Friday Night Football Roundup — Week 11

With the conclusion of Friday night’s games, we’re officially entering the final week of the regular season.

Let’s see how Houston County’s teams did this week:

Houston County & Northside

Houston County (5-4, 3-2 Region 2-6A) pulled away from Northside (3-6, 1-4 Region) in the second half of an unexpected shootout at the MAC.

The Eagles led early before the Bears tied the game at 14 a piece in the second quarter. From there the offenses exploded, even with a scary injury to Northside quarterback Keirion “KT” Tate, who was carried away to the hospital. The Bears won 56-35.

This win pushed HoCo up to 14th in the initial Post Season Rankings, but those won’t be finalized until every team’s final score is reported. This would have the Bears as the only team scheduled to host a playoff game, but that’s without counting next week’s game against Lee County.

Northside is at the edge of playoff qualification at the 32nd spot in the initial rankings. With Thomas County Central coming up on a short week, it’ll be tough for the Eagles to squeeze into the playoffs.

Perry

Perry (5-4, 4-1 Region 2-5A) is above .500 for the first time this season after demolishing Eagle’s Landing on the road, 61-0.

That was the Panthers’ fourth consecutive win after starting the season 1-4 as they stay afloat in the playoff conversation.

Before Friday’s win is calculated they sit at 27th in 5A.

Their final game of the season is against Warner Robins, who will need a win to stay in the playoff picture.

Veterans

Veterans (4-5, 1-4 Region 2-6A) looked like two completely different teams in the first and second halves against Tift County, but the hole was too big to get out of in a 31-17 loss.

The Warhawks outscored the Blue Devils 14-3 in the second half, but missed tackles allowed Tift County to rack up 28 first-half points in one of their best recent offensive performances.

With the loss, Veterans sits one spot outside of the postseason picture at 33rd in 6A. These are just the initial rankings, however.

Their final game of the regular season is at home against Coffee next week.

Warner Robins

It’s been a tough stretch for Warner Robins (5-4, 3-2 Region 2-5A), now losers of two straight after a thorough thumping courtesy of Jones County, 51-14.

Now for the second consecutive season the Demons are fighting for their playoff lives as they tumble to 32nd in 5A.

Warner Robins has not missed the postseason since 2010, and they’ve only missed five times in the 21st century.

Next week’s home game against Perry is a must-win for the Demons.

Westfield

Westfield (7-3, 4-0 GIAA District 3-3A) finished their fourth regular season under Chad Campbell with a win against Deerfield-Windsor, 14-7.

The Hornets scored both touchdowns in the first quarter and were held scoreless the remainder of the game. The Knights scored once in the second quarter.

If the rankings hold up, Westfield will host Terrell Academy in the first round on Nov. 6. Were they to win, they’d play the winner of Athens Christian vs. Deerfield-Windsor at home on Nov. 13.