Morgan County’s win over Callaway to capture the region title on Oct. 31 was special for the program.
With the 43-22 win over the Cavaliers, the Dogs capped off the 2025 regular season with a perfect 10-0 record for the first time in over half a century.
Morgan County previously accomplished an undefeated regular season on Nov. 15, 1974, with a 7-6 victory over Greene County. That 1974 team ended up 10-1 overall, losing 3-0 to Harlem in the first round of the playoffs.
The victory against then-ranked No. 5 Callaway meant a lot to this year’s team. The Cavaliers defeated the Dogs in last season’s region championship. As a result, they avenged that tough loss this year, and it also served as the perfect ending to a night when the program honored its 21 seniors.
"It means so much having watched people play here before me and to finally be the one playing and go 10-0 and make history with something that hasn't been done here in a long time," Morgan County senior quarterback Davis Strickland told the Lake Oconee News. "We have so many seniors on our team; we're all so close, and it really is special [achieving this milestone] with these great guys.”
During the Oct. 31 matchup, Strickland passed for 233 yards and three touchdown passes.
He said that the team spent multiple weeks preparing for the region title game and that Callaway was a "great team" that challenged them."
"We started strong, getting up 14-0, and then they fought back, but in the second half, we had our speech at halftime, just completely reset and came out with a new mentality," Strickland said. "We prepared for this game, knowing that it's going to be a four-quarter game, and that it was gonna be physically challenging, and so we had to come better prepared than last year."
Strickland said he saw the game's trajectory change in the middle of the third quarter, which led to the Dogs' victory. He credited head coach Clint Jenkins for his halftime speech, which encouraged players to enter the second half with better momentum.
"He told us that we weren't playing strong enough, and really, we weren't, so we came out with a little more fire and that really put us over the edge," Strickland said. "[Callaway] gave us some stuff that we didn't do well against, but then in the middle of the third quarter, we got to scoring, and it just completely changed on our side; we were just moving, and we had all the momentum.”
With a bye week following the Oct. 31 matchup, Strickland said he looked forward to the team getting rest before starting a big postseason ahead, with the goal of a state championship in mind.
Senior receiver Ty Tillery had a big night against Callaway with an interception on defense, along with three receptions for 87 yards, and two touchdowns on offense.
The Auburn baseball signee said that the game was extra meaningful to him because he missed last year's matchup with Callaway due to an injury.
"[This win] was definitely special because we played well; there are some things to fix on the defensive side, but it just felt great to be back out here," Tillery said. “Being able to come out here with all my friends, all the seniors, and to win this game and go 10-0 for the first time in a while, it really means a lot.”
Tillery was pleased with the team's execution during practice for the big game. He looked forward to the bye week to address areas for improvement before the playoffs.
"Coming out of the first half, Coach Jenkins and Coach (Brett) Bell told us that we really got to put a drive together and come down and call the post for a touchdown; I think it really got us going and kind of shot us through the game, “ Tillery said. “With the bye week, we really look to fix our mistakes and really sharpen to make sure that we're ready for a playoff run.”
Morgan County begins its quest for a state title on Friday. The Dogs enter the playoffs as the No. 4 seed and will host No. 29 Westside-Macon, a team they already defeated 56-14 in region play on Sept. 26.