Central, Southwest face off in key region game

The season is more than six weeks old for many teams, but not much has been much settled in GHSA Region 2-AAA.

Peach County has jumped out to a 5-0 record in the region and seems a safe bet for the playoffs, while Westside is 4-1, but facing a Spencer team that beat Jackson (3-1) last weekend to improve to 2-2. That leaves the Southwest and Central game Friday night at Henderson Stadium with major playoff implications.

Both teams are 2-2, and the loser Friday will face a tough road to stay in playoff contention.

"We are in full playoff mode with a huge sense of urgency," said Central head coach Jesse Hicks, whose team was off last weekend after a loss to Peach County the week prior. "Having an off week in the middle of the season is always good, and we were coming off a loss in a game that I thought we played well enough to win. We feel like losing the two region games will just make us better for the rest of the season, and we know we have to win.

"But let me tell you, nothing is easy in this region, and Southwest is in the same shoes as we are. I know they are going to come ready to play."

Central is led by quarterback Derrick Evans, who has thrown for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns without throwing an interception through six games. His main target has been wide receiver Ivory Childers, who has 25 catches for 460 yards and five touchdowns.

Antonio Sanders Jr. leads the ground game with 638 yards while Evans has added 260.

Southwest meanwhile has been up and down this year, losing two weeks ago to Spencer 35-0 but rebounding with an easy win over Rutland last week.

"I knew Spencer was a capable football team, but I was shocked that we had so many kids not show up in our homecoming game," said Southwest head coach Joseph Dupree, whose team has not beaten Central in his three years as head coach. "We did a lot of soul searching after that loss, and it paid off in the Rutland game. Even though we are in a very sticky situation right now, we feel like we have overcome adversity and are ready to fight for a playoff spot. We just need to take care of business the rest of the year, and that all starts Friday night against a very talented Central team."

Southwest has a potent one-two punch on offense with quarterback Jordan Slocum and wide receiver Justin Slocum, but it will be a defense led by Zaquan Baldwin, Randy Green and Jaquez Pennimon that will have to slow down the Chargers' offense.

"This is obviously a huge rivalry game, and both teams are very talented, but it's the turnovers and penalties that will be very important," Dupree said. "But we are very aware that a loss will make it very difficult to make the playoffs."

This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 11:03 PM.