East Coweta, Stephenson enter 'round-robin juggernaut'

East Coweta coach Clint Wade calls it the ‘’round-robin juggernaut.’’

It’s the name for what his 7-0 team is about to face -- a remaining schedule that includes No. 5 Stephenson (7-0, 4-0), M.L. King (5-2, 4-0) and county-rival Newnan (4-3, 3-1) in Region 2-AAAAA.

All three teams have been ranked at one time this season. East Coweta, off to its best start since 2001, is No. 10 in Class AAAAA, the school’s first ranking since 2004.

Stephenson, East Coweta’s opponent Friday night in Sharpsburg, also must play Newnan and M.L. King in a region race that is as undecided as any in the state.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to be successful to this point, but we’ve got a heck of a challenge ahead,’’ Wade said. “It’s like a murderers row.’’

East Coweta is largely unproven, although a win on the road against Newton earlier this month was nice. The defense was expected to be good, but East Coweta lost nine starters on offense, including Tay Willis, who rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and scored 29 touchdowns in 11 games.

Though East Coweta remains primarily a running team, the improvement at wide receiver with speedsters Eddie Morris and Rodriguez Barner and quarterback with the tag team of Zach Hutcheson and Garrett Schrepfer has made the team more versatile than a year ago.

“We were very one-dimensional last year,’’ Wade said. “We had Tay Willis, and he was our whole offense. This year, we’re spreading it around and getting ball in the perimeter. It’s helping a bunch.’’

Perhaps no team lost as many top-notch players as Stephenson, which sent 29 seniors from its 2009 team to college football. But just as many college prospects populate the 2010 roster.

Willie Davis and Mike Davis, a pair of halfbacks in Stephenson’s Wing T, have rushed for more than 100 yards in each of the past three games.

Both Wade and Stephenson coach Ronald Gartrell have said they appreciate having the lighter portion of their schedules early. It has given them time to find themselves.

Now, they are two of the three unbeaten teams in Class AAAAA (North Gwinnett is the other), each looking for a signature win.