A look at the local high school football schedule for week eight

Published 12:01 am Friday, October 8, 2021

Northwest travels to Cedartown for region tilt

Northwest Whitfield (3-2, 1-0 Region 7-4A) earned a win over Central of Carrollton last week to open Region 7-4A play, and the competition gets tougher tonight for the Bruins as they travel to Cedartown (4-1, 1-0 Region 7-4A) tonight at 7:30 to take on the defending region champions.

Cedartown, which shut down Northwest 44-8 on the way to the region title last season, has been similarly great so far this year. The only loss for Cedartown was a 31-7 setback to Calhoun.

Georgia linebacker commit C.J. Washington, who also plays running back for Cedartown, leads a powerful Bulldog attack on both sides of the ball.

Quarterback Owen Brooker and the Northwest offense will need a big game to help the Bruins topple Cedartown.

Dalton welcomes Alexander for homecoming game as Cats search for region win

Dalton (1-5, 0-3 Region 5-6A) has played three games so far in a tough Region 5-6A schedule. Two have been one-sided losses — against Carrollton and Rome — and one was a near miss against South Paulding.

The Catamounts look for their first region win on Homecoming night as they welcome Alexander (4-1, 2-1 Region 5-6A) at 7:30.

Alexander has two region wins already, but both have come against two teams that don’t yet have a region victory in Paulding County and East Paulding. They took a 35-20 loss to undefeated Douglas County.

It’s been a feast-or-famine year for the Catamount offense. Dalton has scored 35 or more in three games, but have been held to 10, 15 and six in the other three. Quarterback Brady Pendley, running back Tyson Greenwade and wide receivers Journey Boston and Karim Page will look to rebound the offense after Dalton was held without an offensive score last week against Rome.

North Murray steps out of region play against Southeast

North Murray (3-2, 2-2 Region 6-3A) gets a break from Region 6-3A play tonight at 7:30. The Mountaineers will welcome Southeast Whitfield (1-6) as the Raiders aim to break a four-game losing skid.

It’s the Homecoming game for the Mountaineers, which have played four straight region games, their last a 34-13 loss at Rockmart. After the brief detour into non-region action against Southeast, North Murray closes with four region games.

Southeast, meanwhile, had some early-season offensive success but has struggled on that end since. A 48-28 win over Gordon Central in week three saw the Raiders pile up more than 400 rushing yards, but the Raiders have just 20 points combined in the four losses since, including two straight shutouts.

The usually-prolific Mountaineers are coming off their worst offensive output of the year in the loss to defending region champ Rockmart. After losing lead receiver Michael McDade for the season with a knee injury, Judson Petty and Jadyn Rice are hoping to step up the rest of the way for quarterback Seth Griffin.

Coahulla Creek puts improved region record to the test with home game against Adairsville

Coahulla Creek (4-2, 2-2 Region 6-3A) has already matched the school record for region wins at two in 2021, and the Colts have four games left to improve on that.

That starts tonight at 7:30, with a Region 6-3A home game against Adairsville (4-1, 2-1 Region 6-3A).

It’s a tough test for the Colts. The lone loss for the Tigers was last week in a five-point setback to undefeated Ringgold. Last year Adairsville romped 42-14 over Coahulla Creek in a Saturday game when the Colts were playing a rapid-fire schedule to make up for COVID-19 postponements.

After taking losses to two likely playoff teams in the region, Rockmart and North Murray, to start region play, the Colts have responded with two victories over Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and Murray County, but neither of those teams has won a region game yet.

Christian Heritage opens region play against Walker

Christian Heritage (2-4, 0-0 Region 7-A Private) got on track with a 41-0 win at Tennessee’s Lakeway Christian last week after a 1-4 start, and the Lions will try to keep that momentum going in the Region 7-A Private opener tonight at home against Walker (1-5, 0-0 Region 7-A Private).

It was a rocky start to the year for the defending region champion Lions, which lost several key contributors from last season’s squad, but Christian Heritage has a chance to get a strong start to the four-game region schedule against Walker.

The lone win of the year for Walker is against Community Christian, which doesn’t compete at the Georgia High School Association level, instead playing in the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

Murray looks to stop slide at Sonoraville

Last week against Coahulla Creek, Murray County (1-5, 0-4 Region 6-3A) got the nearest to a victory as it had since a 35-34 win over Southeast Whitfield in week one.

The Indians led 22-7 at halftime, but surrendered a 28-22 defeat.

Murray will keep looking to break its five-game losing skid tonight at 7:30 at Region 6-3A foe Sonoraville (3-2, 1-2 Region 6-3A).

Sonoraville earned its first region victory last week against winless Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 47-12. Prior to that, the Phoenix fell to Rockmart and North Murray.

Last year’s matchup between the two was a memorable one. Then senior Elber Romero booted a school-record 52-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Indians to a 27-24 win.