THOMASVILLE — High school football programs around the country are finally entering region play. Thomasville High School, Thomas County Central, Cairo, and Brookwood will join them as they battle within their region for playoff position.

Brookwood and Thomasville enter region play in similar situations. Both teams are headed into their first region match up 2-3, Brookwood will face Deerfield-Windsor and Thomasville will take on Monroe, and both teams sit in the same position they were in last year. Thomasville and Brookwood came into region play in the 2022 season with a 2-3 record and both blew through their regions, going undefeated. Now they will look to do the same, but, in order to do that, they will need to spruce some things up.

For the Warriors it’s consistency. Brookwood has had moments where they look unstoppable and others where they just look confused. Rodge Waldrop and TJ Thomas have been the most consistent Warriors, but Brookwood will need other players to step up as well. On defense, the Warriors have to go back to the fundamentals and stop missing tackles. One could argue that the John Milledge game would have been a lot closer if the Warriors had been more consistent and taken advantage of opportunities they had.

As for the Bulldogs, it’s all about finishing. It’s the one part of the game that Thomasville has consistently struggled with. They played with Bainbridge for three quarters, challenging them the entire way. But when the fourth quarter came, the Bulldogs failed to show up. If they want to repeat their stellar in-region performance from last year, Thomasville has to put it together for four quarters.

Cairo will enter region play against Shaw. After a tough shut out loss to Thomas County Central in week one, the Syrupmakers have been on a tear. Since the loss, they have gone 5-0 outscoring their opponents 208-71. Quarterback Juderek Gee-Summons seems to be much more comfortable in his role in the offense and KJ Spence has emerged as Cairo’s go-to-guy.

Last season, the Syrupmakers went 3-1 in their region, losing only to a talented Bainbridge team in the regular season. Bainbridge could very well be the only team that could stop Cairo as they have proven to be a formidable team. The Syrupmakers have a solid secondary, an impressive run game, and a quarterback who is capable of leading the offense. That is a recipe for success.

Thomas County Central has been one of the best teams in the state of Georgia. Central has moved up to number five in the state rankings and it’s not a surprise for fans who have been paying attention. The Yellow Jackets have been nothing short of dominant in their first five games. Going undefeated this season and in their last 15 regular season games, Central picked up right where they left off last season. Jaylen Johnson has settled into his role as the Yellow Jackets new quarterback nicely and his two favorite targets, Tre’von Pringle and Malachi Thomas, have made great catch after great catch. Before the season began, many wondered if the Jackets would be able to replace Ricky Fulton’s production in the back field. Central wanted to use a one two punch to do it, but a third emerged and now running backs Trey Brenton, AJ Clark, and Ahmad Ponder make up one of the most effective rushing attacks in the state.

The defense has been impenetrable, consistently dismantling opposing rushers and forcing several turnovers. They shut out Cairo and have not allowed more than 19 points in any given contest.

With a powerhouse offense and a head hunting defense, this Central team is well on their way to another undefeated season.

Region play begins this Friday as Thomasville welcomes Monroe, Thomas County Central travels to Veterans, and Cairo hosts Shaw.