Seven of Class AAA's eight regions will be involved in league play this weekend, leaving Region 1 on the outside looking in. That four-team region starts league play next week.
Of the top-10 teams, No. 3 Pierce County, No. 5 Hart County, No. 6 Liberty County and No. 7 Appling County have bye weeks.
So here's a look at the Top 10 teams that will play:
1. Peach County (4-1) vs. Pike County (Region 4): After playing one of the toughest pre-region schedules in the state, Peach gets back to competing against programs its own size this weekend, starting with Pike County. Peach quarterback Jaydon Gibson is 57-of-84 passing for 1,057 yards and nine touchdowns. Noah Whittington leads with 58 carries for 362 yards and nine touchdowns, and he has eight catches for 256 yards and three touchdowns. Justin Harris has 23 catches for 275 yards and a touchdown. Peach has never lost to Pike but the programs did tie in 1984, 14-14.
2. Cedar Grove (3-2) vs. Redan (Region 5): Cedar Grove entered region play last week with a 41-17 victory against No. 9 Lovett and is the heavy favorite in this matchup. Senior Chavon Wright and sophomore Janiran Bonner led with two touchdowns each last weekend. Wright had 19 carries for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Bonner had three receptions for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Bernard Mack had five catches for 95 yards and one touchdown. Senior linebacker Isaiah Ratcliff had 13 tackles, two sacks and one fumble recovery. Senior lineman Alvin Williams had eight tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble. Junior defensive back Antonio Taylor had three tackles and an interception, his fourth in five games. Last year, Cedar Grove won 52-0.
3. Pierce County (5-0) off. Will play at home against Brantley County on Oct. 11 in a Region 2 game.
4. Greater Atlanta Christian (4-1) vs. North Hall (Region 7): GAC won 21-0 against North Hall last season, and the Spartans are the likely favorite again this year. GAC's Jackson Hardy is 60-of-105 passing for 867 yards and seven touchdowns. He has rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Hardy's favorite receiver is Brooks Miller, who has caught 12 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown. North Hall senior quarterback Trey Sander is 15-of-30 passing for 283 yards and two touchdowns. Senior J.T. Fair has 58 carries for 551 yards and five touchdowns and seven receptions for 137 yards. GAC is coming off a 49-7 victory against East Hall in the 7-AAA opener last week. North Hall opened region play last week with a 42-14 victory against Cherokee Bluff.
5. Hart County (5-0) off. Will be at home against No. 10 Jefferson on Oct. 11 in a Region 8 game.
6. Liberty County (3-0) off. Will be at home against Tattnall County on Oct. 11 in a Region 2 game.
7. Appling County (4-1) off. Will will be at home against Long County on Oct. 11 in a Region 2 game.
8. Crisp County (3-3) at Class AA Thomasville: Crisp has faced Thomasville 22 times and only won two of them – a 42-38 victory last season and a 14-12 victory in 1990. The Cougars will look to right the ship after a 14-9 loss to Class AAAAA No. 3 Bainbridge last week. Thomasville is coming off a 28-18 victory against Cook. Crisp splits its quarterback duties with sophomore Jack Carter leading the way. He is 42-of-76 passing for 590 yards and three touchdowns. Junior A.J. Lofton is 17-of-30 passing for 243 yards and two touchdowns. Marquise Palmer has 92 carries for 505 yards and five touchdowns. Carter and Lofton each have one rushing touchdown. Thomasville quarterback Ronnie Baker is 76-of-141 passing for 800 yards and three touchdowns with 38 carries for 304 yards and three touchdowns. Ricky Fulton has 44 carries for 237 yards and four touchdowns. Malik Harper has 47 carries for 201 yards and two touchdowns.
9. Lovett (3-2) vs. Towers at Avondale Stadium (Region 5): Last year, Lovett beat Towers 45-8, and there's no reason to suspect an upset this year. But Lovett will have to rebuild momentum after its 41-17 loss to No. 2 Cedar Grove last week. Towers has lost three games in a row, including a 51-6 loss to Westminster in the region opener last week. Lovett has 15 victories in the 16 meetings against Towers. The one loss was a 16-7 defeat in 2003. The Lions are led by 3-star Princeton commitment Blaine McAllister, a 6-foot-3, 201-pound quarterback.
10. Last year, Jefferson won 17-10 and is the favorite again this year. Quarterback Colby Clark leads and through three games, he was 12-of-20 passing for 241 yards and four touchdowns. In Jefferson's 41-7 victory over Gainesville, Clark was 5-for-6 passing for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Against Gainesville, sophomore back Malaki Starks had three carries for 83 yards and two touchdowns and two receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown. Jefferson beat East Jackson 70-6 in its region opener last week.
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