This seems all too familiar to the Troup Tigers.

Since the 2003 season when they made the state quarterfinals, everytime the Tigers have made the playoffs they’ve had to go on the road to face a state powerhouse.

In 2004 the Tigers went to Sandersville to play Washington County .

A year later, Troup traveled to Albany to take on Dougherty County .

The first-round opponent in 2006 was – once again – Washington County .

After missing the playoffs a year ago, the Tigers are back at state this year and – you guessed it – they have to go on the road to face one of the state’s best teams.

This time the opponent will be the unbeaten and top-ranked Cairo Syrupmakers, a team that lost in the Class AAA championship game a year ago.

In the Tigers’ three previous playoff trips, they fought hard but were unable to get a road win.

Will this year be different?

Can the Tigers, despite their 4-6 record, make things “sticky” for the Syrupmakers?

We’ll find out today.

Troup will be one of three local teams hoping to make this weekend a winning one.

Callaway and LaGrange will both be at home, with the Cavaliers hosting Greater Atlanta Christian on Friday and the Grangers welcoming Dougherty County on Saturday.

As for Troup, there is no question the Tigers can go down to Cairo and throw a scare into the state’s top-ranked teams.

The reason is simple.

Troup’s defense, led by a defensive front line that is relentless, has been dominant all season.

The Tigers have been in every game but one, but they’ve been unable to close the deal in close games.

That Troup has had a chance to win each week can be attributed to a defense that has impressed Cairo head coach Tom Fallaw.

“We’ve already told the kids, just being honest with them, that this is probably the best defense we’ve seen since the state championship game (against Carver) last year,” Fallaw told the newspaper in Thomasville . “No offense to anybody else that we’ve played, but Troup is a very good defensive football team.”

The question is, can Troup’s offense do enough to win the game?

The game plan for Troup, not surprisingly, will be a conservative one.

Running backs Jacorius Cotton and Brandon Worle will get plenty of touches, and quarterbacks Eric Bridges and Jaquante Holloway will try to make some big plays in the passing game while avoiding costly mistakes.

That plan nearly resulted in a win over the Grangers a week ago. It took a 55-yard field goal by Joseph Mansour in the fourth quarter to sink the Tigers.

The Tigers are as confident as a team with a losing record can be.

Talk to any of the players, and they’ll tell you they believe they’ll return to Troup County with a victory in hand.

It’s a tall order, though.

Statistically speaking, Cairo’s defense is among the state’s best, allowing just five points a game.

And the Syrupmakers, with a dynamic offense, have been putting up big numbers.

The Syrupmakers overall balance, and state experience, seems to give them the edge.

Can the Tigers stun the Syrupmakers shake up the Class AAA bracket?

Absolutely.

In the end, though, look for Cairo to survive a tussle with Bubba Jeter’s Tigers.

My pick - Cairo 17, Troup 10

GAC AT CALLAWAY: The Cavaliers have set a school record for wins this season, and they won the program’s first outright region title.

The Cavaliers (9-1), who won the Region 5-AA championship with last week’s win over Pike County, are hoping to achieve another first this weekend.

Callaway has been in the state playoffs on numerous occasions, but it has never won a game at state.

The Cavs will try to reverse their state fortunes on Friday when they host Greater Atlanta Christian, the fourth-place team from Region 6-AA.

Much like Troup, GAC (4-6) is a team with a losing record that is a dangerous state foe.

The Spartans started 0-4 but have been hot since.

The Spartans have plenty of weapons on offense, and the veterans on the team can lean on the experience they gained by making it to the state quarterfinals a year ago.

This seems to be Callaway’s year, though.

Since losing their opener to Troup, the Cavaliers haven’t lost.

They’ve won blowouts, and they’ve won close games.

They’ve gotten it done with offense, defense, and special teams.

This is a team that, to this point at least, hasn’t shown any weaknesses.

They have dynamic offensive players who can score from anywhere on the field, and a ferocious defense that routinely takes the ball from the opponent.

GAC can win Friday night, but all signs point to this being Callaway’s year to make that state breakthrough.

MY PICK - CALLAWAY 27-20

DOUGHERTY AT LAGRANGE: There will be a familiar face roaming the visitor’s sideline Saturday night.

Charles Flowers, who helped build the Shaw Raiders into a state powerhouse, is now coaching the Dougherty Trojans (6-4), who will visit LaGrange (8-2) this weekend for a Class AAA playoff game.

These Trojans, according to LaGrange head coach Steve Pardue, bear little resemblance to the Shaw teams local fans grew so accustomed to seeing over the years.

The offensive scheme is more wide open, and the Dougherty defense employs the blitz package a lot more than Flowers’ Shaw teams did.

“When I played Charles at Shaw all those years, the first quarter of film I watched on them, they blitzed more than they did all the other years combined (at Shaw),” Pardue said. “It’s a real philosophical change on that side of the ball.”

Whatever the philosophy, Dougherty is a dangerous team.

The Trojans finished third in a rugged Region 2-AA, and they’ve been competitive in almost every game this season.

Having played the likes of Cairo and Peach County, the Trojans will be ready for the big stage of the state playoffs.

The Grangers, meanwhile, are hungry to resume their winning ways in the playoffs after going out in the first round a year ago to Perry.

The Grangers stumbled against Carver two weeks ago in the Region 2-AAA championship game, but they found their footing with a hard-earned 17-14 victory over Troup last week.

LaGrange’s defense has been predictably dominant, and the offense is finding its rhythm after losing quarterback Jamius Gunsby to suspension a month ago.

The Grangers also have a weapon few teams in the state possess – a kicker with the ability to make field goals from 50 yards and beyond.

Joseph Mansour put a 55-yarder through the middle of the uprights a week ago to beat Troup.

The junior also had a punting average of nearly 50 yards, which helped LaGrange win the field-position battle in a defensive-oriented game.

In what could be a close game Saturday, will Mansour once again be the difference?

The Grangers are confident they can find some state magic and make a run at a fourth state title this decade.

The first step is to dispatch a talented Dougherty squad.

MY PICK – LaGrange 21-14