AROUND THE STATE: Friday night football preview

Region 1-AAAAA is once again a hot place to be for non-region action this weekend. Valdosta will host Robert E. Lee out of Montgomery, Ala., this weekend and should win easily against the 0-4 Generals. However, the Wildcats will have to do so without the services of starting QB Alex Stephenson, who injured his foot in last week’s 24-6 win over Brunswick. Junior Shelby Wilkes will start Friday night’s game for Valdosta. … Across town at “The Concrete Palace”, No. 9 Lowndes will host Class AAAA No. 6 Ware County in another cross-classification bout featuring a ranked team from Region 1. Last week, in a stunning upset, Colquitt County traveled to Warner Robins only to be upset by the Demons. The same night, the Vikings hosted ranked Class AAA power Burke County for Homecoming and won 31-21. Lowndes can expect tough going from the visiting Gators, who played the Vikings to a standstill last year in a 3-0 Lowndes win. The two South Georgia juggernauts have played each year since 1994, with the Vikings taking nine of 10 games. … In a classic “sandwich game”, Warner Robins visits local rival Houston County between games with Colquitt County and arch rival Northside-Warner Robins. While the Bears aren’t quite at the level of the other two, they did upset the Demons last year 7-3. In the afterglow of last week’s upset and the upcoming battle royale, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Warner Robins not focused this week. “The Northside game is big, but it’s always big,” Demons head coach Bryan Way told the Macon Telegraph. “The Houston County game is also big. We aren’t looking past anyone, especially not a rival.”