Houston County football teams are getting in their final tests before region play, some start this week | Football Previews

Last week was rough for Houston County’s football teams, but they’ll look to bounce back as we hit the halfway point of the regular season on Friday.

Here’s a quick preview:

Find our Game of the Week preview at hhjonline.com or in the Sept. 16 edition of the Houston Home Journal.

Houston County

Houston County made statewide headlines last week after their shootout with Central-Carrollton, a 73-66 overtime loss on the road.

This week the Bears return home for their final non-region game against Westlake, who just made the trip to play Northside last week.

The Lions are 4-0 and ranked eighth in 7A by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, led by a potent offense with elite size, speed and athleticism.

It wasn’t easy sledding against the Eagles, but quarterback Cannon Robinson was still able to put up an efficient 19-for-27 (70%) for 202 yards through the air to go with 40 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Running back Christian Womack, whose 13 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown don’t jump off the page, was a physical challenge and consistently shrugged off tackle attempts.

Kickoff is scheduled for Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Freedom Field.

Northside

Northside is on their first bye week after completing their non-region schedule last week against Westlake.

Next they take on Veterans across town on Sept. 25.

Perry

Perry finished their non-region slate last week in a road loss to Northeast, 58-40.

The Panthers’ defense is still trying to find their footing after giving up myriad explosive plays in all three of their losses this season. They’ll be tasked with another offense capable of scoring in bunches when Ola comes to The Pit this week.

The Mustangs are 3-1 and have scored 50 points twice this year: In a 56-0 victory against Cedar Grove and a 54-0 win against Starr’s Mill.

To temper expectations, both of the aforementioned teams are winless, and Ola was held to seven points in a loss to East Coweta and they scored a modest 26 in a win against LaGrange.

Most of their work is done on the ground; against Cedar Grove and LaGrange they recorded seven and six pass attempts respectively. Senior running back Caden Waye leads the room with 52 carries for 441 yards and eight touchdowns.

Kickoff is scheduled for Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in The Pit.

Veterans

Veterans has come away with two wins thus far on their three-game road trip, and they’ll aim for a clean sweep as they visit Sumter County this week.

The Panthers won their first game last week, a 27-21 win against winless Early County. They’re off to a rough start after 12-2 and 10-2 seasons the last two years.

Three of their four games, however, have been on the road. Their last home game was Aug. 28 against Dougherty (3-0), a 32-29 loss.

Sumter County only has three seniors and 16 juniors compared to 38 underclassmen.

Kickoff is scheduled for Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Americus.

Warner Robins

The Demons are coming off of back-to-back losses, the worst of which was a 70-14 demolition at Newton. The Rams led 64-0 at halftime.

Warner Robins will continue the road trip this week as they head up to Union Grove looking for a bounce back game.

The Wolverines won their first game last week against 4A Salem after suffering a 70-27 loss to Jackson the week before.

Quarterback Tristin Sharpe has tallied 971 yards on a not particularly efficient 64-for-119 (53%), and his favorite target by far is sophomore Jarious Hamm, who has 30 receptions for 605 yards and six touchdowns. Running back Decarlow Reddick has championed the ground attack with 68 carries for 445 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Kickoff is scheduled for Sept. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in McDonough.