Here’s what to look for during Week 7 of the high school football season.
Class AAAAAA
Collins Hill and Etowah are the only undefeated teams that aren’t ranked in AAAAAA. They’ll get their chance Friday when each plays a Top 10 team.
Collins (4-0) is at home against No. 5 Peachtree Ridge and is the underdog despite defeating the Lions 41-10 last season. Collins Hill, Peachtree Ridge and No. 1-ranked North Gwinnett are the only teams without losses in Region 7.
Etowah (5-0) is at No. 9 Milton in a game between two of the three teams that haven’t lost in Region 5. Walton is the other. Etowah edged Roswell 38-36 last week. Milton beat Roswell 33-3 the week before.
Other things to watch this week in AAAAAA and the other classifications:
- Grayson and Brookwood, the only teams that have won Region 8 since 2004, have losing records, but they'll move up again if they can win this week. Grayson (2-3, 2-1) is at Central Gwinnett (2-2, 2-0), and Brookwood (1-3, 1-1) is at Dacula (2-3, 2-1). Archer (5-0, 3-0) leads the region and plays at Shiloh (3-2, 1-2).
- Region 1 should have its usual drama as No. 6 Camden County plays at Coffee, and Tift County plays at No. 3 Colquitt County. All four teams have 4-1 records. Meanwhile, Lowndes (3-2) is recovering from the loss of as many as 10 players who left the program this week. The Vikings will be in Brunswick.
- The Walton-Lassiter winner has won a region title five of the past six seasons. The East Cobb rivals will meet Friday at Walton's Raider Valley in a Region 5 game. Walton is 3-2, 2-0. Lassiter is 2-3, 1-1.
Class AAAAA
- South Paulding took a huge step toward the first playoff berth in school history with a 48-45 overtime victory against Allatoona last week that gave it sole possession of first place in Region 5. Now the Spartans will try to hold on to the lead when they meet North Paulding, which is tied with Allatoona and East Paulding for second place.
- Region 1 team Lee County compiled a 14-1 record in the first half of the year in the 2010-12 seasons, but fell to 4-11 in the second half. Those slumps led to one season missing the playoffs and two others that ended with first-round losses. Lee County is 5-0 at the halfway point again this year, hoping that a change in fortunes will begin Friday when the Trojans travel to Hardaway.
- Region play begins in 1-AAAAA and 7-AAAAA and has its first full weekend in 4-AAAAA. Perhaps the biggest game in those three regions comes from Region 4, where Whitewater and Northgate will face off in a game that will produce the top challenger for No. 9 Creekside in Division B.
Class AAAA
- No team is facing a tougher two-week stretch than the Troup Tigers from Region 5, who play at No. 1 Sandy Creek. Sandy Creek has won 35 consecutive region games. Troup returns home next week to host No. 2 Carrollton.
- Three of the four teams in Region 3 — Division A No. 6 Wayne County (5-0), No. 7 Statesboro (5-0) and Liberty County (5-0) — are unbeaten, heading into Friday's games. Wayne County hosts Burke County. Statesboro hosts Swainsboro, and Liberty County is at Glenn Hills. Division play begins next week. The top three teams in Division A and Division B will reach the region play-in games, with the winners advancing to the state playoffs.
- No. 3 Griffin will be without coach Steve Devoursney on Friday night against Riverdale. Devoursney is serving a suspension for being ejected by officials from last week's big victory against Stockbridge. Any coach or player who is ejected from a game must sit out the following game, according to GHSA rules.
- The 4-0 Washington Bulldogs open Region 6 play against South Atlanta at Lakewood Stadium. The Bulldogs haven't gotten off to a 5-0 start since 1998.
Class AAA
Trying to break into the Region 6 playoff picture are Decatur and Towers. Both suffered their first losses of the season a week ago, Decatur losing to Cedar Grove and Towers losing to St. Pius. This week Cedar Grove plays Towers, and Decatur travels to Woodward Academy.
Cedar Grove vs. Towers (Panthersville): Towers hopes its newfound surge can lead to a turnaround against old rival Cedar Grove. The Saints lead the series 11-3-1 and have won the past three meetings, including last year's game 66-8. A repeat of that lopsided outcome isn't likely, but Towers faces a difficult challenge in stopping Cedar Grove's Deion Sellers, who has rushed for 100 yards in five games and ran for 194 last week.
Decatur at Woodward Academy: The Decatur defense, led by linebacker Kyle Kitchens, has been solid, even in last week's loss. The Bulldogs will have their hands full against a Woodward Academy team that features gifted quarterback Terry Googer and an excellent group of running backs that includes Elijah Holyfield.
Pierce County at Appling County: The No. 10 Bears have yet to be challenged, but that might change this week with a visit to Appling County. Pierce County has won the past two meetings. Last year's 36-34 victory essentially gave the Region 1 title to Pierce. The Bears have won 12 consecutive regular-season games and 16 consecutive games in their region. This could be a showcase for quarterback Tyler Harris, who committed to SMU. He has passed for 1,305 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Class AA
- The No. 5-ranked Washington-Wilkes Tigers (5-0) face their stiffest challenge of the season when they host the No. 4-ranked Jefferson Dragons (3-1). The Tigers have outscored opponents 218-52, but put up similar lopsided victories last year on their way to a 5-0 record when they met Jefferson. The Dragons won last year's matchup 36-0. Washington-Wilkes is hoping Jefferson's coaching and quarterback changes create opportunity for a different outcome, and will lean heavily on sophomore running back Quay Blackburn to carry the load. In a 8-AA region considered by many to be top-heavy with these two teams, this matchup could determine the region's top seed.
- After five games against larger classifications, including last week's out-of-state game, the No. 2-ranked Lovett Lions (5-0) and quarterback Willie Chandler are facing yet another challenge — Class AAA's No. 3-ranked Washington County Golden Hawks (4-0), who reached the state quarterfinals last year. For the fourth consecutive game, Lovett will seek revenge against an opponent who beat them in 2012. The Hawks won 48-35 last year. The Hawks are coming off a 38-0 victory against Laney and could be at 5-0 had weather not caused the cancellation their opening game against Eagle's Landing Christian, a game they were leading when it was called off. The Lions are coming off a 35-13 victory against Fort Payne (Ala.).
- There's an intriguing matchup of 5-0 teams in 2-AA between the No. 7-ranked Benedictine Cadets and the Bryan County Redskins. The Redskins appear to be turning a corner. They escaped their second game of the season with a 34-27 triple-overtime victory against Toombs County and have outscored opponents 120-41 since. The Cadets have given up 29 points this season and have two shutouts.
Class A
Our Lady of Mercy (1-3, 1-0) at No. 2 Landmark Christian (5-0, 1-0): The War Eagles will look to stay unbeaten in their Region 5 home opener, after dismantling Mt. Vernon Presbyterian (56-19) on the road last week. Mercy is coming off of a 22-14 victory against resurgent Pace Academy (3-2, 0-1). Landmark Christian won last year's meeting in overtime 30-27.
No. 3 Aquinas (4-0, 1-0) at Hancock Central (3-1, 1-0): The Irish will look to stay unbeaten when they visit Sparta for a Region 7 contest. Hancock Central's only loss was a 63-0 blowout at AAA No. 1 Buford. The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 130-32 in their three victories.
No. 4 Seminole County (4-0) at Terrell County (3-2, 1-0): Seminole County will begin defense of its Region 1 title with a visit to Dawson to take on the Greenwave. Terrell is out to prove it belongs in the region championship conversation, although the combined record of the three teams the Greenwave have beaten is 1-12.
No. 7 Prince Avenue Christian (4-1, 1-0) at Athens Academy (3-1, 1-0): This game will go a long way toward deciding the Region 8 champion. In their respective region openers last week, Prince Avenue Christian trounced Athens Christian (2-3, 0-1) 50-10, and Athens Academy, last year's region champion, dominated Pinecrest Academy 35-7.
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