The second half of the football season for Region 6-AAAA kicked off last week and Southwest DeKalb defeated Chamblee 17-10 in the marquee matchup on the schedule. The Panthers’ win kept them in a first-place tie with Marist, which outpaced Forsyth Central 37-7. Both Southwest DeKalb and Marist have a leg-up in the Region 6-AAAA title race, as each team is undefeated in region play at 5-0 and has two victories over the region’s other playoff contenders. In addition to the win over Chamblee, Southwest DeKalb has an overtime win over Miller Grove as well. Marist, meanwhile, also defeated Chamblee and its other win over a
region playoff contender was an impressive 38-0 triumph over Tucker. While making the playoffs is a big accomplishment, both the War Eagles and the Panthers want to win the region championship.
BATTLE FOR THE TOP
Marist head coach Alan Chadwick sees finishing No. 1 in the region as a goal.
“Certainly it is,” Chadwick said. “It helps your draw in the playoffs. The higher [seed] you can get, the better your draw is. We saw that last year when we had a real tough first-round draw and got put out in the first round by a real good Habersham Central team.”
Finishing No. 1 in the region for Southwest DeKalb is equally important – but for another reason: “We haven’t done it since 2000,” Panthers head coach Buck Godfrey said. “The No. 1 seed is always a good thing.”
Southwest DeKalb controls its own destiny when it comes to collecting its first region title in eight years, as big games against Marist and Tucker loom in the coming weeks.
“It’s in our own hands right now,” Godfrey said. “That’s a good position to be in.”
The Panthers have jelled and improved since a season-opening loss to Class 5A’s M.L. King. Since then, the team’s five-game winning streak has increased the air of excitement around the program.
“Our goal is very simply to play well and have fun while doing it,” Godfrey said. “[The players] love each other. They’re concerned about each other. They’ve got good grades, good character and it’s a fun time.”
For Marist, the manner in which the War Eagles beat Tucker certainly raised eyebrows, but Chadwick cautions observers not to read too much into it: “I think it is an indication that we’ve improved a good deal, but it also was kind of a situation where everything came into place for us that one particular night.”
In fact, the Marist head coach was not happy with the way his offense executed in the War Eagles’ win over Forsyth Central. “We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and get better,” he said. “Otherwise we’re not going to accomplish some of the things we want to accomplish.”
ALSO CONTENDING
Tucker, which was not only considered the region favorite but ranked No. 1 in the state prior to its loss to Marist, is by no means out of the race with a record of 4-1 in the region. Head coach Franklin Stephens would very much like to win a region title.
“You want to win the region because it guarantees you two first-round playoff games at home,” Stephens said.
The Tigers are coming together after dealing with early-season injuries. Tucker lost lineman Deion Roberson (ankle) for the season in Week 1 and athlete Devin Scott (foot) for 8-10 weeks in Week 2. Also, linebacker James Vaughters, and defensive backs David Lee and Bernard Crawford have returned from injuries in recent weeks.
“While those guys were hurt, they were missing reps,” Stephens said. “When they came back, we expected those guys to play, but they weren’t quite ready to play at the level we wanted them to play at.”
Tucker plays Chamblee this Friday. The Bulldogs will be looking to rebound from the Southwest DeKalb loss and solidify their playoff standing. Chamblee is tied with Miller Grove at 3-2 for the fourth and final spot in the region, as both teams may be fighting for a playoff spot.
“They’re not just fighting for that. They’re fighting for a high playoff spot,” Chadwick said of Miller Grove, his team’s opponent this Friday. “They’re a pretty good football team.”
Not only do Miller Grove and Chamblee have big games this week, they will close out the regular season against each other on Nov. 7, meaning the race for every spot in the region may come down to the season’s final week.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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