Strong season leads to home game for Southwest

They didn’t get the top playoff seed, but the Southwest Patriots have plenty of reason to celebrate their share of the GHSA Region 3-2A championship.

Never in its 47-year history had Southwest even claimed part of a region championship. A look at Southwest’s playoff seasons indicates at least a game’s difference between the Patriots and first place.

But after Southwest closed the regular season a week ago with its second straight healthy win, a 33-12 victory at Bleckley County, the Patriots received a bit of good news: Dublin edged Washington County 27-26 to spoil the Golden Hawks’ bid for an unbeaten record in region play.

Instead of finishing a game back of Washington County, Southwest wound up tied for first with the Golden Hawks at 5-1. While Washington County claimed the top playoff seed by virtue of its 21-0 victory Oct. 21 in Sandersville, the Patriots (6-4 overall) could finally say they had a piece of a region title.

“That’s huge for the guys,” Southwest head coach Joseph Dupree said. “I’m so excited for the players and the community at Southwest. We’ve had a lot of bad things happen, and this thing happening is a good thing.

“We always talk about the process and trying to do what’s right. It’s progress. It’s an exciting time at Southwest, and it means a lot to our program.”

The No. 2 seed from Region 3-2A still gets to have a first-round home game, something Southwest last did in 2008. The Patriots host Brooks County, a team coached by Maurice Freeman, who was Southwest’s head coach from 1998-2001.

The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. at Henderson Stadium.

Freeman, who went 17-24 in four seasons with the Patriots before spending six seasons at Brunswick as its head coach, is in his second stint with the Trojans. He has won 10 or more games seven times with the program, making it to at least the Class 2A quarterfinals in each of the past four seasons.

“He’s a great coach,” Dupree said. “He’s going to have his guys ready to play. They’re going to be very, very physical and fundamentally sound.”

This season, Brooks County is 7-3 and is the No. 3 seed from Region 1-2A, finishing behind Fitzgerald and Thomasville. The Fitzgerald and Thomasville losses were decisive, but the Trojans gave Class 3A No. 4 Crisp County (10-0) its closest game of the season, 16-14.

In a 41-17 win last week over Berrien, sophomore quarterback Jacolby Brown completed 16-of-19 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns for Brooks County, while he also ran for 125 yards and two scores.

The Brooks County-Southwest winner faces the Model-Callaway winner in the second round. Third-ranked Callaway is the Region 5-2A champion, while Model finished fourth in Region 7-2A.

Also in Class 2A playoff action Friday, Berrien hosts Washington County, Dodge County heads to Thomasville and Dublin goes to Fitzgerald. Lamar County hosts Chattooga, with that winner taking on the Berrien-Washington County winner in the second round, and Monticello plays at Hapeville.

This story was originally published November 10, 2016 at 9:50 PM with the headline "Strong season leads to home game for Southwest."