Houston County football looking to keep offense rolling, reign in explosive plays in region opener against Tift County | Game of the Week

Houston County (2-2) is coming off of their second bye week looking to snap a two-game skid, and Tift County (3-2, 0-1 Region 2-6A) is in their sights for the region opener.

The Bears lost their last two games heading into the off week, 73-66 and 61-51 to Central-Carrollton and Westlake respectively.

As the scores suggest, HoCo’s offense is humming behind stellar years from quarterback Ryan Maxwell and running back Austin Stinson.

Through four games, Maxwell is 76-for-106 (71%) through the air for 930 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions. Stinson has had a monstrous season so far, with 104 carries for 1,169 yards (11.2 yards per carry) and 15 touchdowns through four games.

Against Westlake, Stinson ran 30 and 51 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Maxwell threw a 50-yard touchdown pass and Stinson ran one 70 yards against Central. The Bears have proven they can generate explosive plays and flip the score on its head at any time.

Conversely, explosive plays have also been their downfall during this streak.

In that same game against Westlake, HoCo’s secondary was burned multiple times on long touchdown runs. Missed tackles allowed runners to break off big chunks.

Head coach Jeremy Edwards said after the game that blocking and tackling better were key focuses going into the off week.

The good news for the Bears is the Blue Devils’ offense is not comparable to that of their last two opponents.

On the surface, the week-to-week output pales in comparison. Tift County’s season high is 42 points against 3A Crisp County, who allowed 14 and seven points in the following weeks.

Their next highest score was 41 against Luella, but in their other three games they haven’t  scored more than 25. Last week they lost to Coffee 35-14, and Lambert beat them 21-7.

The Blue Devils run twice as much as they throw the ball. Jishaun Robinson has tallied 50 carries for 294 yards and two touchdowns, and behind him is Jontrez Woodard who has 24 carries for 244 yards and four touchdowns in two games.

Quarterback Ty Roberts is 27-for-50 (54%) on the year for 405 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. He just barely got into double digit pass attempts in their first four games with 12, 12, 20 and eight respectively.

The all-time series is tied at seven, but it’s been four straight victories for HoCo under Edwards, who has never lost to the Blue Devils.

The games haven’t been particularly close, either. In Edwards’ first year they demolished Tift County 66-7, and then-sophomore Antwann Hill Jr. tallied 254 yards and five touchdowns on just 22 pass attempts. Four different Bears scored a rushing touchdown, too.

The closest score was in 2023, a 26-14 win for HoCo, but the last two have been 42-19 and 57-14.

Before the most recent streak, Tift County won seven consecutive from 2005 to 2013, with a short break in the series in 2010 and 2011. After 2013, the two teams didn’t play again until 2022.

Kickoff is scheduled for Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Freedom Field.