‘Second season’ begins for GISA football teams

ALBANY — The roller-coaster nature of an up-and-down football season can quickly be forgotten when a team makes a strong playoff showing.

Deerfield-Windsor had just such an up-and-down season. A 6-4 season that included a couple of important wins and a couple of disappointing losses kept the Knights on their toes.

The result of the regular season: A No. 2 playoff seed and a first-round home pairing against Bulloch Academy in the GISA Class 3A playoffs, a contest slated for 7:30 p.m on Friday that should give the Knights a solid opening test.

“This time of year, you have to be ready each and every week,” Deerfield-Windsor head coach Allen Lowe said of the Bulloch contest. “They are of similar size and are similar in what they do. It should be a great matchup.”

Bulloch, the No. 3 seed out of Region 2-3A, finished 6-4. The Gators are coming off a 45-42 win at Pinewood Christian, a team that beat Deerfield-Windsor 22-14 on Sept. 15.

The Gators are led by quarterback Don Aaron, a junior who ran for two touchdowns and threw for another in the win over Pinewood, one that was decided on a field goal as time expired. He ran for 161 yards and passed for 149 more, completing 9-of-11 passes.

Friday’s winner faces the Loganville Christian-Gatewood winner in the quarterfinals.

“They run an option game, Georgia Tech-type stuff,” Lowe said. “Everything is centralized around their quarterback. He can throw it and run it. We’ve got to minimize what he does.”

That Pinewood Christian loss was one of two this season that line up in the disappointing column for Deerfield-Windsor. The Patriots (2-7) failed to make the postseason, with their only other win coming against Robert Toombs.

The other disappointing loss: a 35-0 home setback to Valwood on Oct. 13 that denied Deerfield-Windsor the outright Region 3-3A title. A three-way tie between the Knights, the Valiants and Southland ensued, with Valwood winning the tie-breaker for the No. 1 seed.

Lowe, however, believes the playoffs resets things. The Knights beat Brookwood 34-13 last week, allowing Deerfield-Windsor to build some momentum.

Something that should help drive Deerfield-Windsor’s momentum is the numbers running back Garrett Jones is putting up this season. He has 1,414 yards on 195 carries, scoring 15 touchdowns.

“We had some great weeks and some not-so-great weeks,” Lowe said. “But it’s win or go home now. The kids are ready, and it should be a lot of fun.”

Other first-round pairings involving Region 3-3A teams: Valwood hosts Edmund Burke on Friday, while Southland travels to Trinity Christian-Dublin. Fourth-seeded Tiftarea heads to Frederica.

In Class 2A, Terrell Academy’s 17-6 win over Westwood last week not only gave the Eagles the No. 2 seed out of Region 3-2A, but it also gave them a very favorable first-round matchup.

Terrell Academy (5-5) hosts First Presbyterian Christian at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, a team that is winless and has scored just 26 points all season. The winner advances to face Region 4-2A champion Briarwood in the quarterfinals.

Westwood (2-8) travels to Savannah, where it will face Memorial Day in a game played at Calvary Day. The winner goes to Region 1-2A champion Flint River next week.

Region 3-2A champion Southwest Georgia awaits the Brentwood-Piedmont winner next week.