The four playoff spots from Region 6-AAAAAA have been taken the past two years by Harrison (region champion in 2017), Dalton (region champion in 2016), Allatoona and Sequoyah, and all will certainly be in the mix again this season.
But the emergence of Creekview – which is 3-0 for the first time since 2009 and ranked No. 4, its highest in program history – could put at least one of those teams’ playoff hopes in jeopardy. The Grizzlies, who finished sixth and fifth in the region the past two years, already have a victory against Allatoona, 24-13 in the teams’ region opener last week.
Dalton and Sequoyah will have a chance to avoid falling behind the pack when they meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Sequoyah’s Skip Pope Stadium. Sequoyah (2-0, 1-0) opened region play with a 53-0 victory over Osborne last week.
Dalton (2-0, 0-0) has won non-region games against Ringgold 42-24 and Northwest Whitfield 24-14 but has yet to play a region game. Catamounts quarterback Landon Allen (ankle) and running back Jahmyr Gibbs (shoulder) left the game last week with injuries, and their status is unknown for this week.
Dalton beat Sequoyah 21-17 at home last year in a game that essentially settled third and fourth place in the region.
“We’re just trying to prepare our kids for a game that’s probably going to come down to the wire,” Sequoyah coach James Teter told Alex Resnak of the Cherokee Tribune. “It did last year, so, this year, hopefully we have a chance to come out on top.”
The Sequoyah game is the first of a rugged three-week stretch that will go a long way toward determining Dalton’s fate this season. The Catamounts will be at home to take on Creekview (Sept. 14) and third-ranked Harrison (Sept. 21) in their next two games.
Sequoyah plays Campbell in a non-region game next week and then has a weekend off before traveling to Creekview on Sept. 28.
Here are five other games involving Class AAAAAA teams to keep an eye on this weekend:
*Hughes at Mays (Lakewood Stadium): Mays was the Region 5 champion last year and Hughes finished in third place, but both teams come into this game winless, and all four of their combined losses were by at least 16 points. Hughes has scored just seven points on the season. One of these teams will pick up its first victory, and it will come at the perfect time, as it is the region opener.
*Morrow at Mundy's Mill (Twelve Oaks Stadium): For the past two seasons, Tucker, Stephenson and Lovejoy have locked down the top three spots in Region 4, leaving the other six teams to scramble for one playoff berth. If that holds true again this year, these could be two of the teams leading the pack. Mundy's Mill (2-1) already matched its 2017 win total. Morrow went 5-5 in AAAAA.
*Northgate at Douglas County: Douglas County was the Region 5 runner-up last year, and Northgate finished in a three-way tie for third place but missed out on a playoff berth because of the region's tiebreaker. Both teams enter the region opener with 1-1 overall records, accounting for two of the region's three total victories in a rough 3-15 start. Douglas County won last year's matchup 21-0.
*Pope at Centennial: Defending Region 7 champion Alpharetta is 1-1 through the first three weeks of the season, but the teams that finished second through fifth are all 0-2. Pope (fourth place in 2017) and Centennial (second place) are among that group. One will get a big boost when they meet in the teams' region opener. Both teams started the season 0-3 last year but rallied to make the playoffs.
*Valdosta at Colquitt County: Valdosta has lost five consecutive games former Region 1-AAAAAAA rivals, including 24-10 against Tift County on Aug. 24, and has lost five straight against Colquitt County. With a victory on Friday, Colquitt would move into a tie with Albany and Lowndes for the most all-time victories against the Wildcats with 19. Valdosta meets Lowndes on Oct. 21.
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