Friday night storylines: Christian Heritage hosts Gordon Lee for region test, Dalton aims to continue progress at Allatoona

Published 4:15 pm Thursday, September 19, 2024

Undefeated Northwest Whitfield hosts Gilmer to headline Friday night’s slate of local high school football, but several other local teams will be in action:

Christian Heritage pits three-game streak against Gordon Lee’s

After stumbling out of the gate with a 42-17 loss to Heritage, Christian Heritage has reeled off three wins in a row, including a 38-26 victory over Dade County in its Region 7-A DI opener last week.

The Lions will look to make it four in a row as Christian Heritage (3-1, 1-0 Region 7-A DI) hosts Gordon Lee (3-1, 1-0 Region 7-A DI) Friday night at 7:30.

The two region mates haven’t played any of the same region opponents yet early in the region schedule, but they do have a shared non-region opponent.

The Heritage team that cruised over Christian Heritage fell 38-28 to Gordon Lee.

Gordon Lee has bounced back from its own lopsided loss to begin the season, a 30-6 defeat by Trion, to record a three-game streak of its own. The Trojans trounced Armuchee 42-0 in their region opener last week.

The game is the first between Gordon Lee and Christian Heritage since 2019. The two teams played each year from 2012 to 2019, and Christian Heritage holds a 5-3 record against the Trojans.

Dalton aims to build on offensive performance at Allatoona

Dalton’s last game was a 43-13 loss to state power Cartersville, but there were encouraging signs, even in a blowout loss, for a young, 0-5 Catamount team looking to gain some footing.

The fledgling offense shook loose for 306 total yards, and freshman quarterback Caine Woods had 178 passing yards and a score and 106 rushing yards and a touchdown.

The Catamounts hope to build on their best offensive performance as Dalton (0-5, 0-1 Region 7-4A) travels to Region 7-4A opponent Allatoona (2-3, 0-1 Region 7-4A) Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Allatoona had its own defeat by a big margin in its region opener, a 45-7 loss to Cedartown.

Friday’s game will be the seventh meeting between new region mates Dalton and Allatoona, and the first since 2019. The pair shared a region from 2016 to 2019. Allatoona has won four of six games.

The game will be the fourth consecutive road game for Dalton, which finally returns to Harmon Field next week for a home game against Hiram.

North Murray takes 2-0 region start to Union County

After a 2-0 start to Region 7-2A play, North Murray will look to make it three in a row with a win over Union County.

The Mountaineers (3-1, 2-0 Region 7-2A) trek through the Blue Ridge mountains to Blairsville to play Union County (1-3, 1-1 Region 7-2A) Friday night at 7:30.

Union County is 1-3, but two of those losses came against state-ranked teams. The Panthers fell to Class A DI No. 5 Fannin County 42-7 and Class 2A No. 9 and Region 7-2A opponent Rockmart 26-12.

Both Union County and North Murray have played Murray County. Union defeated Murray 49-6, while North Murray pulled away after a 14-7 halftime lead for a 40-14 win over the Indians.

The game is the first meeting between the new Region 7-2A opponents.

Coahulla Creek hosts seven-time defending region champ Rockmart

After a game against Sonoraville in which it felt like a young Coahulla Creek offense figured out its “identity,” according to head coach Drew Carter, the Colts will go right back into the fire for a game against Region 7-2A power Rockmart.

The Colts (0-4, 0-2 Region 7-2A) host Rockmart (2-2, 2-0 Region 7-2A) Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

After being shut out in each of the season’s first three games, the Colts moved the ball well in a 28-7 loss to Sonoraville, finally getting into the end zone and reaching inside the Phoenix 20 on a few more drives.

But Rockmart, winners of seven consecutive region championships, will provide a tough task.

Rockmart sports a deceiving 2-2 record overall, with those two losses coming against state-ranked Class 4A schools in Cedartown and Cartersville. Rockmart defeated Ringgold in overtime to start region play, then knocked off Union County 26-12.

The game is the third between the two programs. The two shared a region in 2020 and 2021, with Rockmart winning both games.

Murray County travels to Sonoraville

After an encouraging first half last week against North Murray, Murray County hopes to put together its first region win as the Indians travel to Sonoraville.

Murray (1-4, 0-3 Region 7-2A) plays at Sonoraville (1-3, 1-1 Region 7-2A) Friday night at 7:30.

In that first half against North Murray, the Indians led 7-6 after a quarter and then trailed just 14-7 at halftime, but North Murray pulled away for a 40-14 victory.

Sonoraville picked up its first win of the year last week at Coahulla Creek 28-7.

The game is the seventh meeting between Murray and Sonoraville. Sonoraville leads 5-1, and the last Murray win was a 27-24 victory in 2020.

Southeast Whitfield hosts Mt. Zion for homecoming

After a road game at Northwest Whitfield last week, the Southeast Whitfield Raiders return home for homecoming.

The Raiders (0-5) host Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (2-2) Friday night at 7:30.

Southeast is searching for its first win, while Mt. Zion is 2-2 so far.

Mt. Zion started 0-2 with losses to Jonesboro and Lowndes, but a 20-12 win over Riverdale and a 20-14 victory over Stephenson brought the Bulldogs back to .500.

The game is the first matchup between the two schools.