TIFTAREA ACADEMY PANTHERS
GIAA District 3-AAA
SCOUTING REPORT : words and photos by Becky Taylor
Panthers aim for fifth consecutive semifinal
Tiftarea Academy runs through its banner prior to a contest in 2021 .
TIFTON — Tiftarea Academy ’ s athletic fields have been in constant motion this summer .
There has been the usual traffic of players in the practice area , or getting on the bus to travel to a camp or organized team activity . The rains came in July and head coach Erik Soliday has been on the mower more than usual to keep the Panther Pit in good shape .
The main field has seen a lot of use in recent years .
The Panthers have made four consecutive final fours , but that ’ s going to get a bit harder this time around . An increased multiplier last fall saw many private schools leave the GHSA for the GISA , which has rebranded to the GIAA .
Those schools , new and returning , give Georgia ’ s main private school league its first ever Class AAAA Tiftarea remains in AAA and , in all classifications , the playoffs have been altered . Power rankings stay , but only the top 10 teams qualify . There are 12 teams overall , most of them loaded with talent .
In addition to Tiftarea , there is John Milledge Academy , who has dominated the rest of the league in recent years . Deerfield-Windsor is back , as is Heritage of Newnan . Lakeview Academy of Gainesville plays its first GIAA games after a lifetime in the GHSA . Pinewood Christian , Terrell Academy , Brookwood , Southland Academy and Valwood are all capable of earning a championship , too .
Tiftarea ’ s region does them no favors . Brookwood , Valwood and Southland are back , with Deerfield-Windsor and Terrell added to the mix .
“ Terrell ’ s got a lot coming back ,” Soliday said . The Eagles were Class AA state runners up a year ago and only lost two games total . He expects Deerfield-Windsor to be tough . With a lot of returnees , “ Brookwood ’ s probably the front-runner right now ,” he said .
Everyone else seems loaded , but don ’ t count out a Soliday team . There are the four final fours with Tiftarea and 31 wins in four years and there are also the state championships he won at Americus High and the state runs he had in both stints at Turner County . In 33 seasons , he ’ s won 218 games and won eight region titles .
Even after losing almost all of his rushing yards and passing yards to graduation , he sees plenty of good prospects for the 2022 squad .
“ Matthew Malone made a lot of plays for us last year ,” said Soliday . “ He ’ s had a good summer .” The same goes for Justin Moore and he also expects big plays from Kam
Justin Moore makes a dazzling catch in a monsoon and streaks down the sidelines for a big gain against Valwood .
44 2022 SOUTH GEORGIA FOOTBALL