Fitzgerald hosts Bleckley in battle of purple and gold

TIFTON — Football fans may be seeing double Friday in Fitzgerald.

The Fitzgerald Purple Hurricane will be hosting the Bleckley County Royals in the first round of the Class AA playoffs. Both teams wear purple and gold uniforms, but the similarities end there.

While Bleckley County earned a playoff spot after finishing fourth in Region 4-AA, the Hurricane dominated the regular season on its way to a Region 1-AA title. The Hurricane is undefeated at 10-0 while the Royals are 6-4.

Fitzgerald was not only undefeated, but blew out most of its opponents with only two close games in the whole season. The Royals had an up-and-down year but finished strong to clinch a seed in the postseason.

After starting 2-0 including a 21-6 win over Class AAAA Jones County, the Royals lost to Class A Hawkinsville 20-19. Bleckley then won two straight by double digits over Twiggs County and Vidalia. Then, the Royals went on a three-game losing skid that included losses to Toombs County, Dodge County and the Region 4-AA champions, Dublin.

Bleckley ended with two of its biggest blowouts of the year, a 47-12 win over East Laurens and a 35-0 triumph over Tatnall County.

The Royals will need to carry some of that momentum with them to Fitzgerald. The Hurricane outscored opponents 350 to 83 behind a wide-open running game. Fitzgerald outgained opponents 3,176 to 1,422.

Nick Williams rushed for 1,072 yards on 144 carries to pace the Hurricane. He also scored 19 touchdowns. Dion Ross was second on the team with 689 yards on the ground on 85 attempts with 10 scores. A variety of other runners including Corey Taylor, Jemea Thomas, Larry King and Jarrel Paschal also carry the ball behind Fitzgerald’s punishing offensive line.

If the Hurricane wins, it will move forward in what should be a difficult trip through the playoffs. There are three other undefeated teams in Class AA — Dublin, Charlton County and Buford. All three of those teams are ranked ahead of Fitzgerald in the Associated Press Class AA poll with Fitzgerald ranked No. 4.

Fitzgerald could face Dublin in the semifinals and could face either Charlton County or Buford in the championship game. A matchup in the finals with Charlton would be a dream come true for many Fitzgerald fans. In the previous two seasons, while the two teams were Region 2-AA rivals, Fitzgerald beat Charlton in the regular season and won the region championship. However, in both years, Charlton went on to win the state championship.

If Fitzgerald wins Friday, it would host the winner of a contest between Swainsboro and Atlanta Christian next week.

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