The race for the playoffs in Class 6A is fully under way now that Region 1 and Region 4 have begun their league schedules.
Twenty of the 56 teams remain unbeaten in region play, led by Mundy’s Mill’s 4-0 mark in Region 3, but more work remains for all of them.
Here are five of the most important games involving Class 6A teams this week. All games are Friday unless noted.
*North Forsyth at Lanier (Thursday): These are the two-highest rated teams other than defending champion Gainesville in Region 8, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings. North Forsyth is 2-0 in the region and tied for first place with Gainesville. Lanier is 1-1 after losing to Gainesville 35-0 last week, so the Longhorns must win this game to have any realistic hopes of finishing in second place and earning their first home playoff game since 2019. Lanier is 4-2 overall, matching its win total from each of the past three seasons. A victory by North Forsyth likely sets up a showdown with Gainesville on Oct. 27 to decide the region championship.
*Houston County at Northside-Warner Robins: Sixth-ranked Houston County (5-1, 0-1) will try to bounce back from a 44-35 loss to No. 4 Lee County in the teams’ Region 1 opener last week when it travels to Northside, which is projected by Maxwell as a 22-point underdog but is always a threat. Northside (3-3, 1-0) beat Tift County 35-34 last week and is tied for first place with Lee County and No. 2 Thomas County Central. Houston County will play Thomas County Central on Oct. 20 after an off week next weekend, and any loss the rest of the way likely relegates the Bears to a first-round road playoff game. Houston County won 21-17 last year.
*Hughes at East Paulding: East Paulding was 3-7 overall and 1-6 in region play last year, finishing in seventh place in the eight-team region. Now, the Raiders (4-2, 3-0) are tied for first. The toughest part of the schedule, however, begins this week as they face defending state champion Hughes (4-2, 2-1) and No. 3 Douglas County (6-0, 3-0) in back-to-back games. In a worst-case scenario, if East Paulding loses both games they’ll be tied for third place but in prime position to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Hughes would move into second place with a win but would need help to finish any higher since it lost to Douglas County.
*North Atlanta at Riverwood: These are two of the three teams in Region 4 that won their region openers last week. Eighth-ranked Marist, the defending region champion, is the other. North Atlanta is 6-0 for the first time in school history, and a victory this week almost certainly would set up a showdown with Marist on Oct. 19 that would decide the region championship. North Atlanta opened in 1991 and has never won a region title. Riverwood, the region’s fourth-place team a year ago, is projected by Maxwell to finish fifth this season and miss the playoffs, so an upset by the Raiders would go a long way toward improving their postseason chances.
*Rome at Sequoyah: These are two of the three teams that are 2-0 in Region 6 play. Creekview, which plays River Ridge this week, is the other. Rome has completely dominated the region the past two years, winning its eight league games by an average of 49.4 points per game, with none closer than a 30-0 victory over Creekview last season. The Wolves beat Sequoyah 52-0 last year on the way to their fifth region title in seven years. Sequoyah was the region’s No. 3 seed last year. The winner this week will retain at least a share of first place but will still have to take on Creekview (Sequoyah next week, and Rome on Oct. 27).
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