Several region matchups take centerstage in Week 9, with half of the top 10 enjoying a bye-week before the final few weeks of the regular season.
No. 2 Oconee County, No. 5 Pierce County, No. 7 Monroe Area, No. 8 Hart County and No. 10 Ringgold will not play this week.
But two Region 5 games should garner attention. Top-ranked Cedar Grove will travel to Salem looking to right the ship after the Saints almost pulled a state-shaking upset of Class 7A No. 7 Lowndes last week before losing 45-38. No. 3-ranked Sandy Creek will travel to Greater Atlanta Christian for the other Region 5 game. The Patriots are coming off a bye-week and stand tied with Cedar Grove (3-0) at the top of the region standings.
In Region 1, No. 4 Appling County (1-0) is tied atop the standings with No. 5 Pierce County. Appling will play at home against Tattnall County for Tattnall’s region-opener.
In Region 4, Thomson (3-0) should be tested against Burke County at home. Burke and Hephzibah are each 2-0 in the region behind Thomson. Burke County could make a huge statement and take over (or be tied for the top spot) in the region with an upset victory.
No. 9-ranked Rockmart (4-0) trails Ringgold (5-0) in Region 6, and the Yellow Jackets should pull even on the road against Murray County by virtue of Ringgold’s bye week. The Yellow Jackets beat Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 56-0 last week.
Here are the Maxwell Projections for Week 9. Follow the link to the Prep Scoreboard to keep up throughout the weekend.
Week 9 Class 3A top10 schedule
1. (1) Cedar Grove (4-2) Friday at Salem, 7:30 p.m. (5-3A Game)
2. (2) Oconee County (7-0) Off.
3. (3) Sandy Creek (6-0) Friday at Greater Atlanta Christian, 7:30 p.m. (5-3A Game)
4. (4) Appling County (7-0) Friday vs. Tattnall County, 7:30 p.m. (1-3A Game)
5. (5) Pierce County (5-2) Off.
6. (7) Thomson (6-0) Friday vs. Burke County, 7:30 p.m. (4-3A Game)
7. (8) Monroe Area (7-0) Off.
8. (9) Hart County (6-1) Off.
9. (10) Rockmart (5-1) Friday at Murray County, 7:30 p.m. (6-3A Game)
10. (NR) Ringgold (7-0) Off.
