No. 9 state-ranked Griffin High’s longest standing rivalry is renewed in 48 hours when the Region 4-AAAA Div. B first-place Bears travel to Matthews Field in Thomaston to take on Upson-Lee. Friday’s sharing of brotherly love marks the 63rd time to schools have met since 1926 in an all-time series Griffin leads 38-20-4.

This year there’s more than bragging rights riding on the line for AJC 8th-ranked Griffin (6-1 overall, 3-0 subregion), which can clinch first place in the subregion with a victory against the fourth-place Knights (3-4, 1-2).

“We’re playing for a subregion championship this week, but it is also a big rivalry between our communities,” said 12th-year Bears head coach Steve DeVoursney, who is originally from Thomaston where he played on a state championship team and a state-finalist team back at what was the old R.E. Lee. “You want to represent that well and go down there and have a good showing (because) the game still means a lot to our fans and their fans.”

Griffin, which has won two in a row, knows not to take Upson-Lee lightly even if the Knights are coming off back-to-back losses to the same two teams — North Clayton 19-14 and Riverdale 26-23 — the Bears just polished off by scores of 42-20 and 35-14, respectively. The main reason is the Bears barely escaped out of Thomaston with a 21-20 win last year, a fact still fresh on Griffin’s mind.

“It was a tough game last year, a one-point win and we were down in the hole,” DeVoursney said of a game where then freshman Anforne’ Stroud started his first game ever at quarterback on the varsity level and rallied his team past Upson-Lee on a 45-yard TD pass to Trey Willis with 11:38 left to play. “We watched that tape with our kids already one time this week so they understand that.”

That brings us back to Friday night where the Bears head into the game averaging a region-best 36 ppg for, while yielding a subregion second-best 18 ppg against. Upson-Lee is averaging a respectable 26 ppg for, while yielding a subregion next-to-last 24 ppg against.

“On offense they are going to be mostly two-tight, one-back spread out and just try to pound the ball at you — mid-line veer, counter and things like that,” said DeVoursney. ‘They are just going to line up and run the ball at you with a big running back and a fast quarterback.

“They’ll do some pass-action passes a little bit and sprint the quarterback out on the perimeter, but for the most part they are going to try to get 3 or 4 a pop and see if you can stop them,” he added.

On the other side of the ball, Griffin will try to use its wide-open, spread attack — which was in its infancy when the teams met during the second week of the regular season last year — to light up the Knights.

History is on Griffin’s side. The Bears have won three in a row and seven of the last eight in the series.

REGION 4-AAAA STANDINGS



Division A

School Overall Region PF PA

Stockbridge 6-1-0 2-0 22 12

Woodland-Stock. 2-5-0 1-1 20 27

Locust Grove 5-2-0 1-1 25 18

Dutchtown 5-3-0 1-2 32 23

E. Landing 1-7-0 1-2 25 39



Division B

School Overall Region PF PA

Griffin 6-1-0 3-0 36 18

Riverdale 6-2-0 3-1 24 20

Jonesboro 6-1-0 2-1 33 15

Upson-Lee 3-4-0 1-2 26 24

N. Clayton 1-7-0 1-3 14 25

Spalding 1-5-1 0-3 8 19

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

Griffin @ Upson-Lee

No. Clayton @ Spalding

Woodland @ Stockbridge

Locust Grove @ E. Landing

Jonesboro @ Riverdale (Saturday)

Bye: Dutchtown

LAST WEEK’S GAMES

Griffin 42, No. Clayton 20

Jonesboro 32, Spalding 7

Riverdale 36, Upson-Lee 23

Stockbridge 45, Dutchtown 19

E. Landing 30, Woodland 28

Bye: Locust Grove