Four of the 10 ranked teams in Class AAA will get much-needed rest this week as No. 1 Cedar Grove, No. 2 Peach County, No. 9 Lovett and No. 10 Pace Academy will wait until next week to continue region tests.
One of the top games this week will showcase two rival Savannah schools -- No. 6 Jenkins (4-0) at Johnson-Savannah (0-4).
“I will tell you man, when you play these Savannah school vs. Savannah school games it is always like a bit of a rivalry,” Jenkins head coach Jason Cameron said. “They’re athletic and have guys who can definitely take it if we decide not to tackle.”
Last season, Jenkins moved past the Atomsmashers 52-6, but that was last year. Coach Cameron is keeping his team focused on playing the same type of game this year.
“That’s what we are hoping for,” Cameron said of last year’s blowout victory. “We have had three in a row that have been pretty tight, so a nice win with comfort will be good. We just have to play football.”
The Warriors opened their season with a 28-0 victory against New Hampstead before grinding out victories against South Effingham (45-36), Liberty County (43-41) and Southeast Bulloch in their Region 3 opener (31-21).
“Defensively, they run around a bit and they blitz a ton, so we have to play football,” Cameron said.
Here are the other games worth monitoring:
-- No. 8 Monroe Area (5-0) vs. Jackson County (3-2): Last season, the Purple Hurricanes finished with a 3-8 record and lost to Calhoun in the first round of the state playoffs. One of the losses came against Jackson County, 41-21. Monroe Area is coming off a 42-0 victory against Apalachee and has not really been challenged this season. The closest margin of victory was the 24-14 victory in its opener at Loganville.
-- No. 3 Greater Atlanta Christian (4-1) at Fannin County (2-3): The Spartans defeated Fannin County 52-10 in 2016, and there is no reason to think they will have any trouble this year. GAC has scored at least 40 points in each of its games, with the exception of the 28-22 loss to Valor Christian (Colorado). Fannin County has two shut-out victories, but also two shut-out losses this season.
-- No. 4 Crisp County (4-0) at Class AA No. 7 Brooks County (4-0): "This is a big-time game this week," Crisp County head coach Brad Harber said. "I promise you this one could go either way. You know Brooks is 30-3 at home since however long back. Tell me that isn't a hard place to win."
Brooks County has not lost at home since the Aug. 21, 2015, falling to Ware County, 42-7. In 2014, Fitzgerald (57-29) and Benedictine (49-7) both beat Brooks at Brooks.
For an AJC preview of Crisp County vs. Brooks County see the Class AA blog here.
-- No. 5 Calhoun (4-1) at Haralson County (0-4): The Yellow Jackets defeated Haralson County 44-7 in 2016 and should have little trouble this season. Since the 58-6 loss to Cartersville on Sept. 1, Calhoun has rolled over Coahulla Creek (62-6) and North Murray (40-13).
-- No. 7 Bremen (5-0) at Sonoraville (3-2): Bremen lost to Sonoraville last season 28-21, but it could be a different story Friday . The Blue Devils are just a week removed from a 51-0 blowout of Coahulla Creek. Sonoraville, however, is looking to build a head of steam after a disappointing 31-28 loss to Ringgold last week. This will mark the second time these two teams have met.
