Region play is heating up for a handful of leagues, but plenty more area teams are still honing their skills in non-region play, and two of those battles will feature on the airwaves of Jacobs Media this Friday.
North Hall put together an impressive response to its season-opening loss last week, handling West Hall 24-10 to move to 1-1. Now the Trojans want to show that they have consolidated those gains against a Carrollton team still looking for its first win of the season in a game broadcast live on WDUN FM 102.9.
A traditional powerhouse, Carrollton (0-3) is coming off a 4-6 season that saw the program miss out on the state playoffs for the first time since 1989. Yet Carrollton was also 0-3 at the same point last season before handing North Hall a 46-10 defeat, so the Trojans know they must be at their best this week, as they face their final non-region foe of the campaign.
Meanwhile, West Hall (2-1) is looking to respond after last week's setback, and the Spartans will look to do so against the one team to hand them a non-region defeat last campaign.
West Hall will play host to North Oconee in a game broadcast live on WDUN AM 550.
The Titans (0-2) have had two weeks to recover from a tough start that included losses to Class AAAAA team Coffee (a playoff squad in 2014) and 2014 Class AA runner-up Greater Atlanta Christian, and the Spartans will expect a fired up and capable foe on Friday in Oakwood.
Warm-up games have long since disappeared in Region 8-AAAAA, with playoff positioning already starting to take shape. Gainesville picked up a key win last week at Winder-Barrow and knows that a victory this week over Apalachee will keep them in step with the race for the top that is shaping up with Lanier, Loganville and Salem all currently 2-0 in region play.
The Red Elephants (1-1, 1-0 Region 8-AAAAA) will play host to the Wildcats (0-3, 0-2) on a game broadcast live on 1240 AM ESPN Radio.
Speaking of region play, things will kick off for 8-AAAA on Friday when Buford (2-1) travels to face White County (0-3) in a game broadcast live on wrwh.com. The Wolves have had a week off after suffering a loss at McEachern, while the Warriors are coming off a near-miss at Pace Academy.
Also on Friday, Lumpkin County (1-2) will face its final non-region contest of the campaign when it plays host to Our Lady of Mercy (1-2) in Dahlonega. The Indians notched their first victory of the campaign last week, defeating Johnson, and will look to keep rolling in a game broadcast live by northgeorgiasportslink.com.
There are plenty more key contests on tap throughout northeast Georgia: Flowery Branch needs a win at Heritage; Commerce faces a big Region 8-A battle at Athens Academy; Union County and Fannin County will rumble in the mountains in an intriguing non-region battle; and Winder-Barrow will battle Loganville in a big 8-AAAAA showdown.
WEEK 4 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE, SEPT. 18
Apalachee at Gainesville -- Radio: 1240 AM
Banks County at North Cobb Christian
Buford at White County -- Radio: wrwh.com
Carrollton at North Hall -- Radio: 102.9 FM
Commerce at Athens Academy
Duluth at Mill Creek
East Hall at Jackson County
Flowery Branch at Heritage, Conyers
Franklin County at East Jackson
Habersham Central at West Forsyth
Johnson at Pickens
Lanier at Cedar Shoals
North Gwinnett at Collins Hill
North Oconee at West Hall -- Radio: AM 550
Our Lady of Mercy at Lumpkin County -- Radio: northgeorgiasportslink.com
Rabun County at Riverside Military
South Forsyth at North Forsyth
Towns County at Hebron Christian
Union County at Fannin County
Winder-Barrow at Loganville
