Southwest’s trip to WACO’s House of Pain could be historic

Zaquan Baldwin had a noticeable spring in his step Monday night.

Honored by the Macon Touchdown Club for the second week in a row, this time sharing lineman of the week honors with teammate Randy Green, the senior defensive end had plenty of reason to be excited. He and his Southwest teammates were coming off a 48-38 victory over Dublin, keeping the Patriots unbeaten in GHSA Region 3-2A play.

More important, Southwest had started preparations for what could become one of the most important games in the program’s 47-year history, a visit to Washington County, the region’s other unbeaten team.

With games against East Laurens and Bleckley County (combined region record 1-6) remaining, a win at the House of Pain would put Southwest on the inside track for the first region championship in program history.

“We’re feeling great,” said Baldwin, who had 10 solo tackles, eight assists, six tackles for loss and four sacks against the Irish. “We’re in good position, and we’re ready for this week.”

Southwest (4-3, 3-0 region) has every reason to be excited about Friday’s 7:30 p.m. game. After losing three straight following a season-opening win over Westside (the first Bibb County team to ever beat the Seminoles), the Patriots have won three straight, including a 26-19 win over a Dodge County team that gave Washington County a tight game before losing 18-14.

Head coach Joseph Dupree, who spent one season at Henry County before taking over for current GHSA associate director Carror Wright at Southwest in 2013, has already secured the best record in his five-year head coaching career. It’s also the highest single-season win total for the Patriots since 2010, when they went 5-6.

“Our guys played well in that huge win over Dublin, who is coached well by (Roger) Holmes,” Dupree said. “The guys came in and executed the plan offensively and defensively. On special teams, we had to stop a couple of their guys. It was a huge win, and I’m just excited for my guys.”

Washington County, two years removed from a Class 3A runner-up finish, went 5-6 last season. But the Golden Hawks (6-1, 3-0) have shown improvement this year, working on a five-game winning streak following a loss to Burke County in early September. They also lost to Jones County, but that result was later reversed when the Greyhounds were found to have an ineligible player.

Only one player with significant playing time remains from Washington County’s 2014 runner-up team, which was anchored by current Georgia Tech defensive back A.J. Gray and Georgia Southern defensive end Logan Hunt.

“We still spread it out, have a physical team,” Washington County head coach Joel Ingram said. “We run the ball, throw the ball a bit. We had issues this year at quarterback, but the last couple of weeks we’ve had someone settle in there, Jake Helton, a sophomore getting into it and getting used to it.”

Against Dodge County, Helton completed 5-of-9 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Darius Tucker, who ran for more than 900 yards on the 2014 team as a sophomore, had 139 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries against the Indians.

Washington County’s remaining schedule is a bit more challenging than what Southwest faces. The Golden Hawks travel to Northeast on Oct. 28, then they close the regular season Nov. 4 against Dublin.

“We’ve played a murderer’s row of a schedule, and we’ve gotten banged up a bit,” Ingram said. “We’re having to fight for our lives every week. But we’re excited about Friday, and it’s going to be a fun environment. The more you win, the more games become meaningful. This is all new to them, and my big task is to help them weather through that.”

Southwest and Washington County are at least two games ahead of every other team in the region with three weeks remaining in the regular season. Dublin, Dodge County and Northeast all have two losses, with Northeast having one fewer victory. Bleckley County and East Laurens each have three losses and still have a shot at the playoffs.

In other Region 3-2A action Friday, Dublin hosts Northeast and East Laurens hosts Dodge County. Bleckley County is off.

This story was originally published October 20, 2016 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Southwest’s trip to WACO’s House of Pain could be historic."