It was supposed to be a classic matchup of top-10 teams battling for a region championship, but Westside-Macon turned it into a rout.
The No. 1-ranked Seminoles built a 31-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 51-0 victory against No. 6 Thomas County Central to capture the Region 1-AAAA championship. It was the second region title in school history for Westside, which has been playing varsity football since 1997.
The Seminoles (9-0, 7-0) held Thomas County Central to 53 yards of offense in the first half and forced four turnovers. It was the fourth shutout of the year for Westside, which has outscored its opponents 401-30.
“I think we came out and sent a message to the entire state,”
Westside coach Robert Davis told the Macon Telegraph. “We’re a pretty darn good football team.”
It was the most lopsided loss in school history for Thomas County Central (7-2, 6-1), which can wrap up second place in the region with a victory Friday against Bainbridge.
“We’ve said all year long that they were the team to beat,”
Central coach Bill Shaver told the Thomasville Times Enterprise. “Obviously, they were the team to beat.”
Westside wasn’t the only team wrapping up a championship Friday. Here are some of the others:
> Lowndes (1-AAAAA): The Vikings, who are ranked No. 1 in Class AAAAA and have won three of the past four state championships, clinched their sixth region championship in eight years with a 21-0 victory against No. 7 Coffee.
> North Clayton (4-AAAA): The Eagles have returned to power under first-year coach Rodney Hackney. North Clayton’s 14-0 victory against Jonesboro on Thursday clinched its first region championship since 2004 and its sixth overall. The Eagles missed the playoffs the past three seasons and were 5-5 last year.
> Henry County (4-AA): The Warhawks have been playing football since 1954 but had never won a region championship before capturing the 4-AAA title last year. Now they have two in a row after beating Howard 55-3 to improve to 8-1 overall and 6-0 in the region. Quarterback Drew Little was 12-for-13 for 191 yards and five touchdowns, all in the first half, against the first-year Macon school.
> Buford (6-AA): It was business as usual for the Wolves, who beat Westminster 29-7 to win their eighth consecutive region title. Buford’s last loss in a region game was on Nov. 10, 2000, 18-14 to Commerce, which beat the Wolves again a month later in the Class A title game.
> Elsewhere: Grayson (8-AAAAA), Evans (3-AAAA), Marist (6-AAAA), Cairo (1-AAA), Carver-Columbus (2-AAA), Baldwin (3-AAA), Jackson (4-AAA), Brooks County (1-AA), Jefferson (8-AA), Wilcox County (2-A), Lincoln County (7-A) and Wesleyan (8-A).
