The regular season will be halfway over by the time this weekend’s games are complete, and 10 Class AAAAAA teams remain undefeated heading into the midpoint.
Two of them are guaranteed to remain that way. No. 2 Northside-Warner Robins (5-0) and No. 6 Dalton (4-0) both have the week off. The other eight are all projected to win by the computer Maxwell Ratings, but No. 3 Valdosta (vs. Colquitt County), No. 7 Harrison (vs. Allatoona) and Richmond Hill (vs. Lakeside-Evans) are favored by five points or less. That should make for an interesting weekend.
Here are five questions hanging over the heads of AAAAAA teams this week, along with the games that will begin to answer them. All games are Friday.
1. Will Valdosta win Region 1 (in the highest class)?
- Colquitt County at Valdosta: The Wildcats are in AAAAAA after decades of playing in the highest class, but they still managed to schedule games with three of the four remaining members of their old Region 1. Valdosta routed the first two, beating Lowndes 38-13 and Tift County 42-13, and complete the nostalgia tour this week. Valdosta hasn’t gone undefeated against that region since 2003.
2. Will Lovejoy or Stephenson have a hangover?
- Lovejoy at Drew and Stephenson at Mundy’s Mill: Lovejoy took a big step toward a playoff berth, and perhaps a region title, with a 28-27 victory over Stephenson last week, but now both teams must put that game behind them. Drew and Mundy’s Mill were 0-3 against challenging schedules, but both picked up their first victories last week and appear to be serious playoff contenders.
3. Who is the front-runner in Region 6?
- Allatoona at Harrison: There will be a lot on the line when west Cobb rivals Allatoona and Harrison meet in football for the first time. The winner will be 2-0 in the region and take sole possession of first place, a half-game ahead of No. 6 Dalton and Sequoyah, who are 1-0 and idle this week. Harrison is 4-0 overall for the first time since 2008, but Allatoona is a reigning state champion.
4. Will Lanier be up or down?
- Lanier at St. Pius: Lanier has dealt with some off-the-field issues, and the results on the field have been inconsistent. The Longhorns, 10-0 in the regular season in 2015, opened with a win against Northview, suffered losses to South Gwinnett and Northside-Warner Robins, and then beat Lambert last week. This week, they face a St. Pius team that is talented but winless against a rugged schedule.
5. Can Greenbrier keep up the momentum?
- Cross Creek at Greenbrier: The Wolfpack hasn’t started a season 5-0 since 1997, but it can get there with a win against Cross Creek. In fact, Greenbrier hasn’t won five games in a season very often – only once since 2003. Greenbrier was just 6-34 over the past four seasons, including 2-8 in 2015, but coach Tony Kramer has the Wolfpack heading in the right direction in his second year on the job.
*Worth noting: Georgia High School Football Daily has more complete previews of some of this weekend's top games involving Class AAAAAA teams. Click here to read more about Allatoona-Harrison, Colquitt County-Valdosta, Gainesville-Jefferson and Thomas County Central-Lee County.
