Football Fridays in Georgia: Cedartown Has to Travel 257 Miles to Bainbridge and the Remaining Bracket Breakdown

Caption

It is 257 Miles from Cedartown High School to Bainbridge High School

Credit: Google Maps

 

TRANSCRIPT

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Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: Wearing a silver helmet and wearing the ribbon black means something to a lot of people. It means something to them on Friday night.

Jon Nelson: It was seismic. That was the word that I used.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: We're going to have to communicate on defense and play disciple football.

Hannah Goodin: There was also records broken, as there always is. I feel like each week.

Jon Nelson: Record broken.

 

 

Jon Nelson: Welcome to another round of the Football Fridays in Georgia podcast, Georgia Public Broadcasting. Thanks for accessing us however you are doing so large device or small. Happy Thanksgiving holiday week to all of you and yours. May you celebrate it the way that you always do. Whether it is loud, boisterous, whether it is small and quiet, however you wish to celebrate it, please do so and know that we're sending all of our love here from everybody here at GPB to all of you who are hanging out with us this week. Once again, we went back to the matchup idea. Jon here, Hannah there, and we go to 4A this time to a couple of sections of the state we haven't been in this year.

Hannah Goodin: Yeah. Coming up on the show, we're going to talk about Thanksgiving traditions, the end. So everybody wants to hear about that. But we will hear from two 4A head coaches who will be playing each other in the quarters on Friday. We're going to recap our Football Fridays in Georgia game of the week, which was Mill Creek versus North Cobb. We are also going to preview our quarterfinal matchup, Walton versus Carrollton, and break down key games with some bracketology. But Jon,

Jon Nelson: Mm hmm, Yes.

Hannah Goodin: We must.

Jon Nelson: Yes.

Hannah Goodin: We must start things off talking about Buford.

Jon Nelson: Yeah, we I think we have to take the word that we used on the postgame show.

Hannah Goodin: That's the what was the word?

Jon Nelson: Seismic. It was absolutely seismic. What happened? I mean, when when we're ending the show and this is I'm going to pull the curtain back here a little bit and break the fourth wall. For those of you who are watching on the TV side, the way that we do things is we have a set time to close the show so we can-.

Hannah Goodin: The Post game show.

Jon Nelson: The post-game show. So that way.

Hannah Goodin: 11:30, We are out.

Jon Nelson: Yes. So that way we can get everything back up and running on an even clock. So, Recruiting gets you to midnight and then the game takes you to like 3:30 in the postgame show, get you like 4:00 in the morning, so you could spend your entire evening from like 7:00.

Hannah Goodin: What everyone is doing obviously.

Jon Nelson: From 7:00 to 4 a.m. You can watch the game, Recruiting, the replay of both. And so we're getting to is like 11:28 and our producer for the post-game show, Lori Cover, she goes in our ear, she hits a button and she goes upset, alert.

Hannah Goodin: And I'm like, Oh, no. Oh no.

Jon Nelson: Yeah. And so we're trying to process what game was left on the board. And since we had all the brackets filled out, there was only one game left on the board. And I was trying to finish my thought and she hit the button again and goes, upset, alert.

Hannah Goodin: And so and then she goes, we're going to ring the alarm. And we did.

Jon Nelson: Yeah, well, I mean, we have we have an alarm. We have an alarm and a siren that goes with the upset alert. They hit the upset alert siren and it pops up that Walton had beaten Buford. We're going to hit the siren, right?

Hannah Goodin: We are about to hit a Upset Alert Siren because the upset of all upsets.

Jon Nelson: Wow.

Hannah Goodin: Walton.

Jon Nelson: Wow.

Hannah Goodin: Has taken down Buford.

Jon Nelson: First and it was seismic that was the word that I used and when a top five nationally ranked team goes.

Hannah Goodin: Number two on some of the national polls.

Jon Nelson: Second Round goes away. That is the third champ that will not repeat. We've, I mean, Collins Hill did not make the playoffs in the first place. Buford was in 6A they're not repeating Brooks County was in single-A. They got knocked out in the opening round. So, right now, we have three champs of the seven that are not going to be a part of championship weekend chasing a title. But Buford, going out in round number two to Walton was seismic. And that led us to our decision for this week's Football Fridays.

Hannah Goodin: Walton broke the Wolves 16 game-win streak in playoff games and 28 game winning streak at home against Georgia opponents. Just truly, truly seismic. And then we announced our game, Walton Carrollton, on the air. And that is happening. And we're going to preview that one coming up. But what else besides that, Jon?

Jon Nelson: Besides the seismic upset of the century as we speak.

Hannah Goodin: You can follow that up. What else happened around the state?

Jon Nelson: A lot of big numbers. I mean, you had a lot of teams that were one seeds that put up big numbers. You had Colquitt put up 49. Walton was north of 40, and Carrollton put up north of 40. Mill Creek is put up north of 40. And that's just in 7, 7A. Half of the winners put up north of 40 points. And I think that once again, you look down the grid, Roswell put up north of 40, almost 50. Thomas County Central matched them at 49, Gainesville put up 42, Houston County put up 41, and Hughes put up 77. And so once again, half of the teams that advanced in 6A put up north of 40 points chasing 50. And Hughes just did a staggering thing going up against North Forsyth. So, I think that what you're seeing is all of these tremendous offenses going at it. But then, as we get later and later and later and later into the playoffs, which defenses are going to step up against all of these prolific offenses? That's to me.

Hannah Goodin: Because Defenses win championships.

Jon Nelson: Win championships. Yeah, that's the yin and yang for me here as we get into the number of teams that are closing in on each other since we only have eight left in each class. Where are the defenses? You know, you have these stout defenses going up against these prolific offenses. Where do that yin and yang come to play?

Hannah Goodin: There were also records broken, as there always is. I feel like each week record is broken. We need an alarm for that. John Milledge Academy set a state record with its 48th consecutive victory by beating Heritage School of Newnan 42 to 7.

Jon Nelson: So, in the GIAA playoffs, yes. So, the old record was Buford which ended in 2004. They got to 45, and we were part of that. And we were covering the sport back then. We saw Buford when they carried it over into the 2004 season. They got to 47 lost at Gainesville. They had some key players who were ill that night. Gainesville was just there, and they figured out, "Okay, hey, do you want to play us?" Sure, we'll play it. And so, Buford in Gainesville and Gainesville snapped the streak. And odds are right now, when you look at John Milledge, they might get to 50 because they're going into the semifinals of the GIAA this weekend. So, by the time they get to Mercer, they could be at 50 by the season's end. And when does the streak end for John Milledge? Hopefully, if you're a fan of them, not in any time soon.

Hannah Goodin: Well, let's take a closer look at the largest classifications. 7A our game was Millcreek versus North Cobb in Kennesaw. The Hawks took down the Warriors by a surprisingly lopsided score.

Jon Nelson: Yes.

Hannah Goodin: I think we all thought that 43 to 7. Here are some of the notes from the game. Cam Robinson rushed for 135 yards, giving him 1244 on the season. Mill Creek held North Cobb to 122 total yards, most of them on that late 83-yard touchdown run. On the defensive side of the ball, you have DB Caleb Downs, the state's number one senior prospect. He scored two touchdowns playing offense.

Jon Nelson: Well yeah.

Hannah Goodin: And Mill Creek set a school record for points this season. 556 is a little preview of my notes from the GHSF Daily. So, Jon, what were your thoughts on the game?

Jon Nelson: Stunner. I mean, where we had one game in 7A that was seismic. We had this one that was a stunner. And Nikki Noto Palmer made the point in the pre-game where North Cobb has always traditionally had issues in the second round and advanced from there, and they ran into an absolute buzzsaw from Mill Creek once again plugging what we did on Football Fridays in Georgia this year when we had Buford in Mill Creek in the winner take all, basically for the region title from that point, Mill Creek, when they lost to Buford, they have just been pouring it on offensively, and it has just been stout offense and really stingy defense. And that's the combination that you're looking for. And we saw that stingy defense go up against the North Cobb. But I also think that Nick Grimstead, who's a sophomore. You've got to see the difference between a sophomore quarterback in the playoffs and what it would have been like, perhaps, if they'd had Malachi Singleton. And I think that that was also a part of the big difference there as well.

Hannah Goodin: Nikki texted me after her interview with Shane Queen, and she was like, that was one of the toughest moments of the season for her because, you know, Coach Queen's like, that's not what we expected. This is- he just kind of looked shocked, shocked as we all did.

Jon Nelson: Yeah. And it was, once again, a great effort from Mill Creek. Mill Creek is another one of those teams that's ranked top 25 in the country, obviously knocking off Buford. They're going to go rocketing up the standings. And so, you've got Hughes, you have Mill Creek, and you have Colquitt, all ranked top 25 nationally. Where does Buford fall? That's an interesting question for me in the national ranking.

Hannah Goodin: Mill Creek will advance to play Westlake there in the quarters for the third straight season after beating Parkview 32-28. What a close second-round game, Jon.

Jon Nelson: Omar Camara's 42-yard field goal with 25 seconds to go.

Hannah Goodin: Awesome.

Jon Nelson: And I know that this will shock none of you, but odds are the field goal and the story about JMA, John Millage, they will probably end up on Countdown to Kickoff so I'm guessing, so here's your irony alert.

Hannah Goodin: Okay.

Jon Nelson: Play of the week is going to be from a kicker, and your kicker is going to be from a team that's been playing very well.

Hannah Goodin: Hmm.

Jon Nelson: So, there you go. See? Because the kicker can't be the kicker. Because that was really the play of the week and the play of the week. You know, it can't. You know, it's so it's all that crossover stuff.

Hannah Goodin: Well, we don't have Countdown to Kickoff this week. So, are you just going to send me some videos to edit?

Jon Nelson: I thought we had Countdown to Kickoff on Wednesday.

Hannah Goodin: We don't. No, not this week.

Jon Nelson: Oh, okay. Well, then, forget that.

Hannah Goodin: But I still am going to edit it. Okay, I'll still edit it, and I'll post it. Here's our Play of the Week, and here's our kicker.

Jon Nelson: You are such a fibber.

Hannah Goodin: I'm absolutely not doing that.

Jon Nelson: You are such a fibber.

Hannah Goodin: So then, the winner of Westlake Mill Creek will play the winner of North Gwinnett versus Colquitt County. Bottom left Walton Carrollton. Our game plays the winner of Grayson versus Milton. So that is your look at 7A. And Jon, I think it's time to bring in our guests from 4A.

Jon Nelson: Yes. Our first guest in 4A it's going to be in the upper left part of the bracket, Cedartown, and Bainbridge. We caught up with both coaches this week. The first coach is Cedartown Bulldogs head coach Jamie Abrams. What's it been like for you to be the head coach there in Cedartown, a town that has a tremendous pedigree for high school football here in the state of Georgia? And I know that folks of a certain age will remember the younger folks who remember folks like Nick Chubb and chasing championships and things like that. With Everett Kelly as the head coach, what's it been like for you to be a part of the history that is Cedartown Bulldog football?

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: You know, it is a unique place when it comes to that, you know, because Coach John Hill was here for, I think, 24 seasons.

Jon Nelson: Yeah.

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: And, you know, in the fieldhouse and just kind of around if you talk with anybody, you know, you can't talk with anybody without hearing Coach Hill's name, the guys that that played for him. And so, I think he's got his mark heavy on the Cedartown program. They had a really good team here in the nineties and early 2000, and everybody, you know, kind of talks about those teams. But it's there is a tradition here, and it's different from a lot of places because our kids' dads may have played here, Uncles, older brothers, and older cousins. You know, they are all entrenched in Cedartown, and that's something that seems to be going away in high school football. But is this unique in that regard?

Jon Nelson: Just the history itself seems to be fading away, I guess.

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: Yeah, in certain places, it's almost like, you know, you’re kind of year to year. But here and wearing a silver helmet and wearing red and black means something to a lot of people. It means something to them on Friday night because they've done it for so long. They've seen it, you know, they grew up here, and they've watched those teams and they've watched Nick Chubb play as kids and and they work out with him and things like that. So, that part of it's really it really is special.

Hannah Goodin: Well, you mentioned your guys now have been playing together for a while and they play really well together. Brag on some of your playmakers. What makes who makes this team go?

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: Oh, man. We got a lot of guys, a lot of our seniors played as sophomores. You know, you start with a look on offense Reece Tanner at quarterback. He played pretty much his whole sophomore season at quarterback and played on the defensive side of the ball, too. And he's a two-sport athlete. Patrick Gardner plays on both sides of the ball. He started at fullback as a sophomore. He's still here. Harlem Diamond started running back and played a lot of running back, starting on defense as a sophomore. I think Xavier Hargrove has played a ton of positions, and as a sophomore, he was playing, and then up front, Peyton Nikolopoulus, our offensive lineman, during his sophomore Dustin Green, started as a sophomore. Grant Dempsey and Zak Tillery played a lot of sophomores. And I mean, just all of those guys, we just have a nucleus of guys on the defensive side of the ball. Eli Barrow was our lead tackler as a sophomore, and he's still here, and he's still holding tackler. So, you know, and he plays some offense, and a lot of our guys play both ways. Those guys who are named do play both ways, but I hate naming people because I'm always afraid I'm going to forget somebody. But you know, those guys are kind of the nucleus in the core group of players. They've been playing together, and you know, played rec. ball together, and they've been playing, like I said, since they were sophomores. Khamarion Davis has played a time for us on both sides of the ball, and they all kind of complement each other and the things that they bring to the table.

Hannah Goodin: Well, you were a one-seed, and now you will move on to the quarterfinals once again, and you will face one-seed Bainbridge. So, I know that the film started right away, right Friday.

Jon Nelson: The second you duck in after the game was over. It's like, you know, we're starting to watch film.

Hannah Goodin: So, what have you seen?

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: It's on right now.

Hannah Goodin: He got it in the background. What have you seen from Bainbridge, and what are your what are going to be your keys to the game?

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: Oh, and a ton of respect for them. We've been following them and have known about them for several years, and we played them two years ago in the quarterfinals. And so, you know, we're familiar with one another. We go down there this time. They came up here last time. They still got a couple of guys that were playing back then. So, I think they're an excellent football team. They have a lot of team speed. They're well-coached. You know, there's no bad football team left in the round of eight. I mean, everybody's good. So, you know, it's just it's about minimizing, you know, self-inflicted wounds and mistakes and, you know, doing the simple things really well. I mean, that's just kind of what it comes down to.

Jon Nelson: But then you've also got to is there any truth to the rumor that you're leaving on Wednesday night to get down there in time for kickoff? I mean, this is literally this packs a lunch or dinner and a midnight snack to go from Cedartown to Bainbridge.

Hannah Goodin: 257 miles.

Jon Nelson: Hannah just did the math.

Hannah Goodin: So, what is the timeline? What is your plan for the travel? When are you heading down?

Jon Nelson: Breakfast?

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: Yeah, yeah, we're leaving. We're leaving Friday morning. Let them sleep in their own beds. And, you know, we discussed several different options, but we're just leaving Friday morning to break the trip up a little bit and try to make it as close to a regular. You know, they said they sit around at school, they sit at their desks and sit around and do that, so sitting on the bus really isn't that much different, to be honest with you. So, we're not going to use that as any kind of crutch or excuse. We just got to figure it out and go play.

Jon Nelson: So. We have a couple of different questions here as we're wrapping up. But since you mentioned Thanksgiving, coaches and players want to be practicing on Thanksgiving morning.

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: Yes.

Jon Nelson: When it comes to Thanksgiving at the Abrams house. What is Thanksgiving Day like at the Abrams house? Whether you are chasing a championship or you're just rolling out, and you're in, you're having a day. What is Thanksgiving like at the Abrams house?

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: Oh, man, that's been it's been unique, especially being a coach because we've played, let's see. I'm trying to think when the last time. The last three years here, we were playing. So, it's been about five years since we haven't been playing, which is we feel very fortunate even to think about that. But usually, you know, obviously food and family, that's pretty much it. I've got extended family on my mom's side, and we have a large, large gathering of guys that meet there, probably 50 or 60 family members at night. Sometimes, we try to get to that. At my house, I got four kids, so it ain't like you're just sitting around doing nothing.

Hannah Goodin: No.

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: That's it. Fry a turkey with my brother-in-law sometimes, that's a big one. If we can, we can throw one in the fryer and try not to. We get it away from the house in case we blow something up. But that's been kind of a tradition, too. So, you know, try to find some pecan pie. I'll show my north Georgia Alabama roots.

Jon Nelson: There you go.

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: Not pecan. When I was in Waycross, I had I just went ahead and assimilated that pecan. So everybody knew what I was talking about.

Hannah Goodin: They're like, what is one of those pecan things? Yeah, I grew up in Cobb County, and we're pecan, too.

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: Yeah. Yeah.

Hannah Goodin: We're smoking our turkey this year. So, the first time my husband has done that. So, it'll it should be interesting. But my last question, coach for you, and I think we'll let you go we are having Jeff Littleton on next. He'll be right after you. So, if you could ask him one question about the game on Friday that we can relay, what would it be?

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: But I would just try to find a few guys that he could if he would just hold them out Friday night. That would be my question. Give them a list.

Jon Nelson: They say you're going to give him a list of guys that you would recommend that Jeff Littleton.

Hannah Goodin: Not show up.

Jon Nelson: Not Play. I just kind of hang out on the sidelines.

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: Yeah. Yeah, that'll work.

Jon Nelson: Okay. And so, in the interest of equal time, we will ask him the same thing for you. And the two of you can discuss your answers on the field there in Bainbridge on the weekend.

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: All right. Yeah, I might do that.

Jon Nelson: Well, Jamie, thanks for hanging out with us here in the round of eight in 4A and one of the top matchups around the state. Thanks for hanging out with us here on the Football Fridays in Georgia podcast. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. May you not blow up your turkey or anything attached to the house. Make sure that you've spaced it well enough that it's out in the yard and that everything is fine. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. Be safe getting down there. Have a fantastic game on Friday night, and we'll keep an eye on you here at GPB. Thanks for hanging out with us.

Jamie Abrams, Cedartown Head Coach: Thanks, sir.

Jon Nelson: One coach down, one to go. That means one thing. We catch up with the home side and Bainbridge head coach Jeff Littleton who gets to host this time. Cedartown travels a long distance for this particular game.

Hannah Goodin: Hey, Coach Little, so you literally just got out of practice preparing for Cedartown. Tell us how practice went today.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Yeah, we were on Thanksgiving break, and we practiced a little early, and we had a really good practice, good weather down here. And, you know, everybody's excited about a quarterfinal match-up with Cedartown.

Jon Nelson: So how different is it on a Thanksgiving by week when it comes to trying to get everybody in and all of the moving parts with the holiday that's a part of this entire week? How different is a holiday week when you're still trying to get things done in a playoff format?

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Well, you know, it can be confusing sometimes, but it is a little relaxing that you're not so pressed for time. You do have some problems sometimes getting them in here.

Jon Nelson: I was going to ask about that.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Yeah, we may have to chase a few down, you know, but that's okay. But you know, the good thing is we have been in this situation many times, and our kids are used to it. So, that's to our advantage. And, you know, they know we're going to practice during Thanksgiving, so they can't leave town, you know. So, I'll tell you. We didn't have any problems this morning. Everybody was excited about being here and then being on time and getting started for our preparation for Cedartown.

Hannah Goodin: What are the things that you're zeroing in on against Cedartown? What have you seen in the film?

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: We just got to play physical. We got to play with intensity. They're a very physical football team on both sides and very well-coached. And we played them two years ago. And so, you know, we're going to have our work cut out for us, and we're going to have to play physical. We're going to have to communicate on defense and play disciplined football.

Jon Nelson: Two years ago, I think it was up there at in Cedartown, up there in Polk County. This time it's in your stadium for someone who has never been.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Yeah. I appreciate them returning that favor.

Jon Nelson: Yes.

Hannah Goodin: Yeah, we mapped it out. That's quite the drive.

Jon Nelson: 257 miles.

Hannah Goodin: 57, Yeah.

Jon Nelson: So, for someone who has never seen a game there in Bainbridge, how would you describe what football means to everybody there and to the Bearcat community and to what it means to Bainbridge on the whole?

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: We have an exciting atmosphere. We've got a large stadium and, you know, and the fans are excited about being, you know, making a deep run in the playoffs. And, you know, the town will have, you know, writing on the windows and, you know, everybody's excited about that. And, you know, it'll be loud at our stadium, and it's a good atmosphere.

Hannah Goodin: Yeah. So, Coach Abrams is preparing to make his way down there. And we just had him on the podcast before you. We asked him what he would like to ask you about this game Friday.

Jon Nelson: Right.

Hannah Goodin: And he wanted us to ask you if you could just leave some players off the field. You'll dress them out.

Jon Nelson: If you could send him a list of players that he could request-.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Really? Really come on, coach.

Jon Nelson: So, he was requesting a list of players that he could send you. It's like, you know, if you know, if these individuals could just kind of watch, that would be his.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: I thought we were playing the Cedartown Bulldogs. Not the old Georgia Bulldogs of Vince Dooley.

Hannah Goodin: Oooh.

Jon Nelson: But in the whole but.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Come on, Jamie.

Jon Nelson: But in the interest of equal question and answer, since that was his question for you, what is your question for him about this game that the two of you probably will be discussing at the 50-yard line down there on Friday night?

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Maybe tell him to feed them a little extra on the pre-game meal.

Jon Nelson: There you go.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Slow them down a little bit. You know, something like that.

Jon Nelson: So heavy on the carb. Heavy on the carbs.

Hannah Goodin: Maybe on the turkey.

Jon Nelson: Heavy on the turkey.

Hannah Goodin: Yeah. That'll slow you down.

Jon Nelson: There you go.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: It's going to be a great football game, and it's going to be a great atmosphere, and you know, there's going to be a lot of fun.

Hannah Goodin: What's been your message to the team this season?

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Well, we had some struggles early on with some different things and we kind of adopted an acronym, ICE. ICE with "I" meaning, intensity, and "C" communication. We had a big problem with communication early on. We had a lot of young players on defense, and you know, intensity and communication kind of create execution. So, that's kind of what we've kind of worked on or kind of rallied around a little bit, you know, since we've been in the playoffs and, you know, we've struggled early on. We started out two and four. Well, as I said, we played some tough, tough competitors and we stayed humble. We stayed hungry, you know, and that's kind of been the message late into the playoffs, be humble and grateful that we have the opportunity to be in this position. And, you know, we just continue to stay hungry and work hard every day.

Jon Nelson: You have always been a coach that wants to challenge your team in that non-region schedule so you could be ready for the region, so you could be ready for these deep kinds of runs. When did you adopt that philosophy as a head coach to challenge yourself early, so you could be ready in the middle of the season in the latter part of the season?

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: You know, people ask me that all the time, and it is probably mostly just having to do it. Being kind of isolated in Bainbridge, Georgia, It's kind of tough to find schools of the same size. And, you know, we had to search all over the place to find opponents. And then, you know, 2015, we went undefeated through the regular season and made a run to the semifinals. And then just from then on, you know, like everybody says, well, Bainbridge is pretty good, so the smaller schools may want to stay away from us a little bit. So, we kind of just by default, you know, having to play, you know, some bigger schools and, you know, and said, hey, you know—kind of 2018 when we started out two and four that year. Well, and kind of made a rally, and they kind of put us in a situation where we had to get better, you know.

Jon Nelson: So, then we have a Recruiting 2022 show. Toward the end of the show every week, we have a segment that we call Make that Kid an Offer or Make that Kid a Better Offer. And what we do in that segment is we sit there, and we kind of canvass ideas from coaches or from around the state. If there was a player on your roster this year, that's a senior that for whatever reason, they're too whatever, they're too small, they're, you know, they're out steps, slow or for whatever reason, you know, they're, you know, you know, scores or whatever, whatever. They're too, whatever. And they're not getting the looks that you think they should deserve to get. Is there someone that fits that moniker there in Bainbridge where you could sit there and take a look at this student-athlete because they're not getting the quality of offer I think they're getting, or I think they should deserve more offers? Does anyone fit that bill for you this year?

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Yeah. We have a defensive end, Dariyon Smart who kind of fits that mold. These, you know, 5'11", maybe. And so, you know, he's not getting a whole lot of attention, but he's a very good football player. He's a disciplined football player, and he's a very physical football player and hey, make that kid an offer.

Jon Nelson: There you go. There you go.

Hannah Goodin: Okay, Coach, and last question for you, and we'll let you go. We got to ask you, what is Thanksgiving like in the Littleton house? What do you guys do? What are some of your favorite family traditions?

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Well, we get together with my mom and my sister, and we bring everybody together, you know, just come together and be thankful for everything we have, you know? And, you know, it's just great to be with family. And it's really great to be with family when we're in the playoffs.

Jon Nelson: Yeah, there you go.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: As you know, that's we're always thankful for being in the playoffs during Thanksgiving. But, you know, I have a great family, and they support football all the way.

Jon Nelson: Is there a family dish that is specific to the Littleton household? What are some of the is there something homemade? What's the cookie?

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: You know, my mom probably makes the best chicken and dressing ever.

Jon Nelson: There you go.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: I'd have to I would get in trouble if I didn't say that.

Hannah Goodin: I love it.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Well, we eat that for about two weeks after.

Jon Nelson: Understood, man.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: She always makes extra.

Jon Nelson: As she should. See, now you're getting. See, Hannah's already hungry.

Hannah Goodin: I know. My stomach's been growling for an hour.

Jon Nelson: So, we're going-.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: I said chicken and dressing, and I meant turkey and dressing.

Jon Nelson: Still! Still, I think it all sounds good to me, so turkey and dressing at the Littleton household. Well, Coach, thanks for catching up with us right off the practice field. I know you're getting ready for a big game against Cedartown this weekend. Big home game for everybody down there in Bainbridge. Thanks for being a part of the Football Fridays in Georgia podcast. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, enjoy your turkey and dressing and enjoy the game on Friday night with time against Cedartown. Thanks for hanging out with us here on the show.

Jeff Littleton, Bainbridge Head Coach: Yeah, thank you. I enjoyed being with y'all, and I appreciate you having me on. And Happy Thanksgiving.

Jon Nelson: I can't wait for that conversation at the 50.

Hannah Goodin: I know. That's going to be a good one. I wonder if we need to hear from some coaches who have followed it up on the 50.

Jon Nelson: See, now that would be funny.

Hannah Goodin: I know. How do we get that information?

Jon Nelson: We just dial-up, kind of like Countdown to Kickoff this week.

Hannah Goodin: Yeah, just dial it down.

Jon Nelson: Just dial them up and not have it make air. Yeah.

Hannah Goodin: I just decided I didn't want to do it this week. Jon.

Jon Nelson: Yeah. Okay.

Hannah Goodin: I'm exhausted.

Jon Nelson: I see how this works. All right, so.

Hannah Goodin: Flag football also in the playoffs?

Jon Nelson: Mm-hmm.

Hannah Goodin: You can find their brackets at GHSA dot net. Right Jon dot net.

Jon Nelson: Yes, dot net.

Hannah Goodin: So, here's where we're going to be for the first and second rounds of the Girls' Flag Football Playoffs will be at McEachern. This will be next Tuesday, November 29th. So 6:00 pm, Walton versus McEachern, 7:00 pm Alpharetta versus Brookwood, 8:00 pm. Winner of that game, too, versus the winner of game one. So first and second rounds are on the same day. Love the efficiency of the girls' flag football. So, McEachern has a really cool story to this year, Jon.

Jon Nelson: Please tell.

Hannah Goodin: The Indians are Georgia's number-one-ranked flag football team. Their senior quarterback is Amber Kirkpatrick. She has led the team to the 16 and 0 regular season record. She has 2017 passing yards, 34 touchdowns, and 254 rushing yards entering the final games of the season.

Jon Nelson: 2271 in the total offensive.

Hannah Goodin: And her twin sister, Autumn, is one of McEachern's leading receiver. So, they both play flag and lacrosse, and they are going to Lincoln Memorial University and Tennessee to play on the lacrosse scholarship so.

Jon Nelson: For the Rail Splitters.

Hannah Goodin: You know, I don't know.

Jon Nelson: I think it's Division 2. I think it's the rail splitters.

Hannah Goodin: Lincoln.

Jon Nelson: Lincoln Memorial University. I think it's the rail splitter.

Hannah Goodin: So, so really cool. Really excited about those flag playoff games.

Jon Nelson: Okay. So, while you're looking up Lincoln Memorial, what else is new? 

Hannah Goodin: Rails? How do you know this? How do you know this? I asked Jon what his IQ was last week because I'm just. Well, I could ask you anything, and you just have an answer, just like.

Jon Nelson: Whether it's the right answer or not, I always have an answer.

Hannah Goodin: It's not even just football. You just haven't answered everything. And you said that you have a very high IQ. I am not shocked.

Jon Nelson: I did when I was, I did was when I was very, very young because they have to give you an IQ test to be in a certain track for elementary school. And so, I, for some reason, I.

Hannah Goodin: So, you had it when you were in elementary school.

Jon Nelson: Yeah.

Hannah Goodin: You didn't mention that.

Jon Nelson: Yeah. All the IQ points have gone away since then.

Hannah Goodin: Your IQ test was in elementary school.

Jon Nelson: Yeah.

Hannah Goodin: Well, maybe we're not going to put too much stock in that.

Jon Nelson: See, see, see. Commander saying that. You see how this works? You see how this works?

Sandy Malcolm: It doesn't really change, though. Your IQ. It's. Yes. So elementary. Hannah, it would still in theory. Yeah.

Hannah Goodin: Okay.

Jon Nelson: I mean. Yeah. See, it's. Of course, Hannah's having a laughter fit over here about an IQ test that happened in the 1880s.

Hannah Goodin: I just don't know how believable the elementary school IQ test back in 1800.

Jon Nelson: It's not. It's not like you're. They're giving you an IQ test. Four questions for a seven year old. Hey, what's the square root of nine? Three. Okay, you've got an IQ of 172. No, that's not how this works.

Hannah Goodin: But was it?

Jon Nelson:  I just know it was over 150.

Hannah Goodin: Okay.

Jon Nelson: I just know it was over 150. It's like. No, it's like they're not going to they're not asking you.

Sandy Malcolm: Like, I do have to agree. We were all in here going, how does Jon know the mascot for that? I mean, like, really too.

Jon Nelson: Yeah. It's like Division two school in Tennessee. Lincoln. Yeah. Lincoln Memorial. All right. So, Staff Whip Around.

Hannah Goodin: Staff Whip Around.

Jon Nelson: Before we get to the Staff Whip Around: Thanksgiving. All right. So staff whip around.

Hannah Goodin: Tough Week for the staff. My turn to make fun of everybody. Three teams went down.

Jon Nelson: Wow Okay.

Hannah Goodin: I'm just on one right now. I'm just letting you see I actually had the caffeine during the show and not after so things.

Jon Nelson: Minds hit.

Hannah Goodin: Things are things are happening.

Jon Nelson: Wow.

Hannah Goodin: So everyone's out. Everyone's out.

Jon Nelson: Hide behind the table.

Hannah Goodin: Decatur lost to Coffee 51 to 23. Parkview lost to Westlake 32 to 28. And our crown jewel, Darlington, has been brought down.

Jon Nelson: Ambassador Jeremy got bumped out.

Hannah Goodin:   Upset by Mt. Pisgah. 26 to 20.

Jon Nelson: Okay so now we're all watching the playoffs with equal interest. Okay so let's do staff roundtable Thanksgiving. All right. So Commander Sandy, since you're near the microphone first, what's Thanksgiving?

Sandy Malcolm: You know, traditional I'm turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and good brown gravy, you know and apple pie. I'm a apple pie.

Jon Nelson: See, that's strong. Yeah. See a hot apple pie with ice cream on top?

Sandy Malcolm: Oh, Definitely. Definitely.

Jon Nelson: Okay, there we go. All right. So since Jake the Snake has handed the microphone to Ambassador Jeremy, I guess Ambassador Jeremy is now next.

Jeremy Powell: Yeah, Thanksgiving's at my big momma's house in Chattanooga, and it's Turkey, and ham, and green beans, and sweet potato soufflé, mashed potatoes, and all the carbs, all the delicious stuff.

Jon Nelson: We like carbs on Thursday.

Jeremy Powell: Pecan pie, apple pie, all the things.

Jon Nelson: All right, Snake, since you're holding the microphone, what's next? Bend. Don't break. There we go.

Hannah Goodin: The audio guy.

Jake Cook: We do a braised blowfish.

Hannah Goodin: What?!

Jake Cook: No, I'm kidding. We do turkey.

Jon Nelson: I'm like "Wait a minute, what?".

Hannah Goodin: How you just blow my mind?

Jake Cook: Normal, normal Thanksgiving stuff. We do stuffing and green beans. Stuffing is probably my favorite.

Jon Nelson: Yes.

Jake Cook: If I had to pick one.

Jon Nelson: Right there with your Stovetop Stuffing instead of potatoes. King James. Run, run, run to the microphone. Run.

James Turner: I'm here. Yes. Yeah. Basically traditional stuff. Turkey, ham. We do dressing at my house not stuffing it is different.

Hannah Goodin: Oh, okay. Okay. It is different.

James Turner: As you guys know. And then pecan pie, we do sweet potato pie and not pumpkin pie because they are different.

Jon Nelson: Yes, they are.

James Turner: Very different.

Jon Nelson: Yes.

James Turner: And that's pretty much it.

Jon Nelson: Okay. All right. So, Hannah, with the girls.

Hannah Goodin: We normally do the honey baked ham, but my husband is going to try to smoke the turkey this year. So everybody say a little holiday prayer thoughts, thoughts and well-wishes to us.

Jon Nelson: Back it away from the house.

Hannah Goodin: See what goes down there. But I'd have to say my favorite Thanksgiving food is Hashbrown casserole drenched in ketchup.

Jon Nelson: See, I can do the Hashbrown casserole, but not necessarily drenched in ketchup.

Hannah Goodin: Taste it now.

Jon Nelson: Okay. So.

Hannah Goodin: Ooh, eggs. Yeah, I'm blanking on eggs when you. Deviled eggs.

Jon Nelson: See deviled eggs.

Hannah Goodin: Deviled eggs.

Jon Nelson: Yeah. I cornered the market on the deviled eggs at what we do is we are the most eastern part of the family, and so it's a centralized location. We go to her sister and her brother in law's place just south of Montgomery. And so we go there and we all kind of congregate. Folks from south Alabama come north, folks in central Alabama go there. And the boss and I go from Atlanta and drive the two and a half hours to Montgomery. And so that's it. So yeah, for me. All right. So now, all right, here's my wild card.

Hannah Goodin: All this. Okay.

Jon Nelson: All right. Cranberry sauce.

Hannah Goodin: Oh, I love a fresh cranberry sauce out.

Jon Nelson: Out of the can.

Hannah Goodin: Nooo.

Jon Nelson: Out of the can.

Hannah Goodin: Gross.

Jon Nelson: That is so not gross.

Hannah Goodin: Giggles.

Jon Nelson: Yeah. It just came out of the can.

Hannah Goodin: You all know what I'm talking about. It's sitting on the table and it's just like jiggly, you know? Everyone knows what I'm talking.

Jon Nelson: Yeah, no, I absolutely know what you're talking about. But I love.

Hannah Goodin: Gross.

Jon Nelson: I love. See, I'm stovetop stuffing, deviled eggs, cranberry out of the can. Has to be out of the can. See.

Hannah Goodin: You can have that.

Jon Nelson: I'll be more than happy to have it. Okay. So. All right, so fresh cranberry or out of the can. I'm canvasing the room behind the glass again.

Sandy Malcolm: I, I will say I'm not a cranberry fan.

Jon Nelson: Okay. Understood. Okay. So choice, Dean on the above. That's perfectly fine. And. All right, Jake, what do you think? Jake and Jeremy.

Jake Cook: I'm going to say, can actually smart play better out of a can like corned beef hash?

Jon Nelson: Yes.

Hannah Goodin: More Jiggly. More Jiggly red thing.

Jon Nelson: Yes, Jeremy.

Jeremy Powell: I'm going with the can because it's so easy to slice.

Jon Nelson: Yes. Exactly. James?

James Turner: I'm with Sandy. I'm neither. Really.

Jon Nelson: Okay.

Hannah Goodin: So, I'm the only one that likes fresh cranberry sauce.

Jon Nelson: Yes. Like it, so she's the only one who likes fresh cranberry sauce and is the only one who's already put up all of her Christmas stuff on the house.

Sandy Malcolm: Oh, that's right.

Hannah Goodin: I'm just alone.

Jon Nelson: I see. I see how this going.

Hannah Goodin: I live by myself.

Jon Nelson: I see how this is.

Hannah Goodin: You know why? It's because I give everyone a hard time all the time.

Jon Nelson: No.

Hannah Goodin: I'm just over here by myself.

Jon Nelson: So while Hannah is in the corner. We're all going to have our own Thanksgiving.

Hannah Goodin: Yeah.

Jon Nelson: So once again, if you've got a team that is in the final eight in your classification, enjoy your weekend, enjoy your Friday, be safe first and foremost, enjoy your Thursday. Spend time with your family. Enjoy your family.

Hannah Goodin: Wear stretchy pants to the table.

Jon Nelson: Yeah, stretchy pants is always good like the next belt size up or wear a belt that can be loosened. Yes. And make sure that you have an NFL trip to fan in your system that gets you through your Thursday, but get you ready for your Friday. So once again, we're going to have it Recruiting 2022 to 7:00 on GPB, GPB dot org, and the GPB Sports at 7:30, Walton and Carrollton on the GPB network and as the round of eight all across the state. Last thing from you.

Hannah Goodin: Just can't wait for my hashbrown casserole.

Jon Nelson: But there's nothing wrong with that. The rest of it is wrong.

Hannah Goodin: That's all I can think of now.

Jon Nelson: Your cranberry assessment is wrong, and your design assessment is wrong for Christmas because we haven't gotten to Thanksgiving yet.

Hannah Goodin: I'm hosting this year.

Jon Nelson: Oh. Oh.

Hannah Goodin: I'm tired of just thinking about it.

Jon Nelson: I'm just thinking the girls and your husband.

Hannah Goodin: Two dogs. Two girls, a husband.

Jon Nelson: And hopefully not blowing up a turkey in the backyard.

Hannah Goodin: So that's so. Everyone just thoughts and well-wishes. Yes. Thank you.

Jon Nelson: That's and well wishes. And once again, thanks to everybody here at GPB that has made this show what it is. Enjoy your Thanksgiving, everybody. That's another end of the Football Fridays in Georgia podcast. Play it safe, everybody. Enjoy your games.