FROM THE PREP ZONE BLOGS AT AJC.COM

Class AAAAAA

No. 1-ranked North Gwinnett plays at defending champion Norcross on Friday in AAAAAA’s spotlight game. Each has won three Region 7 titles since 2006, when Bob Sphire came to North Gwinnett.

The No. 1-ranked teams in AAAAAA are 0-2 this season. Norcross and Colquitt County failed to defend their top rankings. Now North Gwinnett gets its shot. For those who follow recruiting, the game features the state’s top two defensive ends — Lorenzo Carter (Norcross) and Dante Sawyer (North Gwinnett). Both are uncommitted.

A few more things to watch this week:

• Many are calling Coffee, under second-year coach Robby Pruitt, the sleeper in Region 1. If so, maybe the Trojans can avenge last season's loss to AAA's No. 3 team, Burke County, which features wizard quarterback Donquell Green.
• Region 5 seems up for grabs because Lassiter and Walton appear down, while Cherokee, Etowah, Milton and Wheeler are 2-0. Let's see what Wheeler and quarterback Elijah Staley (448 passing yards, five touchdowns) can do against defending Region 3-champion Langston Hughes and running back Keion Davis (344 yards rushing, five touchdowns).
• Marietta, under fourth-year coach Scott Burton, is ranked this week (No. 10) for the first time since 2007. The Blue Devils will know where they stand in a hurry when they travel to Hillgrove (2-0) on Friday. Expect the winner to be ranked next week. Marietta then faces No. 2 McEachern.
• North Cobb is ranked No. 5, but hasn't played the same level of opponent as the other highly ranked teams. On Friday, the Warriors travel to Walton, a big-name opponent that also has something to prove. Walton needs to win to avoid its first 0-3 start since 1988.

Class AAAAA

• The best race in Region 6-AAAAA will be the one for the fourth playoff spot behind top-ranked Tucker, No. 2 Stephenson and No. 4 M.L. King, and this week's teams to watch are Mays and Lakeside-DeKalb, which are tied for first place with the big three. Mays picked up a big victory against Miller Grove last week and meets M.L. King on Saturday. Lakeside hopes to send Southwest DeKalb to its first 0-3 start since 2002.
• Third-year program New Manchester announced itself as a potential playoff challenger in Region 5-AAAAA with an upset of North Paulding last week. Now the Jaguars have a chance to pad the record Friday against Woodland-Cartersville before heading into a three-game stretch that will determine their fate. New Manchester will play in consecutive weeks against East Paulding, Rome and Allatoona, the top three teams in the region last season.
• The four playoff teams from 8-AAAAA last year aren't exactly on a hot streak heading into region play. Defending region champion Flowery Branch is 0-2. Gainesville, the region runner-up but state champion last season, is 1-1 after getting thumped by Buford 38-14. Heritage-Conyers is 1-1 and lost to rival Rockdale County 9-7 last week, and Clarke Central is 1-1 with a loss to AAAA Marist.

Class AAAA

• Two perennial powers play Friday, when No. 2 Carrollton hosts Class AA's top-ranked team, Calhoun. Both teams are undefeated and have combined to win nine state titles and 46 region championships. Carrollton coach Rayvan Teague is 209-67-1 in his career. Calhoun coach Hal Lamb is 164-44.
• Coach Chip Walker gives his top-ranked Sandy Creek Fighting Patriots a "C" grade after their first two games. "We've got to cut out some early-season mistakes," said Walker, who leads Sandy Creek into East Coweta on Friday night. East Coweta is the last team to beat Sandy Creek in the regular season. The Indians beat the Patriots 28-27 in double overtime to kickoff the 2009 season. Sandy Creek won its next 39 regular-season games, before opening this season with a 27-27 tie against Florida-power Plant High.
• Two Region 6 teams are looking for their first victories and first points of the season. South Atlanta has opened with consecutive shutout losses to Lithonia (36-0) and Towers (44-0). The Hornets will try to get going against Jackson-Atlanta at Grady Stadium. Redan, after losing 46-0 to Troup and 56-0 to Shiloh, will try to make progress against Cedar Grove at Hallford Stadium.

Class AAA

• A year ago St. Pius learned a valuable lesson when it went to Thomson. Even though the Golden Lions lost a hard-fought 21-14 decision at The Brickyard, they discovered they could play with the best programs in the state. (Thomson was ranked No. 5 at the time.) St. Pius went on to reach the state championship last season and played Buford tough in the final. This year St. Pius comes in ranked No. 2 after starting the season with two victories. Thomson didn't get to finish its first game because of lightning and lost last week to Lakeside-Evans.
• No. 7 Callaway (2-0) will have a big test against Harris County, a AAAAA team with a 1-1 record. Callaway defeated the Tigers 24-21 last year in the first meeting between the two schools. The Callaway defense has been overshadowed by an offense, led by dynamic quarterback Tez Parks, but it forced five turnovers in its previous game, against Troup two weeks ago.
• No. 6-ranked Washington County will host a Baldwin club that whipped Peach County a week ago. Washington County (1-0) is led by quarterback A.J. Gray, who threw for 183 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns against ECI.

Class AA

• A battle of Atlanta private schools with elite football programs will take place between No. 5 Lovett and host Marist, ranked No. 5 in AAAA. It's the second game in a row that Lovett (2-0) — led by quarterback Willie Candler — has faced a top-10 team, having defeated then-No. 7 Blessed Trinity of AAA 14-3 two weeks ago. Last week, Lovett enjoyed a bye and moved up a spot in the rankings; Marist (1-1) lost to Thomas County Central 28-21. Marist beat Lovett last year 24-16 in the first meeting between the two programs.
• Mitch Abernathy and the No. 4-ranked Greater Atlanta Christian Spartans (3-0) will host AAAA Chamblee (2-0). Abernathy rushed for 118 yards and returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown in last week's 56-14 victory against Apalachee. Chamblee beat Druid Hills 26-16 last week.
• Will the No. 3-ranked Jefferson Dragons keep their season-opening shutout streak alive? Not likely this week, when they face the No. 5-ranked North Hall Trojans of Class AAA in a matchup of 2-0 teams. The Dragons have outscored the competition 89-0 their first two games, including last week's 49-0 victory against Jackson County. The Trojans have outscored their opponents 96-21, including last week's 66-6 victory against Johnson. Jefferson edged North Hall 27-21 last year and is 2-1 in the series since it renewed in 2010.

Class A

Mount Paran Christian (2-0) at Landmark Christian (3-0): The Eagles will look to continue their march to respectability when they visit Landmark on Friday. Mount Paran finished 3-7 last season, but a new offense — the old single-wing with some spread principles — and the addition of Emoni Williams and quarterback Jake Allen has turned the Eagles into a contender for the Region 6 crown. Landmark, a Class A-Private state semifinalist last season, are undefeated despite playing a number of young players.