The Rome Wolves football team will have a chance to avenge its only loss of the 2022 season Friday when it hosts Carrollton in an 8 p.m. game at Barron Stadium that will be televised by Peachtree TV.
Rome, currently 2-0 and ranked No. 7 in Class 6A, lost to Carrollton 23-6 last year after a similar 2-0 start. The Wolves rebounded the following week with a 30-28 victory over Pebblebrook that ignited a 12-game winning streak, which ended with a loss to eventual state champion Hughes in the semifinals.
Carrollton of Class 7A went on to a 10-0 regular season and reached the state championship game, losing to Mill Creek 70-35. This year, Carrollton has lost to Hughes (39-34) and defeated South Paulding (49-0) and is ranked No. 5 in its class.
Both teams have standout quarterbacks.
Carrollton’s Ju Ju Lewis, the nation’s top-ranked sophomore prospect, has passed for 4,545 yards in 17 career games. He has committed to Southern Cal. Rome’s Reece Fountain has passed for 6,725 yards and 60 touchdowns in his career.
“Rome-Carrollton is a huge rivalry,” Fountain told the AJC’s Todd Holcomb. “Both programs are big-time programs. I have a ton of respect for Coach [Joey] King and the Carrollton program.”
Carrollton leads the series 5-4. This will be the sixth meeting in which both teams are ranked.
Here are some of the other top games this weekend involving Class 6A teams. All games are Friday unless noted.
*Camden County at Glynn Academy: Class 7A Camden County should provide a test of how Glynn Academy might fare in Region 2-6A play. Last year, Brunswick defeated Camden and went on to win the region title, while Glynn lost to Camden the following week and finished in third place. Brunswick defeated Camden County 21–17 last week. The Wildcats have won five straight against Glynn Academy in a series they lead 18-5.
*Creekview at Calhoun: Creekview started the season 0-3 last year but has avenged two of those losses with victories over Cambridge (41-14) and Hillgrove (31-9) the past two weeks. Now the Grizzlies will try to make it a sweep when they take on Class 5A Calhoun, which won 26-21 last year. Calhoun lost its opener 17-7 against Blessed Trinity but rebounded with an impressive 40-18 victory over Class 3A No. 6 Carver-Atlanta.
*Northside-Warner Robins at Warner Robins: Warner Robins has won six consecutive games in this high-profile series, which it leads 40-25. Chase Reece scored the winning points in last year’s 17-10 game with a 15-yard run in overtime. Warner Robins, No. 3 in 5A, was off last week after a 26-19 loss to Class 6A No. 4 Lee County in the opener. No, 9 Northside is 2-0 after wins over Jones County and Peach County.
*Savannah Christian at Marist: This first-time meeting was set up when both teams’ 2022 opponents did not re-sign. Class 3A No. 5 Savannah Christian (2-0) is led by DL Elijah Griffin, the nation’s consensus No. 1 junior recruit. Class 6A No. 10 Marist is 1-1 after losing to Woodward Academy and defeating Pike Road, Ala. Savannah Christian has never beaten a top-10 opponent from a higher class since joining the GHSA in 1988.
*Thomas County Central at Bainbridge: Eighth-ranked Thomas County Central (2-0) was the surprise of Class 6A when it won Region 1 a year after going 5-6 in 4A. One of its 10 regular-season victories was a 35-14 win over Bainbridge that ended a five-game losing streak in the series. Thomas County Central’s Jaylen Johnson passed for 294 yards and Trey Benton rushed for 142 in a 45-7 victory over rival Thomasville last week.
*Hughes vs. Butler, N.C. (8 p.m. Saturday, Lakewood Stadium): Defending Class 6A champion Hughes will face a North Carolina opponent in the finale of the six-game C1N Labor Day Classic. The event will begin with two games Friday at Grayson and four games Saturday at Lakewood, including Mays vs. Rabun Gap at 5 p.m. Butler (1-1) is the No. 13-ranked team in North Carolina’s Class 4A, according to MaxPreps.
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