There are 18 region matchups and four non-region games on the Week 7 Class AAAA slate. Here’s a look at this week’s lineup divided by each region.
In Region 1-AAAA, there will be one region matchup Thursday night (Shaw vs. Hardaway) and then a pair of region games on Friday.
Shaw vs. Hardaway: Shaw (3-1, 2-1) and Hardaway (3-2, 1-2) went down to the wire in last year’s meeting, with Shaw pulling out a 28-26 victory. That win put the Raiders at 2-2 in the region, but they lost their next four region games and missed out on the playoffs with a 2-6 finish. Hardaway on the other hand, responded to its 1-3 region start with a 3-1 finish, including a 15-14 win over Westover in its season finale to earn a playoff berth. This year, Shaw’s 2-1 region start includes wins over Northside-Columbus (47-26) and Dougherty (20-7) and a 13-6 loss to Americus-Sumter. Hardaway’s 1-2 region start includes losses to Carver-Columbus (34-14) and Cairo (21-7) and a 2014 win over Americus-Sumter. The teams have a common opponent in Americus-Sumter, as well as Kendrick—Shaw beat Kendrick 48-14 and Hardaway defeated the the Cherokees 52-28.
Cairo vs. Columbus at Columbus Memorial: Cairo is 4-1 overall and 3-0 in region play. Columbus is 1-3 overall with an 0-2 region start. Cairo’s flawless region start includes a 31.7 average margin of victory, where Columbus has been defeated by 35 ppg during its winless start. Last year, Cairo scored a 46-7 win.
Northside-Columbus vs. Carver-Columbus at Kinnett Stadium: This matchup has a similar underlying storyline as the Cairo vs. Columbus matchup. Northside is 0-5 overall with an 0-3 region start and Carver-Columbus is 4-1 with a 3-0 region start. Northside’s defense has allowed 47.3 ppg in region play. Stopping a Carver offense that is averaging 43 ppg so far in Region 1-AAAA is a steep challenge. Last year, the Tigers won 64-28.
Region 2-AAAA will have a trio of region openers to watch this weekend
Mary Persons vs. Spalding at Griffin Memorial Stadium: Mary Persons is off to a disappointing 2-3 start, but the Bulldogs still have plenty of talent, not to mention a 21-game region winning streak that dates back to the 2014 season. Spalding is 1-4 overall and was 0-5 in the region last year under first-year head coach Jeffrey Hammond, which included a 21-0 loss to Mary Persons.
Perry at Upson-Lee: Both teams are 2-3 heading into the matchup. Upson-Lee won 48-31 last year and went on to earn the No. 2 seed. Perry earned the No. 4 seed.
Howard at West Laurens: Howard won 16-10 last year and earned the No. 3 seed, while West Laurens failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013. This year, both teams are coming in hot with 4-1 starts to their seasons.
Region 3-AAAA is the site of all four of this week’s non-region matchups: Burke County hosts Statesboro, Thomson visits Lee County, Richmond Academy hosts Greenbrier and Cross Creek takes a trip to Westside-Augusta.
In Region 4-AAAA, Woodward Academy, Hampton, Eastside and Luella enter this week with 1-0 region records. Eastside faces Luella, Woodward Academy faces Druid Hills (2-2, 0-1) and Hampton faces North Clayton (0-4, 0-1).
In Region 5, Cedartown and LaGrange will square off on Friday, each with 0-1 region starts on their resumes. Central-Carroll, which picked up a 17-14 win over LaGrange to move to 1-0 will face Cartersville, which used a 24-2 victory over Cedartown to open up 1-0 in region play. The biggest matchup of the weekend, will likely be Troup vs. Sandy Creek. Troup defeated Chapel Hill 21-14 this past week in region action. As for Sandy Creek, this will be the region opener for the 4-0 Fighting Patriots.
Region 6-AAAA features a trio of teams with 1-0 region starts taking on squads that opened up with 0-1 region starts; LaFayette (Heritage), Pickens (Southeast Whitfield) and Ridgeland (Northwest Whitfield).
All three of Region 7-AAAA’s remaining undefeated teams are in action: Flowery Branch (vs. White County), Marist (vs. Chestatee) and Denmark (vs. West Hall). This will be Flowery Branch’s region opener, while Marist and Denmark are each 1-0 and facing 0-1 opponents. All of Region 8-AAAA is on its bye week and will open up region play next weekend.
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