Week 6 marks the halfway point of the regular season and there will be a total of 31 matchups to follow within Class A Division I—with all of the games scheduled for Friday, Sept. 20. Of these 31 games, there will be 24 total region matchups, and more notably, the slate will feature region openers in 14 of the 24 region matchups. All but Region 2 & 3 and 7 will have region openers this week. Region 2 is a 10-team region and will be in its fifth-straight week of heavy region action and Region 3′s five-team composition results in two more Friday nights before it opens region play on Oct. 4 for four-straight weeks of region contests. Region 7 enters its second week of region play. Despite being the smallest region in Class A Div. 1 with just five teams, Region 3 could fulfil the ‘save the best for last’ adage as Class A Div. 1′s No. 1 ranked Toombs County and Class A-3A Private No. 1 ranked Savannah Christian are on a collision course in their season finale before going their separate ways in the divided playoffs on quests for state crowns.
In Region 1, Berrien will be off on a bye this week before it visits Bacon County next Friday in its Region opener. The Rebels have gotten off to a tough 0-4 start this year under second-year head coach Ken Eldridge, but have yet to play a game within the classification after dropping down from Class 2A last season. Bacon County shares a common opponent with Berrien in Lanier County and scored a 41-40 win last Friday to improve to 3-1. Lanier County previously defeated Berrien 41-40 for context. Now, Bacon County, which has won three-straight since its 36-21 road loss to Class A Division II No. 6 ranked Clinch County in its opener will travel to No. 3 ranked Thomasville. The Bulldogs are also 3-1 heading into kickoff and had a bye last week after dropping a 48-10 loss to defending Class 6A state champion Thomas County Central. The Bulldogs’ three wins include a 35-12 win over Brooks County, a 40-7 defeat of Pelham and a 35-29 road win over Class 3A’s Cairo. No. 6 ranked Fitzgerald will host Worth County looking for the program’s 10th-straight win over the Rams in what will be the 20th all-time meeting. The third matchup to watch is Jeff Davis at Brantley County. The undefeated Yellow Jackets are off to a 4-0 start and are ranked for the first time since the 2021 season. As a result, Jeff Davis is the only remaining undefeated team in Region 1 and will take on an 0-4 Brantley County team that is coming off a bye and looking for their first win of the season, in addition to the first win under new head coach David Shores, who was hired after a 3-year stint at Brunswick High School this offseason.
In Region 2, Dublin opened the season ranked No 7 and has climbed all the way to No. 2 this week as it carries a 4-0 overall record and 3-0 region mark into its road trip to Jefferson County. The Fighting Irish and No. 7 ranked Dodge County are the lone unbeaten teams left in the massive 10-team region, but Northeast is still unbeaten inside region play and is currently ranked No. 10. ACE Charter at 3-1 and 2-2 Bleckley County are still capable of shaking up the playoff picture and can get that started this week. ACE Charter defeated Wilkinson County 51-14 last week and will take on Northeast. Bleckley County travels to Washington County and East Laurens hosts Dodge County. The fifth region matchup will be Southwest at Central Macon as both teams try to gain ground in the standings. Southwest defeated Central 37-0 last year to secure the No. 3 seed and also defeated ACE Charter in a 52-51 double-overtime game and needs a win to get its season going.
Savannah Christian will be on a bye this week before travelling to Class 4A No. 4 ranked Blessed Trinity next Friday and Vidalia is off before a daunting home matchup with defending Class 2A state champion Pierce County. The other three Region 3 teams will be in action and No. 1 Toombs County will host Hamilton County (FL) in the lone cross-state matchup this week. Savannah Country Day will visit Tattnall County and Swainsboro will visit Crisp County.
Region 4′s only ranked team and undefeated team Lamar County (3-0) will face Westside-Macon in non-region play, while the remaining three teams square off in region openers. Jasper County was the only team that wasn’t on a bye last week and is coming off a 10-7 win over Jackson ahead of its home game versus Towers. Putnam County will host McNair and Social Circle will host Utopian Academy in its opener.
Region 5 is split with three non-region games and three region openers this week. The region games will be King’s Ridge at Fellowship, Mount Vernon at Mount Pisgah and Wesleyan at St. Francis. In non-region play, Landmark Christian will host Lake Oconee Academy, Mount Paran will host Washington-Wilkes and Whitefield Academy will look to bounce back from its 27-20 loss to Darlington with its trip to St. Anne-Pacelli.
Region 6 has three openers to follow this week with Model at Bremen, Darlington at Haralson County and Temple at rival Pepperell. Pepperell was on a bye last week and at 0-4 is still looking for its first win under new head coach Brandon Haywood. Heard County will be off on a bye this week and will open region play next Friday at home against Haralson County.
In Region 7, No. 5 ranked Fannin County and Chattooga are both 4-0 and 1-0 in region play. Chattooga defeated Gordon Central 56-6 last week and will now host Armuchee, while Fannin County scored a 42-0 win over Coosa and gets set to visit Dade County. Gordon Lee and Christian Heritage are both 3-1 and will be the only matchup this week between teams that are 1-0 in region play. The final matchup will be Gordon Central and Coosa, who are both looking for a win after dropping last week’s openers.
Region 8 provides one of the most intriguing matchups in all the state this week with Athens Academy at Commerce. Athens Academy is 4-0 and ranked No. 4 in the Class A-3A Private poll, while Commerce has won two-straight games after the return of Jaiden Daniels from an ankle injury. This game is a contrast of styles with a potent passing game for Athens Academy and a wealth of riches in the talented Commerce backfield. No. 9 ranked Rabun County will visit 0-4 Banks County for its region opener and Elbert County will travel to 0-4 Oglethorpe County looking to build off last week’s big 24-21 win over Bremen.
Week 6 Schedule and Standings
REGION 1
Jeff Davis 0-0, 4-0
Bacon County 0-0, 3-1
Thomasville 0-0, 3-1
Fitzgerald 0-0, 2-1
Worth County 0-0, 2-2
Berrien 0-0, 0-4
Brantley County 0-0, 0-4
Friday, Sept. 20 (ALL REGION GAMES)
Brantley County vs. Jeff Davis
Ftizgerald vs. Worth County
Thomasville vs. Bacon County
REGION 2
Dublin 3-0, 4-0
Dodge County 3-0, 4-0
Northeast 3-0, 3-1
ACE Charter 3-1, 2-1
Bleckley County 1-2, 2-2
Washington County 1-2, 1-3
East Laurens 1-2, 2-2
Southwest 1-2, 1-3
Central-Macon 0-3, 0-4
Jefferson County 0-3, 0-4
Friday, Sept. 20 (ALL REGION GAMES)
Central-Macon vs. Southwest
East Laurens vs. Dodge County
Jefferson County vs. Dublin
Northeast vs. ACE Charter
Washington County vs. Bleckley County
REGION 3
Savannah Christian 0-0, 5-0
Toombs County 0-0, 4-0
Vidalia 0-0, 3-2
Sav. Country Day 0-0, 1-3
Swainsboro 0-0, 1-4
Friday, Sept. 20
Savannah Christian at Tattnall County
Swainsboro at Crisp County
Toombs County vs. Hamilton County (FL)
REGION 4
Lamar County 0-0, 3-0
Jasper County 0-0, 3-1
McNair 0-0, 2-2
Social Circle 0-0, 2-2
Towers 0-0, 1-2
Putnam County 0-0, 1-3
Utopian Academy 0-0, 0-4
Friday, Sept. 20
Jasper County vs. Towers
Putnam County vs. McNair
Social Circle vs. Utopian Academy
Lamar County vs. Westside-Macon
REGION 5
Sub Region A
King’s Ridge 0-0, 4-0
Wesleyan 0-0, 3-1
Mount Vernon 0-0, 2-1
Fellowship Christian 0-0, 2-2
Mt. Pisgah 0-0, 0-4
St. Francis 0-0, 0-4
Mount Bethel 0-0, 3-0 ++
Sub Region B
Landmark Christian 0-0, 3-1
Mount Paran 0-0, 3-1
B.E.S.T. Academy 0-0, 3-2
Whitefield Academy 0-0, 2-2
Walker 0-0 ,2-3
Friday, Sept. 20
Fellowship Christian vs. King’s Ridge Christian
Landmark Christian vs. Lake Oconee Academy
Mount Paran vs. Washington-Wilkes
Mount Pisgah vs. Mount Vernon
St. Francis vs. Wesleyan
Whitefield Academy at St. Anne-Pacelli
REGION 6
Temple 0-0, 3-1
Bremen 0-0, 2-1
Heard County 0-0, 2-1
Model 0-0, 2-2
Darlington 0-0, 1-2
Haralson County 0-0, 1-3
Pepperell 0-0, 0-4
Friday, Sept. 20 (ALL REGION MATCHUPS)
Bremen vs. Model
Haralson County vs. Darlington
Pepperell vs. Temple
REGION 7
Chattooga 0-0, 4-0
Fannin County 0-0, 4-0
Christian Heritage 0-0, 3-1
Gordon Lee 0-0, 3-1
Armuchee 0-0, 3-1
Coosa 0-0, 2-2
Gordon Central 0-0, 2-2
Dade County 0-0, 1-3
Friday, Sept. 20 (ALL REGION MATCHUPS)
Chattooga vs. Armuchee
Christian Heritage vs. Gordon Lee
Dade County vs. Fannin County
Gordon Central vs. Coosa
REGION 8
Athens Academy 0-0, 4-0
Rabun County 0-0, 3-1
Commerce 0-0, 2-2
Elbert County 0-0, 1-3
Providence Christian 0-0, 1-3
Banks County 0-0, 0-4
Oglethorpe County 0-0, 0-4
Friday, Sept. 20 (ALL REGION MATCHUPS)
Banks County vs. Rabun County
Commerce vs. Athens Academy Oglethorpe County vs. Elbert County
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