After four weeks during which region games were scare, the pace of those games in Class 6A will pick up dramatically in Week 5 of the high school football regular season.
Region 3 (home of No. 5 Woodward Academy), Region 5 (No. 1 Hughes) and Region 6 (No. 7 Rome) will have full schedules of league games this weekend, while Region 8 (No. 6 Gainesville) will get region play under way with two games.
Here’s a look at the region games being played this week and how they could shape the playoff races in those regions:
Region 3
Lovejoy and Morrow got an early leg up in the playoff race when they won region games on the opening weekend of the regular season. Lovejoy defeated Mundy’s Mill 25-0, and Morrow beat Forest Park 50-19. Now the other four members of the region will join the chase as there are four region games this week. To retain its share of the lead, Morrow faces the tough task of traveling to region favorite Woodward Academy, ranked No. 5. Lovejoy, which beat Jackson and lost to Crisp County and South Atlanta in non-region play, travels to Rockdale County. Other games include Jonesboro at Forest Park (Friday) and Mundy’s Mill at Alcovy (Saturday).
Region 5
Paulding County is in first place after a 41-21 victory over East Paulding last week in the only region game played so far. The overwhelming favorite, however, is top-ranked Hughes, which begins region play at home Friday against winless New Manchester. The Panthers won the 4-6A championship and were state runners-up in 2021. After Hughes, it figures to be a crowded, tight race for the other three playoff spots, so the three other games this week could have a major impact on the race. Those games include Paulding County at Newnan, Alexander at Douglas County and South Paulding at East Paulding. Hughes travels to Douglas County next week.
Region 6
Seventh-ranked Rome, the region favorite, has the week off and will get to see who its likely challengers will be after Sequoyah visits Etowah, Allatoona travels to Creekview and River Ridge plays at Woodstock. The Allatoona-Creekview matchup will be an intriguing one. Those teams were picked by the Maxwell Ratings’ preseason projections as the second- and third-best teams in the region, but both are 1-3 against tough non-region schedules. Both had big non-region victories last week, however, as Allatoona beat Class 7A Hillgrove 31-9 and Creekview defeated North Forsyth 35-7. Etowah is the only unbeaten team but still faces its toughest challenges.
Region 8
North Forsyth was tabbed the region favorite by the Maxwell Ratings’ preseason projections, but Gainesville has emerged as the team to beat. The Red Elephants (4-0), in their first season under former Hoover, Ala., coach Josh Niblett, have defeated Marist, Mountain View, Monroe Area and Clarke Central and head into Friday’s game at Apalachee ranked No. 6 in Class 6A. North Forsyth is 2-2 after a 35-7 loss to Creekview last week and opens region play against Jackson County (1-3). Habersham Central (at Forsyth Central), Lanier (at Mountain View) and Shiloh (at Archer) have non-region games Friday and will begin league play next week.
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