Friday Night Football: Four Games Highlight the Tiftarea Tonight
It may be a lighter-than-usual Friday night around the Tiftarea, but don’t mistake fewer games for fewer storylines.
With Tift County, Cook and Turner County taking the night off, the spotlight shifts to four games involving teams from the Tiftarea News coverage area — and two of them match our teams against each other.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. across the board.
🔥 Fitzgerald at Worth County
If you’re looking for the Tiftarea News Game of the Night, Sylvester is a mighty good place to start.
Fitzgerald (3–0) travels to Worth County (2–1) in a matchup between two programs that know each other well.
And the Purple Hurricane hasn’t forgotten what happened a year ago.
Worth County went into Fitzgerald last season and handed the Hurricanes a 30–7 loss, breaking a seven-game Fitzgerald winning streak in the series.
Now the Hurricanes arrive in Sylvester unbeaten and with an opportunity to return the favor.
Worth County, meanwhile, has an opportunity to make an even bigger statement. Another victory over Fitzgerald would provide further evidence that last year’s result wasn’t simply one memorable Friday night.
There should be plenty of folks from both Ben Hill and Worth counties making their way to this one.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. in Sylvester
🏈 Berrien at Irwin County
There’s another Tiftarea-versus-Tiftarea matchup down in Ocilla.
And this one comes with Homecoming decorations.
Berrien enters the night 3–0, one of the pleasant early-season stories in our coverage area. The Rebels now get an opportunity to take that undefeated record into one of South Georgia’s traditional football towns.
Irwin County is 2–2, but don’t let the record tell the whole story. The Indians have already dealt with Fitzgerald and Turner County on consecutive Fridays.
Now they return home for Homecoming with an unbeaten Berrien team coming to town.
For Berrien, a road victory would mean a 4–0 start.
For Irwin County, beating an undefeated opponent on Homecoming night would be a pretty good way to get back above .500.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. in Ocilla
🏈 Lincoln (Fla.) at Colquitt County
There’s a little Georgia-Florida business taking place at Mack Tharpe Stadium tonight.
Colquitt County (2–2) welcomes Lincoln High School (2–2) from Tallahassee.
The Packers are looking to bounce back after a 48–30 loss to Lee County last week.
Lincoln has already had one encounter with a South Georgia powerhouse this season. Thomas County Central defeated the Trojans 63–14 in August, but Lincoln responded and comes to Moultrie after edging Rickards 26–25 last week.
For Colquitt County, tonight provides an opportunity to get back above .500 before the schedule moves deeper into the season.
And anytime a Tallahassee program crosses the state line to play one of South Georgia’s better-known football programs, it’s worth keeping an eye on.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Mack Tharpe Stadium in Moultrie
🏈 Tiftarea Academy at Southwest Georgia Academy
Don’t overlook the private-school matchup down in Damascus.
Tiftarea Academy (2–2) travels to face Southwest Georgia Academy (3–1) in what should be a good test for the Panthers.
Tiftarea owns victories over Dominion Christian and Turner County, while its losses have come against John Milledge Academy and Valwood.
Last Friday’s game was competitive, with Valwood getting past the Panthers 28–20.
Now Tiftarea goes back on the road against an SGA team that has won three of its first four.
This one should tell us a little more about where the Panthers stand as the GIAA season begins taking shape.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. in Damascus
💤 A Few Familiar Teams Get the Night Off
If you’re wondering why your team isn’t listed, several of our regulars have open dates.
Tift County, Cook and Turner County are all off tonight.
Tift County returns next Friday, September 25, against Coffee at Brodie Field.
Turner County returns September 25 on the road at Wilcox County.
Cook gets a longer break before returning October 2 against Berrien.
📻 Follow the Games Tonight
Tiftarea News will be keeping an eye on all four games, and we’ll share available broadcast and streaming information so fans who can’t make the trip can still follow their teams.
Tonight’s Tiftarea schedule:
Fitzgerald at Worth County — 7:30 p.m.
Berrien at Irwin County — 7:30 p.m.
Lincoln (Fla.) at Colquitt County — 7:30 p.m.
Tiftarea Academy at Southwest Georgia Academy — 7:30 p.m.
Our eyes will especially be on Fitzgerald-Worth and Berrien-Irwin.
Two games. Four communities in our coverage area. And by about 10:30 tonight, somebody is going to have bragging rights.
That’s Friday night football in South Georgia.
Tiftarea News — Local communities. Local teams. South Georgia football.
