Things are about to get serious in Region 7, the toughest league in Class 5A this season. The league, composed of schools from the northwest Georgia area, has had five of its six members ranked at some point this season. And since only four teams advance to the postseason, the process of whittling away begins this week.
The region opener features No. 4 Cartersville (5-0) traveling to play No. 7 Calhoun (4-1), one of the state’s perennial spotlight games. Dalton (4-1), who was ranked No. 10 two weeks ago before losing to Rockmart, hosts No. 5 Hiram (5-0). And Cass (3-2), which began the season ranked No. 9, will host an improved Woodland (2-3) team.
Last season Calhoun beat then No. 1-ranked Cartersville 50-48 in three overtimes last season to end a four-game losing streak in the series. Calhoun is led by all-state running back Caden Williams, who has committed to Liberty, and junior tight end Emaree Winston, a four-star prospect who is receiving offers from most SEC schools. Cartersville has three running backs with more than 225 yards – Khristian Lando, Richard Houston and Baylon Long – as well as quarterback Nate Russell, who has thrown for 620 yards and six touchdowns. Martavius Cochran leads the Cartersville defense with four interceptions and two cause fumbles.
Hiram is averaging 45.2 points and has played only one competitive game – a 52-49 shootout over East Paulding. The Hornets can attack through the air with quarterback Ryan Strickland (574 yards, six touchdowns) and receiver Chase Tyler (18 catches) and on the ground behind Kaden Hamilton (426 yards, nine touchdowns) and Da’Shaun Williams (364 yards, two touchdowns). Dalton features an experienced quarterback in Ethan Long and uses a running back-by-committee approach that features Bubba Tanner and Adriel Hernandez. Dalton beat Hiram 52-45 last season.
Cass features two all-state players – University of Georgia commit wide receiver Sacovie White and Devin Henderson, a Liberty commit who plays both ways. Other top defensive players include Jeremiah DeRoche, Kevin Henderson and Kaden Ellis. Top offensive players include running back Braylon Hill, tight end Chase Tatum, lineman Kail Ellis, and quarterback Brodie McWhorter. Cass beat Woodland 49-12 last year and has won four straight in the series.
Ola at Warner Robins: This will be a litmus test for both teams. No. 10 Warner Robins (2-3) was soundly beaten by Class 6A No. 3 Houston County last week, just one game after engineering a second-half comeback win over Dutchtown. Ola (5-0) entered the rankings at No. 9 this week and had an off-week to prepare for its Region 2 opener. The Mustangs have leveraged their stellar defense, led by Coastal Carolina commit Lendric Barber. to help a rather young offense put points on the board. Warner Robins won the first meeting between the two teams last year. 38-0.
Tucker at Decatur: A pair of 2-3 teams expected to be playoff contenders open the Region 4 schedule. Tucker has dropped three straight and Decatur has lost two in a row. Jordan McCoy leads Tucker with 674 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns, ranking No. 2 in both categories in DeKalb County, and quarterback Jamar Graham has thrown for 775 yards and five touchdowns. Decatur won last year’s meeting 53-29 and went on to win the region title.
Chattahoochee at Centennial: Their campuses are only six miles apart – let’s see, that’s about a three-hour drive, right – which makes this one of the fiercest rivalries in the area, regardless of their records. Chattahoochee is 1-4 under first-year coach Danny Carlisle. The Cougars have a talented two-way quarterback in Luke Priester, who has thrown for 723 yards and seven touchdowns and run for 218 yards and one touchdown. Receiver D.J. Avery has 26 catches and six touchdowns. New Centennial coach Adam Miller inherited a team that suffered heavy graduation losses from last year’s team that went 5-6 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Junior Hunter Campbell has thrown for 660 yards and four touchdowns, but the Knights (0-5) have allowed 249 points. The teams have played every year since 1998, with Centennial leading the series 12-9. Centennial won 41-21 last year.
Jefferson at Winder-Barrow: No. 3 Jefferson (5-0, 1-0) and Winder-Barrow (5-1, 1-0) are the top two teams in Region 8. Jefferson is led by all-state running back/linebacker Sammy Brown (664 yards rushing, 13 TDs, 55 tackles), junior quarterback Gavin Markey (482 yards passing, six touchdowns), juniors Jayden Yang (53 tackles), Rett Hemphill (48 tackles) and Skyler Zimmerman (41 tackles, five sacks). Winder continues to run the ball as its first option under new coach Robert Paxia. The Bulldoggs average 188 yards on the ground behind Demetrius Dowdy (659 yards, five touchdowns) and Xavier McCoy (399 yards). The intermittent series dates back to 1955. Jefferson has won the last three meetings, including 28-0 last season.
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