TIFTON — The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricane football team has only one thing to play for Friday — an undefeated regular season.
The Hurricane has already locked up the Region 1-AA region championship with a 35-21 victory over Cook Friday. Now the 9-0 Hurricane only needs one more win to wrap up an unbeaten year.
The Brooks County Trojans (5-4, 4-3 in Region 1-AA) are coming to Fitzgerald Friday, and unlike the home team, the Trojans have a lot riding on the game. The Trojans, tied for No. 4 in the region with the Cook Hornets, need a win and a Cook loss to qualify for the postseason. A loss or a Cook win over a weak Mitchell County team will end Brooks’ season as the Hornets own the tiebreaker by beating Brooks earlier in the season.
Brooks will be challenged to hold onto their hopes of the playoffs. Fitzgerald has been nearly unstoppable all year long, particularly on the ground.
Nick Williams has led the Fitzgerald offense all season, and the senior running back had his best game of the season against Cook. He rushed for 250 yards and four touchdowns to carry the Cane to victory. The output pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark. He now has 1,035 yards rushing on 124 attempts with 18 scores.
Fitzgerald’s other runners are not bad either. Collectively they average about 8 yards per carry. They include Dion Ross (574 yards, eight touchdowns), Corey Taylor (290 yards, six touchdowns), Jemea Thomas (155 yards), Larry King (321 yards, three touchdowns), Jarrell Paschal (96 yards, three touchdowns) and P.J. Pruitt (60 yards).
Brad Taylor serves as the Hurricane’s quarterback and has 280 yards on 23-of-63 passing. He has thrown for four touchdowns and two interceptions. P.J. Pruitt and Trenton Pruitt are the leading receivers for the team, and each has two touchdown catches.
Brooks is led by a pair of talented running backs — Arlestor McKinnon and Keith Christopher. The Trojans’ quarterback is Jeremy Cody and his favorite target is Corey West.
No matter the outcome of Friday’s game, Fitzgerald will host a playoff game next week. The likely candidate to face the Hurricane will be the Bleckley County Royals. The Royals (6-4, 3-3 in Region 4-AA) are the No. 4 team in their region and have the week off to prepare for the mighty Hurricane.
The game could have fans thinking they are seeing double. The Royals wear purple and gold uniforms just like the Hurricane.
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