First place in Region 6-AAAAAA will be at stake when Cobb County rivals Harrison and Allatoona, the only remaining unbeaten teams in region play, meet Friday night in Acworth.
A victory by third-ranked Harrison (6-0, 4-0) would all but wrap up the region championship for the Hoyas. They would need just two victories in their final three games – against Osborne, Sequoyah and Creekview, three teams with a combined record of 6-11 – to clinch their second region title in three years.
Fifth-ranked Allatoona (4-1, 4-0) would still have a big hurdle to clear, even if it beats Harrison. The Buccaneers would need to win at No. 8 Dalton on Nov. 1 to avoid a potential three-way tie for first place. Dalton (5-1, 3-1) is in third place in the region, having suffered its only loss of the season against Harrison 42-21 two weeks ago.
Allatoona is seeking its first region title since 2015, when it also became the first Cobb County Schools team to win a state championship.
Allatoona is primarily a running team but has been unusually effective in the passing game this season. Quarterback Dante Marshall is 35-of-61 passing for 906 yards. Last week in a 38-21 victory over Sprayberry, he was 6-of-11 for 294 yards and five touchdowns. All of the completions (not to mention the touchdowns and yards) went to Asante Das, who set a Cobb County single-game record for receiving yards.
“Dante Marshall, the quarterback, is a good friend of his, and they've been playing together since middle school and have a good chemistry," Allatoona coach Gary Varner told GHSF Daily this week. “[Sprayberry] went man-to-man on [Das] a lot to stop the running game, and he took advantage.”
Harrison will try to answer with a defense that allows just 9.67 points per game, best in Class AAAAAA. The Hoyas have held four of their six opponents to seven points or less. Linebackers Marcus Bleazard, Caleb Williamson and Ryan Smith are all among the top tacklers in Cobb County.
Allatoona won 23-7 last year, its first victory in the three-game history of the series.
Here are five other Class AAAAAA games to keep an eye on Friday night:
*Douglas County at Mays (Lakewood Stadium): Mays, Creekside and South Paulding remain undefeated in Region 5 play, but Douglas County isn't far behind at 3-1. Douglas County beat Mays 23-8 last year, its first-ever victory against the Raiders, and finished as the region runner-up behind Creekside. Mays finished in third place, ending a streak of two consecutive region titles.
*Houston County at Valdosta: Houston County brings a two-game losing streak into its Region 1 opener, but the Bears are 4-2 overall and ranked No. 9, a drastic improvement over their 2-8 seasons in 2017 and 2018. Opening region play against No. 2 Valdosta should give an indication of whether the Bears are ready to compete with the region's perennial powers. Valdosta won 55-14 last year.
*Lakeside-Evans at Evans: Lakeside, the only Region 3 team to make it through non-league play without a loss, opens region play against an Evans team that is projected by the computer Maxwell Ratings to win the region title. Lakeside is 4-0 for the first time since 2009 but has played just one Georgia opponent, beating Duluth 45-21 on Sept. 6. Evans is 2-2. Both were playoff teams in 2018.
*Lovejoy at M.L. King (Godfrey Stadium): Lovejoy and M.L. King are among the top four in Region 4, but both are coming off disappointing losses. Lovejoy fell out of a tie for first place with a 23-16 loss to Tucker, the region's only unbeaten team. M.L. King, which moved into the top 10 for the first time since 2013 after a 4-0 start, was knocked out of the rankings by Stephenson 35-0.
*North Atlanta at Alpharetta: These two teams picked up the two most important wins in Region 7 last week. Alpharetta beat Centennial 48-0 to move into a tie for first place with Johns Creek, which was off. North Atlanta beat Northview 42-28 to move into fourth place, a coveted spot considering the top four teams make the playoffs. North Atlanta hasn't reached the playoffs since 1996.
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