1-AAAAAA region play set to start this week with no clear favorite

The Northside Eagles haven’t lost a game in over a month. The Lee County Trojans are 8-0 after coming to Freedom Field and beating Houston County by 34 points last Friday. Coffee lost a nail-biter by a field goal at McConnell-Talbert Stadium to Warner Robins on Friday. The Trojans were behind by three touchdowns to the Demons in the third quarter and still found a way to make a game of it. That game best describes the toughness of region 1-AAAAAA football. None of the five teams -Coffee, Houston County, Northside, Lee County and Valdosta High Schools- are never out of game. Which of those teams are going to win the region title? That isn’t clear and remains to be seen. “It’s not a whole lot different from last year,” said long time Valdosta head football coach Alan Rodenmaker. “The parity is still the same. I can’t call it.”

Lee County’s victory over Houston County gave the Trojans a game up on the rest of the region but that one-game advantage will be tested on Friday as both Houston County and Lee County will be off for the week. The only region matchup on the schedule for this week will be between Northside and Valdosta, who will be playing at McConnell-Talbert on Friday night. Despite losing tons of talent from last year’s team (Northside and head coach Kevin Kinsler can claim the same) and having a current record of 2-4, the Valdosta Wildcats have as good a chance as any to win the region title. “I can’t call it,” said Rodenmaker on who he thinks is the region frontrunner this far. “Northside looks pretty good, especially defensively. Houston County has been playing better of late. I haven’t seen much of Lee or Coffee.”

On Friday, Oct. 13 the heavy part of the schedule will take place as four of the five teams will be in action when undefeated Lee County (1-0 region) hosts Northside (5-1 overall, 0-0) and Houston County (2-5 overall, 0-1 region) hosts Coffee (3-2 overall, 0-0). Coffee lost a game where they scored 49 points on the road. Despite the apparent loss of college-level talent there are still major impact players remaining within the region. Coffee senior quarterback Wade Sumner and senior receiver Dalrone Donaldson displayed a high level of offensive ability against an undefeated Warner Robins squad. Twins Marquavious and Jarquavious, a running back and cornerback, were also making huge impacts for Lee County during Friday’s loss. Northside senior linebacker Marcelle Griffin and senior running back Marcus Jolly have had solid seasons to date. Houston County has solved their quarterback issues with sophomore Max Rigby (51-94 for 584 yards and three touchdowns this season) while fellow sophomore and backup quarterback Isaia Harris (four receptions for 24 yards against Lee County on Friday) has stepped up and become a solid option a receiver.

Lee County, which put on an impressive offensive on Friday, is the currently in first place but that will change soon. The 1-AAAAAA crown will come to the team with the least scrapes and scars at the end of the four-game, five week tour. “It’s going to be interesting,” says Rodenmaker.