The Trion Bulldogs went on the road Saturday night for the 1st round of the state playoffs and will return home with a 45-40 win over the Schley County Wildcats. With the win, the Bulldogs have now advanced to the second round of the playoffs for four straight years and won 9 games or more for four straight years. Trion went into time with a 31-21 lead and extended that lead to 45-27 with 11:20 left in the game. However Schley county would not go away and would get within five points of the Bulldogs but no closer.
Trion will make another four plus hour drive next Friday night to take on the region 4-A Champion Telfair County Trojans. Telfair County won a close game with Emmanual County Institute (ECI) last night 22-19. The Trojans are 9-2 on the year and have won nine games in a row after starting the season 0-2 with losses to Lamar County and Bacon County.
The first round of the GHSA state high school playoffs start tonight and both Chattooga and Trion will be on the road for their 1st round matchups. Chattooga will play tonight at 7:30 pm at Dodge County and Trion will play on Saturday at 6pm at Schley County.
The Chattooga Indians finished the regular season 6-4 overall and fourth place in region 7-A Div 1 with a 3-4 record. The Indians will make a 4 hour drive south today to Eastman, GA to take on the Dodge County Indians. Dodge County is ranked 10th in the state according to the AJC after finishing the regular season 8-2 overall and third place in region 2-A with a record of 7-2. Dodge County was 8-0 heading into the final two games of the season and ranked 6th in the state before two blowout losses to Northeast 40-19 and Dublin 50-33. Just like Chattooga, this year was Dodge County’s first winning season in 3 years and also their first playoff appearance since 2021. The winner of tonight’s game will advance to play the winner of Coosa vs Worth County.
The 7th ranked Trion Bulldogs finished the regular season 8-2 overall and secured a 3rd place finish in Region 7-A Div 2 with a 2-2 record. The Bulldogs will also be making a four hour drive south to Ellaville, GA to take on the Schley County Wildcats. Schley County is unranked and finished the regular season 6-4 overall with a 5-1 Region 6-A record that was good enough for a 2nd place finish behind region champion Macon County. Schley County’s only region loss was to Macon County 44-29. The Wildcats also suffered non region defeats to Seminole County, Irwin County and Early County. Saturday’s game will be the second time these two teams have played each other. They met in the second round of the playoffs back in 2018 when Schley County eliminated the Bulldogs 40-13. The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to the second round to play the winner of ECI vs Telfair County.
Due to GHSA rules, neither game can be video streamed tonight but both games will be audio streamed on the WZQZ Facebook page and on 99.1 FM and AM 1180. Join Chris “Bubba” Wilson and Steiner Davis tonight for the pregame show at 7:15 pm with kickoff to follow at 7:30. Jeremy Burke and Paul Cavin will call the Trion game on Saturday night starting at 6pm.
MRS. BECKY SCHILLING, age 71, of Trion, Georgia, passed away Tuesday afternoon, November 12, 2024, following a sudden attack. A native of Cherokee County, Alabama, she was born on May 8, 1953, to the late Houston D. and Bessie Carolyn Stansell Palmer. She was retired nurse for Chattooga County Hospital and Baptist by Faith. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Schilling was preceded in death by husband, the late Joseph H. Schilling, Jr. on September 8, 2009; siblings, the late Marilyn Foy Palmer, Bobby Gene Palmer, Jimmie Ruth Sweat, Kimberly Dawn Kennett, Phyllis Sue Padgett, and Beloved Pet-Lambchop.
Surviving are sisters, Pat Elsberry, Linda Orr, Martha Reynolds, Kathy Brown, Marsha Uptain; brothers, Houston Ladon Palmer & Michael T. Palmer ; fiance’, Steve Scoggins; God children, Justin Blackmon and Amber Uptain.
Funeral service will be held Sunday, November 17th, at 2:00 P.M. from Graveside in Summerville Cemetery, with Gary Brown officiating. Active Pallbearers Stacy Reynolds, Robby Johnson, Mike Palmer, Justin Blackmon, Barry Padgett, and Jeremy Marshall. Visitation will be Sunday from 1 until 1:50 P.M. at the Funeral Home.
Earle Rainwater Funeral Home in charge of arrangements for Mrs. Becky Schilling, who passed away Tuesday.