The schedule will be light in Class 6A during Week 9 of the high school football season, with 31 of the classification’s 57 teams getting a bye week.
Among the teams with the weekend off are seven that either are tied for or have sole possession of first place in their regions. Those teams are Thomas County Central and Lee County of Region 1, Brunswick of Region 2, Hughes and South Paulding of Region 5, Rome of Region 6 and North Forsyth of Region 8.
Still, there a number of games this weekend that will have a significant impact on the playoff race. Here are four to watch:
*Evans at Effingham County: Effingham County, in its second season under head coach John Ford, hasn’t won a region title since 1995, but a victory this week would put the Rebels in sole possession of first place in Region 2, a half-game ahead of idle Brunswick. Effingham and No. 9 Brunswick will be favored in their remaining games, which would set up a showdown for the title on Nov. 4.
*Dunwoody at St. Pius: Dunwoody was 4-1 in non-region play but lost its league opener 42-3 to Marist, the region favorite. Next up for the Wildcats is St. Pius, the region’s other 1-0 team. The computer Maxwell Ratings’ projected St. Pius as a 25-point favorite, and if that holds true the Wildcats likely will need two wins in their final three games to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
*Creekview at Sequoyah: These teams are tied with River Ridge for second place in Region 6, a logjam that came about after Sequoyah lost to Rome and Creekview lost to River Ridge last week. The winner is in good shape for a playoff berth, but the loser will need to fend off Allatoona for a spot in the postseason. That’s particularly true for Sequoyah, which plays at Allatoona on Oct. 28.
*Alpharetta at Lassiter: Lassiter was unbeaten in Region 7 play until a 58-0 loss to No. 3 Roswell last week dropped the Trojans into fourth place. They’ll try to rebound against the region’s other remaining unbeaten team, Alpharetta. A win would be a big boost for the Trojans, but their game at Sprayberry on Oct. 28 likely will decide if they reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Week 9 schedule
Region 1
Houston County, Lee County, Northside-Warner Robins, Thomas County Central, Tift County, Veterans are off
Region 2
Evans at Effingham County
Grovetown at Glynn Academy
Lakeside-Evans at South Effingham
Brunswick is off
Region 3
Rockdale County at Woodward Academy
Alcovy, Forest Park, Jonesboro, Lovejoy, Morrow, Mundy’s Mill are off
Region 4
Dunwoody at St. Pius
South Cobb at Marist
Lakeside-DeKalb, North Atlanta, Riverwood are off
Region 5
Alexander, Douglas County, East Paulding, Hughes, New Manchester, Newnan, Paulding County, South Paulding are off
Region 6
Creekview at Sequoyah
Etowah at Woodstock
Allatoona, River Ridge, Rome are off
Region 7
Alpharetta at Lassiter
Johns Creek at Blessed Trinity
Roswell at Pope
Sprayberry is off
Region 8
Apalachee at Lanier
Habersham Central at Gainesville
Jackson County, North Forsyth, Shiloh are off
About the Author
