.”

Windsor (5-5) beat First Presbyterian Christian 58-32 in the first round last season on its way to reaching the semifinals. The Highlanders are 4-5 this season, losing their final two regular-season games.

“They’re big. We played them in the first round last year, and their line is really big,” Watts said. “The challenge is going to be on defense. If we can get some stops, we may have some success against them when we get on offense.”

In the other Class 2A game featuring a Middle Georgia team, Brentwood travels to Westwood.

In Class 3A, John Milledge hosts Tiftarea, while Gatewood travels to Brookwood, Westfield travels to Valwood and Trinity Christian travels to Loganville Christian.

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Windsor ready to step up its play in playoffs."