TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) - Just two weeks remain in the regular season for high school football teams in South Georgia and North Florida. Several District and Region champions have already been crowned, but this week, the playoff picture becomes a little more clear.
There's a big game in Quitman, as undefeated Brooks County hosts undefeated Thomasville, two teams in the top ten in AA football, and there's a Region title within grasp for both.
"It's not just going to last the first quarter like a lot of games," said Thomasville head coach Zach Grage. "This is going to be an emotional, intense game with both fan bases, everybody is there, the've known each other, they've grown up together, they've always played Brooks County."
Thomasville is 8-0 on the season, their best record since 1988, when they capped off the season with a State Championship. The Trojans lost to the Dogs last year after winning five straight games, and head coach Maurice Freeman said he'd be lying if he didn't want this one.
"We've had these expectations that it was a strong possibility that we could be undefeated when we met each other," he said. "We know the only way we can be Region Champs is to beat everyone in our Region. This week, it's Thomasville so we need to win. We need it bad."
Whoever wins will be in the driver's seat for the Region 1 title, and both coaches expect an all out war Friday night.
"You know they're going to come up and show up emotionally for the game, but now they have to transition that to the field," said Grage. "If we go play hard and we play like we've played most of the year, then we should be fine."
"We have to control the ball, and we have to continue to play a fast paced offense," added Freeman of what it'll take for his team to get the win. "We have to continue to play sound defense and we can't give up the deep ball. I think if we do those things, we can be victorious."
Friday night's game kicks off at 7:30 in Quitman.
