The early lead in 5-AAAAA will be at stake when seventh-ranked Allatoona travels to rival East Paulding at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the only region game on the Class AAAAA schedule on the opening weekend of the season.
Allatoona pulled out a 27-21 victory last season, and East Paulding never recovered. The Raiders finished 4-6, their worst record since 2007, the year before John Reid arrived and turned the program into a contender. This year the Raiders will be led by coach John Lindsey, who led Cook to a 9-3 record in 2014.
Allatoona, on the other hand, used the victory to start a 13-game winning streak that ended with a 31-20 loss to Northside-Warner Robins in the state semifinals. The 13 wins were the most in school history, and the team’s appearance in the semifinals was its first.
Allatoona’s Russell Halimon rushed for 209 yards in last year’s game. Look for him to be a contender for Class AAAAA offensive player of the year in 2015.
Here are some of the other top games involving Class AAAAA teams this weekend:
- Northside-Warner Robins at North Cobb (7:30 p.m. Friday): Northside used last year's 38-20 victory over Class AAAAAA North Cobb as the springboard for its state championship season. The Eagles are ranked No. 1 again in 2015, but they must find a replacement for all-state RB Willie Jordan, who rushed for 2,246 yards last year. North Cobb's Will Lovett will get the first shot at replacing QB Tyler Queen, a four-year starter who's now at Auburn.
- South Paulding at Sprayberry (7:30 p.m. Friday): South Paulding and Sprayberry were contenders in their regions last season. South Paulding finished in a tie for second place in 5-AAAAA behind undefeated Allatoona and earned the No. 2 seed for the playoffs. Sprayberry lost a 14-10 heartbreaker to undefeated Kell near the end of the season in a game that essentially served as the 7-AAAAA Div. B championship game. South Paulding held on for a 24-19 victory over the Yellow Jackets last season.
- Southwest DeKalb at Cedar Grove (8 p.m. Friday at Panthersville Stadium): Southwest DeKalb bounced back from a sub-par 2013 season (2-8), finishing 6-4 and in second place in 6-AAAAA Div. A behind perennial power Stephenson. The Panthers look to keep that momentum going but will have a tough task against a Cedar Grove team that placed five players on the Class AAA preseason all-state team, including Super 11 selection Antwuan Jackson. The Saints are ranked No. 6 in their class.
- Hughes vs. Mays (8 p.m. Saturday at Lakewood Stadium): This is the prime-time matchup of the Atlanta Public Schools Football Classic, a four-game event at Lakewood. Other games include Carver-Columbus vs. Carver-Atlanta, Grady vs. Washington and Hardaway vs. Tri-Cities. Mays is coming off the best season in school history, finishing 12-3 and losing by seven points to Northside in the state championship game. Class AAAAAA Hughes was 9-3 last year and beat Mays 27-7.
