WATCH: Secretary of State Hurricane Recovery Briefing at 10 AM
Section Branding
Header Content
Week 5: Five games to watch
Primary Content
Many schools are taking their final week off before diving into region competition, leaving the statewide schedule a little light. But there are numerous interesting inter-classification matches on the docket. Here are five games that will draw statewide interest on Friday.
Valdosta at South Gwinnett: Class 6A No. 7-ranked Valdosta improved to 4-0 on Friday by defeating Jesuit, Fla., 35-28. Its last 4-0 start came in 2022 when coach Shelton Felton’s team won their first eight games and finished the season 8-3. South Gwinnett is 3-0 with wins over Shiloh, Dutchtown and Brookwood. The Comets did not play last week. Coach Bryan Lamar’s team is trying to match last year’s 4-0 start. This is only the second meeting between the teams; Valdosta won 41-7 in the 1998 quarterfinals in Valdosta. This will be the featured game that will be shown live on GPB’s Football Fridays in Georgia.
Buford at Douglas County: Both Class 6A powerhouses are coming off huge victories. No. 2 Buford hammered Class 5A No. 6 Roswell 52-17 and No. 3 Douglas County defeated Class 5A No. 5 Hughes 21-14. The only prior meeting between the teams came in the first round of the 2020 playoffs and resulted in a 48-0 Buford win.
Lee County at Colquitt County: Class 6A No. 10 Colquitt County (2-1) had last week off to seethe after losing a home game to North Gwinnett. Class 5A No. 4 Lee County (3-0) was also idle after scoring 166 points in its first three games. Colquitt County is 12-0 all-time against Lee County, including 37-20 in Moultrie last year.
Fitzgerald at Brooks County: Class A powers Fitzgerald (No. 8 in Division I) and Brooks County (No. 5 in Division II) play for the first time since 2019. Brooks County (2-1) defeated Worth County 26-7 on Friday. Fitzgerald (1-1) was off last week. Fitzgerald leads the series 13-9, but Brooks County has won the last three games, including 28-24 in 2019.
Jefferson at North Oconee: Expect a battle between Class 3A No. 2 Jefferson (3-1) and Class 4A No. 5 North Oconee (3-0). Jefferson is coming off a 45-28 win over Class 2A No. 3 Stephens County and has won three straight since its season-opening loss to Class 4A No. 1 Marist. North Oconee blanked Clarke Central 22-0 on Friday, its second shutout of the season, and has allowed only 11 points. North Oconee beat Jefferson 11-6 in 2023, but Jefferson leads the series 6-3.