Score Prep/790 The Zone Game of the Week

Three teams go into Friday night tied at the top of Region 5-AAAAA. Two of those teams, Harrison and Etowah, will play in the 790 Game of the Week.

The Hoyas, Eagles and East Paulding  Raiders are all 7-1 in region play. Etowah lost to East Paulding 17-14 on Oct. 3. Harrison beat East Paulding 28-16 two weeks later, but lost to McEachern 48-33 the next week, giving all three teams one loss.

The teams have more in common than just identical records. Etowah and Harrison average 27 points per game to East Paulding’s 25 points per game. East Paulding and Etowah’s defenses give up 12 points per game to Harrison’s 14 points per game.

Going back to Friday’s matchup, Harrison and Etowah both feature strong running games. Harrison is led by running back Robbie Godhigh, who was out with an injury against McEachern, the Hoyas’ only loss of the season. Godhigh returned last week to rush for 139 yards and two touchdowns to beat Marietta. Etowah running back Ryan Boykin started the season with 277 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the Corky Kell Classic and hasn’t slowed down, rushing for a total of 392 yards and three touchdowns in the past two weeks.

The playoff scenario is simple with Harrison in control, while both Etowah and East Paulding need help. If Harrison wins, it wins the region and earns the No. 1 seed for the playoffs due to a head-to-head tiebreaker win over East Paulding. Etowah not only must beat Harrison, but the Eagles also need East Paulding to lose to Woodstock, which is currently fourth in Region 5-AAAAA. If Etowah and East Paulding both win, East Paulding wins the region.

Wiley can be reached at dwiley@scoreatl.com.