It's the beginning of the end of the regular season for teams across the state, and region champions have been, or will b, decided in the next week.
Three of the top-10 teams – No. 2 Cedar Grove, No. 3 Monroe Area and No. 6 Greater Atlanta Christian -- will take the week off before their final regular-season games. Two teams, No. 9 Jefferson and No. 10 Pace Academy, will play their final regular-season games this week and will use next week to plan and prepare for the playoffs. Top-ranked Calhoun, No. 4 Peach County, No. 5 Westminster, No. 7 Benedictine, and No. 8 Dawson County will play in the final two weeks of the season.
Here's a look at how things stand:
Region 1: Crisp and Monroe are tied at 1-0 and lead the four-team region. All teams will be active in the final two weeks. Crisp will face Cook on Friday; Monroe has Worth County.
Region 2: Pierce and Appling lead the region with 3-0 records, ahead of Liberty County at 2-1. Appling will play Pierce on Friday to help determine the region front-runner.
Region 3: Benedictine leads at 6-0, ahead of Jenkins (6-1) and Southeast Bulloch (5-1). Benedictine and Jenkins will play Nov. 3. Jenkins has the week off before its game against Benedictine.
Region 4: Peach County and Westside-Macon should meet for the region championship next week, if all goes according to plan this week. Peach has Jackson; Westside-Macon faces Pike County.
Region 5: Cedar Grove will take the week off before its final regular-season game next week. The Saints have locked up the region at 5-0, ahead of Westminster (3-1) and Pace (3-2). Lovett and Stone Mountain are tied (2-2) for what would be the fourth seed.
Region 6: Calhoun leads the split region again this year. The top-ranked Yellow Jackets will play in the final two weeks against Haralson County and Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (both 5-1). If Calhoun suffers a loss in either of those games, it would be an upset that could shake up the classification.
Region 7: GAC holds the lead (5-0) and likely will win the Region 7 title again this year. Dawson County and North Hall are each tied (3-1) behind GAC, and Fannin County (2-2) is the likely No. 4 seed.
Region 8: Monroe Area's victory against Morgan County earlier in the season and against Jefferson on Friday all but sealed the region title for the Purple Hurricanes. Monroe Area will rest this week before hosting Franklin County (2-2) on Nov. 2. Jefferson has Jackson County (2-6) on Friday.
Top 10 Schedule this week:
1. (1) Calhoun (8-0, 6-0) – Will play at home against Haralson County (7-1, 5-1) in a Region 6 game.
2. (2) Cedar Grove (8-1, 5-0) – Off this week. Will play at home against Stone Mountain in final regular-season game on Nov. 2.
3. (3) Monroe Area (9-0, 5-0) – Off this week. Will play at home against Franklin County (3-5, 2-2) in final regular-season game on Nov. 2.
4. (4) Peach County (6-2, 4-0) – Travels to Jackson (5-3, 3-1) for a Region 4 game.
5. (5) Westminster (5-3, 3-1) – Plays at home against Stone Mountain (2-6, 2-2) in a Region 5 game.
6. (6) Greater Atlanta Christian (7-2, 5-0) – Off this week. Plays at home against Fannin County (3-5, 2-2) in a Region 7 game on Nov. 2
7. (7) Benedictine (7-1, 6-0) – Travels to Beach (3-5, 3-3) for a Region 3 game.
8. (9) Dawson County (7-1, 3-1) – Plays at home against Cherokee Bluff (0-9, 0-5) in a Region 7 game.
9. (8) Jefferson (7-2, 4-1) – Closes out regular season at Jackson County (2-6, 0-4) in a Region 8 game.
10. (10) Pace Academy (5-4, 3-2) – Closes out regular season at Towers (0-8, 0-4) in a Region 5 game.
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