There’s about a month remaining in the high school football regular season, but the picture in the races for region titles and playoff berths is already coming into focus.
Those pictures will become even more clear this weekend, as several games will have a major impact on those races. Three of those games will match teams that are unbeaten in league play, establishing front-runners for the titles heading into the final four weeks before the playoffs.
Here are five of the most important games involving Class 6A teams this week. All games are Friday unless noted.
*Northside-Warner Robins at Houston County (Thursday): These are two of four teams from the region that are ranked in GHSF Daily’s six-poll composite rankings. The others are Lee County and Thomas County Central. Northside has won the past two games against Houston County and leads the series 21-3. Houston County (5-1, 0-1) lost to Lee County in the teams’ region opener last week, and a loss to Northside would leave the Bears with work to do to qualify for the playoffs out of the always-tough region. Northside (4-2, 1-0) has won three straight since an overtime loss on Sept. 2 against Warner Robins, a team Houston County beat 28-8 three weeks later.
*Lakeside-Evans at Brunswick: Brunswick was expected to be in the hunt for the Region 2 championship this season. The Pirates (6-0, 2-0) finished 11-1 last year and rolled to the region title, and they have extended their regular-season winning streak to 19 with their hot start. Lakeside has been more of a surprise. Although the Panthers have made the playoffs six consecutive times, they lost in the first round each season and finished with a winning record just once in that span. Lakeside (3-2, 1-0) got a big win last week, however, when it beat rival Evans 21-20 in its region opener. Effingham County (4-2, 2-0) is the other unbeaten team in Region 2 play.
*Douglas County at Paulding County: South Paulding and Hughes are tied for first place in Region 5, each at 3-0 in league play, but Douglas County and Paulding County sit just behind them at 2-1. The Maxwell Ratings are projecting that those four teams will make the playoffs, so this game ultimately could be important for seeding. Paulding County lost to South Paulding 48-35 last week, and Douglas County lost to Hughes 48-3 on Sept. 23. Paulding County is 4-2 overall, its most wins in a season since 2017, when the Patriots made their most recent playoff appearance. Douglas County reached the playoffs in four of the past five seasons.
*Sequoyah at Rome: Sequoyah opened the season with three consecutive losses but comes into this game on a three-game winning streak that includes Region 6 victories over Etowah (18-7) and River Ridge (13-7). The Chiefs are tied for first place with sixth-ranked Rome and Creekview and will face both in their next two games. Rome has the No. 8 offense in Class 6A, averaging 35.5 points per game, and the No. 6 defense (allowing 12.67). The Wolves have won their two region games against Allatoona and Woodstock by a combined score of 112-19. Rome was a state champion in 2016 and 2017 and is seeking its fifth region title in seven years.
*Roswell at Lassiter: These two teams and Alpharetta are the last unbeaten teams in Region 7 play. Lassiter’s 23-20 victory over Johns Creek in its region opener last week was a big first step in its bid to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2017. The Trojans’ 3-2 start overall is their best since the 2017 team opened the season with four consecutive victories. Third-ranked Roswell (5-1, 2-0) is coming off a big victory of its own, defeating then-No. 10 Blessed Trinity in the first meeting of the schools that are a mile apart. Alpharetta (4-2, 2-0) has the week off, so the winner of this game will emerge no worse than tied for first place.
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