Week 10 brings us more great matchups from around the state, as the playoff picture is starting to become clearer in most regions. Can the top teams in their respective leagues avoid some truly frightening upsets on Halloween Night? Here are the games to watch in each classification.
CLASS 5A (by Brian Jones)
It’s Week 10 and many teams around the state know that time is running out to make a move in order to either better their playoff seeding or clinch a region title. One game that has huge playoff implications is Peachtree Ridge vs. Norcross, and that could determine the No. 2 spot in Region 7. … In Region 4, East Coweta will take on Riverdale as the Raiders will try to take down the Indians. If that happens, Newnan will clinch the region title with a win against Mundy’s Mill on Friday. … In Region 1, No. 1 Lowndes will take on Coffee and could clinch the region title with a win. Another crucial game in the region is the battle of Warner Robins Demons and the Northside-Warner Robins Eagles, as the teams stand at No. 2 and No. 4 in the region, respectively. … With Lassiter upsetting Walton last week, Region 6 is getting interesting with Kell and Walton tied for first. The Raiders have the tiebreaker because they defeated Kell earlier in the year, so their game against Roswell is a must-win if they want to win their third region title in five years.
CLASS 4A (by Ricky Dimon)
Halloween night doesn’t get much bigger than this: Class 4A’s No. 1-ranked Westside-Macon Seminoles (8-0, 6-0) vs. Thomas Country Central. Not only are both teams in the top 10, but they are also undefeated atop Region 1, as the Yellow Jackets have won five in a row to take a 7-1 record (6-0 in region) into Friday’s showdown. … Another battle for region supremacy is taking place in 5A, where Northgate (5-3, 3-1) looks to knock off visiting Sandy Creek (8-0, 4-0). … In Region 6, Southwest DeKalb meets Tucker (7-1, 6-1), with the winner solidifying second place in behind Marist. Southwest (6-2, 6-1) lost to the region-leading War Eagles in a 27-21 thriller last week … The playoff race in Region 8 is chaotic, with six teams (behind leaders Loganville and Clarke Central) within one game of each other. Things should begin to clear up when Salem (5-3) hosts Habersham Central (5-4). Cedar Shoals (5-4) visits Heritage-Conyers (4-4), while Rockdale County (4-4) needs a road upset of Loganville (7-1) to preserve realistic postseason hopes. … North Clayton can clinch the top seed in Region 4, but the Eagles (7-1, 6-0) face a tough test at Jonesboro (5-3, 4-2) on Thursday.
CLASS 3A (by Fletcher Proctor)
Could a one-loss team leapfrog the GPB/Score Atlanta No. 1 in next week’s rankings? We may know this Thursday night as No. 2 LaGrange faces defending 3A state champion and current No. 8 Carver-Columbus in Region 2 play. Carver-Columbus is looking to avoid its third loss of the season while the Grangers have an eye on Cairo’s top spot. … The Syrupmakers, meanwhile, looked impressive last week, dispatching Perry behind Reggie Bryant’s three scores. Quarterback Angelo Pease will look to help his running back this week against Crisp County. … In a matchup between Region 3-AAA foes, Washington County will look to rebound after a loss last week when No. 3 Baldwin visits. The Braves just keep rolling, last week crushing Liberty County 35-0, and the defense has only allowed one touchdown in the last six games. … In other games, Gainesville is at Johnson-Savannah and Dunwoody faces Druid Hills at Adams Stadium.
CLASS 2A (by Corey Mitchell)
Buford (8-0) will face its second ranked opponent in a row when the Wolves travel to battle Westminster (7-1) on Friday. Buford slipped past Blessed Trinity last week on the strength of a clutch goal-line stand in the fourth quarter and two Cody Getz touchdowns. The Wildcats are coming off a 55-0 drubbing of Cross Keys, but will find it harder to roll up that sort of offense on a Wolves team that has only conceded 45 points this entire season. … Jefferson (8-0) will face North Oconee (7-1) with hopes of locking up the Region 8 crown on Friday. The Dragons lead the region in scoring offense, producing 40 points per game. They also are tops in scoring defense, yielding only 12 points per outing. … Pepperell (8-0) will visit the 4-4 Blue Devils of Model this week. Having already clinched a spot in the postseason, the Dragons will try to avoid any kind of complacency prior to their home playoff game. … After avenging last year’s season-ending defeat against previously unbeaten Fitzgerald last Friday, The 7-1 Brooks County Trojans set their sights on a Region 1 championship as they face Cook this Friday. Two wins in a row will give Brooks the unlikely title following a 3-7 campaign in 2007.
CLASS A (by Derek Wiley)
Region championships in Regions 2 and 7 are up for grabs on Friday night. Second-ranked Wilcox County (8-0) will play eighth-ranked Turner County (7-1) for the Region 2 championship. The Patriots may be favored, but the Rebels pulled off the upset last season beating a No. 1-ranked Wilcox County 14-6. The Rebels also won in 2006, 20-13. … Fourth-ranked Lincoln County (7-1) will travel to Wilkinson County (6-2) to play for the Region 7 championship. The Wilkinson County Warriors haven’t beaten the Lincoln County Red Devils in four previous tries. But the Warriors have to be thinking upset after only losing to the Red Devils by three points last season, 35-32. The Warriors’ head-to-head matchups also have to give them confidence. Last Friday, they beat Washington-Wilkes handily, 44-7. Lincoln County only beat Washington-Wilkes by eight points, 14-6, on Oct. 17. The Warriors have also been dominant in region play, outscoring their three opponents 140-7. … No. 1-ranked Emanuel County Institute (8-0) is looking at back-to-back undefeated regular seasons in its final game against Montgomery County (3-5). … Third-ranked Clinch County (7-1) also closes out the regular season this Friday against Pelham (1-7).
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