Football Preview Union Recorder 2020 | Page 27

Academy in McDonough. The GISA school posted only a 1-9 record last year and lost all but two games by at least two scores. The home opener comes the following week against non-region foe Central High School of Talbotton. According to records kept by the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, Aug. 28 will be the first meeting on the football field between GMC Prep and Central-Talbotton. The two schools’ girls basketball teams have squared off in the postseason in recent years, though. Central was just 2-8 in 2019 thanks to two wins over Crawford County, a Region 7-A newcomer in 2020. The Bulldogs have an open date Sept. 18 before welcoming 3A school Cherokee Bluff to Milledgeville on Sept. 25. That week was initially supposed to be against Riverside Military Academy, but the school has canceled fall sports due to the pandemic. Cherokee Bluff was 3-7 last season. Next up, the ‘Dogs will make the short trip over to Sparta for their first region matchup against Hancock Central. Hancock would have been 5-5 last year and likely made the playoffs had the forfeits not been put into effect. Another fill-in game has been placed on the schedule Oct. 9 after Twiggs County dropped football. GMC Prep will now travel to East Laurens Oct. 9 for a non-region matchup. Looking at the following week’s region game, GMC Prep is only 4-18 against the Wilkinson County Warriors all-time. The start of the four-game home stretch begins with a couple of two-win teams from a year ago — Crawford and Glascock. Crawford is one of the new additions to Region 7-A, but doesn’t exactly bring a winning tradition to the group. The Roberta school had three good seasons from 2014-2016, but has otherwise struggled for the most part since the year 2000. GMC is 2-4 against Crawford all-time although the two schools have not met since 1993. Next up is Glascock, the team that the Bulldogs beat 21-0 in a weather-shortened affair to open up 2019. Because Glascock is playing a non-region schedule, this game will not count towards GMC’s region record. The final two games of 2020 ought to be pretty solid tests for GMC Prep. The Warren County Screaming Devils got hot late last year and made it to the Class A-Public quarterfinals. They will be coached this season by former GMC Prep head football coach/athletic director Steven Simpson, who served as Warren’s defensive coordinator a year ago. The 2020 regular season finale for the Bulldogs will be a home region game against ACE Charter, still a relatively new school located in Macon. GMC beat ACE 23-14 to earn its only other Friday night win last year, but ACE has been showing improvement across most sports as the young school gets more and more established. BONNER HEATING & COOLING Fast and reliable Heating and Cooling Help Your comfort is just a phone call away • Installation • Repair • Maintenance On Call 7 Days a Week 478-452-2684 Football Preview 2020 27