Here’s what to look for during Week 10 of the high school football season.
Class AAAAAA
- Friday might bring the best night of games until the playoffs in AAAAAA. No. 1 North Gwinnett, No. 2 Colquitt County and defending champion Norcross all play home games Friday against current or recent Top 10 teams in AAAAAA. Collins Hill plays at Norcross in a game that matches Region 7's leading passers. North Gwinnett's Hayden Sphire is 110-of-180 passing for 1,649 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Collins Hill's Tyler Herman is 100-of-159 for 1,550 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions. Collins Hill, ranked No. 9 and 6-1, needs a good showing after losing to Norcross 28-0 last week.
- Valdosta, unranked and 5-2, has beaten Colquitt County three consecutive times. Colquitt County coach Rush Propst is 1-4 against Valdosta, which won the 2012 game 38-36 after taking a 38-14 lead into the final minutes.
- Peachtree Ridge, ranked No. 6 and 6-2, presents to Norcross the challenge of a balanced offense. Chance Thrasher has thrown for 1,483 yards, and Jordan Ellis is Gwinnett County's leading rusher with 1,000 yards.
- Other games to watch: Archer (8-0, 6-0) can clinch its first region title with a victory over South Gwinnett (2-5, 2-3) in Region 8. … Hughes (6-1, 2-0) plays at East Coweta (4-3, 2-0) for what should decide the Region 3 title. … Alpharetta (5-2) effectively will end the race in Region 6 if the Raiders can win at home Friday against Lambert (4-3, 3-1).
Class AAAAA
- M.L. King was the first of the four high-profile teams in 6-AAAAA to suffer a region loss, but the Lions still have a shot at winning their fourth consecutive region championship. M.L. King, which is tied with Stephenson and Mays for second place in the region, one game behind top-ranked Tucker, plays Stephenson on Friday, followed by games against Tucker and Miller Grove. Winning all three games likely gives the championship to the Lions. However, M.L. King could finish as low as fourth place if it loses to Stephenson and Tucker, which is perhaps just as likely as winning all three. At the other end of the region's playoff picture, Arabia Mountain can earn the first berth in the program's five-year history if it wins its final three games and Mays loses twice. Arabia Mountain's three remaining opponents have a combined record of 4-17, while Mays faces Stephenson and Tucker.
- Loganville is overshadowed in Region 8 by powers Gainesville, Flowery Branch, Clarke Central and Heritage-Conyers, but the Red Devils have a chance to sneak away with a playoff berth as early as Friday. Loganville will clinch a spot if it beats Heritage and Salem loses to Apalachee.
- Defending Region 5 champion East Paulding is in a bit of a must-win situation this week. If Rome wins its final three games against Lithia Springs (0-7), Villa Rica (4-3) and Woodland-Cartersville (2-6), then East Paulding would need to win all of its remaining games to make the playoffs. East Paulding's schedule includes South Paulding (6-1), Lithia Springs (0-7) and Allatoona (6-1).
Class AAAA
- The biggest Friday of the season is next week. But, in order for Nov. 1 to reach its full potential, some top-ranked teams need to take care of business this week. No. 2 Carrollton hosts No. 1 Sandy Creek next week in the game of the year in AAAA. But first Carrollton must contend with an upstart Alexander team that had the lead against Sandy Creek with six minutes to play last week, before losing 52-42. Sandy Creek plays LaGrange on Friday night.
- Locust Grove hosts Stockbridge next week in a game that could decide the top seed out of Region 4, Division A. But first the Wildcats must get past vastly improved Eagle's Landing. The Golden Eagles went 3-37 the past the four seasons, but head into Friday night's into home game at 6-2 and 2-1 in region play.
- Running back Nick Chubb and No. 7 Cedartown (7-0, 2-0 Region 7, Division A) travel to Cass on Friday night, before returning home to face Gilmer next week. Gilmer (6-1, 2-0 Region 7, Division A) hosts River Ridge on Friday night. Chubb, who committed to Georgia, has rushed for 1,887 yards and scored 29 touchdowns this season.
- Carver (5-2, 3-0 Region 6-AAAA, Division B) takes on Washington (6-1, 2-1 Region 6, Division B) at Lakewood Stadium on Friday night. Carver travels to Grady next week. Grady (6-1, 3-0 Region 6, Division B) and Carver are the only unbeaten team Region 6 play.
Class AAA
- The situation in Region 6 will either clear up a great deal or get even murkier this week, depending on the outcome of the game between St. Pius and Woodward Academy. If No. 6 St. Pius wins, the Golden Lions (6-1, 3-0) will be a step closer to defending their championship. If Woodward Academy (5-2, 3-1) wins, the War Eagles would be in position to finish first. A Woodward Academy win could throw the league into a four-way tie for first place.
- If No. 9 Elbert County (5-2, 4-0) can beat No. 5 Hart County (7-0, 4-0) on the road, the Blue Devils will virtually clinch the Region 8 championship. A Hart win would add extra meaning to the season finale against No. 10 North Oconee.
- The No. 2 Purple Hurricanes from Cartersville (7-0, 4-0) should get a better test from Adairsville (5-2, 3-1) than most teams in Region 5. Adairsville will have a difficult time stopping the Cartersville offense, led by quarterback Brooks Barden, who had six touchdowns in the first half a week ago. It will be a good warmup for Cartersville's season-finale showdown against Ringgold.
- Pike County at Peach County, where the loser likely will be the No. 3 team in the playoffs. A Peach County win would set up a showdown for the Region 2 title with Carver.
Class AA
- Will the No. 1 Lamar County Trojans be challenged this regular season? No opponent has come any closer to them than 21 points, and they've outscored the competition 305-88. They're 7-0 and 4-0 in Region 4. This week, they'll visit the only other team with an undefeated 4-AA record, the Bleckley County Royals (6-1, 4-0). Should the Royals pull off the upset, there would be a three-way tie atop the region should Macon County (5-2, 3-1) also beat Monticello (3-4, 1-3). However, it's more than worth noting the Trojans beat the Royals last year, 39-7.
- The Bowdon Red Devils, ranked No. 8 out of 5-AA, have breezed through their schedule thus far, putting up 385 points while surrendering only 114. Now it's time for a challenge. The Red Devils (8-0, 6-0) look to further cement their hold on the No. 1 seed against their rival, the Bremen Blue Devils (4-4, 3-3). While the Blue Devils' record is unassuming, their role in the rivalry is anything but. Bremen is 5-2 against Bowdon since 2005, but the Red Devils won last year 26-21.
- As for the remaining top 10, all but one team hosts an opponent with a losing record. The No. 7 Brooks County Trojans (7-1, 4-0 1-AA) travel to the Cook Hornets (4-3), but the Hornets are just 1-2 in region play. No. 2 Lovett (6-1, 1-0 6-AA) hosts Wesleyan (2-6, 1-1); No. 3 Greater Atlanta Christian (7-0, 1-0 6-AA) hosts Hapeville Charter (0-6-1, 0-2); No. 5 Calhoun (6-1, 4-0 7-AA) hosts Armuchee (1-6, 1-3); No. 9 Jefferson (5-2, 3-1 8-AA) hosts Social Circle (0-7, 0-4); No. 10 Vidalia (6-1, 5-1 2-AA) hosts Bacon County (3-4, 3-3.)
Class A
No. 6 Marion County (7-0, 4-0) at Brookstone (4-3, 2-2). The Eagles will try to stay unbeaten and all but sew up their third Region 4 title in the past four seasons.
No. 5 Johnson County (7-0, 2-0) at No. 8 Emanuel County Institute (5-2, 2-0). The Region 3, Division B title will be on the line in Twin City. ECI, the defending Class A public-school champion, has won eight of the past 10 meetings, including 40-0 last season in Wrightsville.
Mount Pisgah Christian (7-0, 3-0) at No. 9 Mount Paran Christian (6-1, 3-0). Kennesaw will be lit up Friday for this battle for the Region 6, Division B championship. The game will feature two of the better junior quarterbacks in the region — Mount Pisgah's Aaron Winchester and Mount Paran's Jake Allen.
Charlton County (5-2, 3-0) at No. 10 Clinch County (4-3, 3-0). There's a good chance the entire population of Homerville (2,456) will be crammed into Donald Tison Field, aka The Boneyard, to watch the Panthers host Charlton County in a game that will go a long way toward deciding the Region 2 champion. Both appear to be locks for the state playoffs.
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