OPENING NIGHT 2018: Time to play ball, but first a look back

This week marks the opening weekend of the 2018 high school football season, with 14 of the 17 football-playing high schools in the Albany Herald coverage area taking part in Week 1 games.

For the past several weeks, the Herald has previewed the season that’s arriving, from week-by-week analysis to interviews with coaches to profiles of Dynamite Dozen selections.

Let’s set the table for Week 1 action by looking at the top games that Herald writers covered last year:

10. Monroe 21, Westover 6, Aug. 25 in Albany: The first city rivalry game of the season saw its share of jitters early, but Monroe stepped up in the second half to beat Westover for the fourth straight year.

9. Lee County 21, Mary Persons 17, Aug. 17 in Macon: Lee County started its championship season in the Corky Kell Classic in Macon, struggling for a half before making a defensive stop and driving the field in the fourth quarter for the victory.

8. Lee County 23, Coffee 7, Nov. 3 in Leesburg: Elijah Carnes’ 50-yard punt return for a touchdown helped Lee County pull away in the first of two meetings between the teams, this one for the GHSA Region 1-6A title.

7. Deerfield-Windsor 20, Southland 17, Sept. 29 in Albany: The Knights stopped a late Southland comeback attempt to hand the Raiders their only loss of the regular season.

6. Westover 35, Pelham 28, Aug. 18 in Pelham: A fumble recovery gave Pelham a late opportunity, but Westover managed to hang on.

5. Dougherty 18, Mitchell County 14, Aug. 26 in Camilla: Kameron Venisee’s 55-yard touchdown catch in the final two minutes stood up for the victory as Mitchell County was stopped just short of the goal line at the end of regulation.

4. Lee County 16, Northside-Warner Robins 13 (OT), Oct. 13 in Leesburg: Northside’s Cory Munson extended the game past 48 minutes with a 59-yard field goal, but Lee County picked up its first win over the Eagles on a Josh Asbury touchdown catch.

3. Mitchell County 22, Schley County 21, Nov. 17 in Camilla: Mitchell County denied Schley County on a 2-point conversion attempt with 20 seconds remaining to secure a victory in the second round of the GHSA Class 1A-Public playoffs.

2. Lee County 42, Glynn Academy 38, Dec. 1 in Leesburg: Trailing by 25 in the second quarter, Lee County recovered four fumbles in the final quarter to rally to victory in the GHSA Class 6A semifinals.

1. Lee County 28, Coffee 21 (OT), Dec. 15 in Leesburg: The biggest game in Lee County history came down to a tipped Coffee field goal attempt at the end of regulation, setting up Drequan Garmon’s overtime touchdown catch and Tay Mayo’s subsequent game-winning interception that secured the GHSA Class 6A championship.