Cartersville leads the all-time series 31-6-1. The Purple Hurricanes won last year’s game 21-14 to claim the region’s championship.
Eastside at Loganville, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Loganville (6-0, 2-0) has plenty of weapons to use. Quarterback Johnny Crowe, a transfer from Eastside, threw for 713 yards and 13 touchdowns and running back Solomon Leslie has 907 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Nico Dowdell has 13 receptions and eight have gone for touchdowns. Jason Eligwe leads the defense with 42 tackles, 10 for loss.
Eastisde (5-1, 1-0) relies on the steady hand of quarterback E’sean Arnold, who threw for 354 yards and rushed for 167 yards, and dependable running back Kenai Grier, who has 628 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Eagles prefer to run the ball behind their line, led by center Marcus Metcalf. Eastside’s defense includes point guards Jean Claude Joseph III and D’von Duplessis.
Eastside have won three straight against Loganville, but all have been close, including last year’s 10-9 win.
Winder-Barrow at Jefferson, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. The 9th-ranked Dragons (3-2, 1-0) flexed their defensive muscle again last week in a 17-7 win over Clarke Central. It was the third straight game that Jefferson’s defense held the opposition to single-digit points. Sammy Brown, who stands out both ways, leads the veterans’ defense with 44 tackles and paces the offense with 636 yards and nine touchdowns. Quarterback Max Aldridge threw for 709 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 108. Winder-Barrow (3-2, 0-1) revolves his offense around running back Tyreek Hall, who has 828 yards and nine touchdowns . The Bulldoggs like to keep him on the ground – they average 246.6 rushing yards. The two clubs started playing in 1955 but haven’t met since 2015.
Cambridge at Greater Atlanta Christian, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. This game – a potential shootout – should have a big impact on the Region 6 standings. Both teams enter with identical 3-2 records and each has won its league opener. It could be a real shootout. Cambridge has one of the deepest offensive lines in the region, which is why the Bears are averaging 217 rushing yards per game. Christian Isibor (657 yards, eight TDs) gets most carries, and quarterback Preston Clemmer (297 rushing yards, three TDs; 606 passing yards, eight TDs) is a two-way threat. GAC likes to move it through the air behind quarterback Jack Stanton (869 yards, nine TDs), who has great targets in Braylen Burgess (20 catches) and Xavier Daisy (12 catches, 22.1 average, four touchdowns ). This is the first meeting between the schools.
King vs. Chamblee at North DeKalb, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Chamblee will celebrate his homecoming in the Region 4 opener. Chamblee (3-1) has the most prolific offense in DeKalb County and got great production from QB Fabian Walker (804 yards, 13 touchdowns ) and receiver Jordan Thornton (20 catches), who became the school’s all-time leading receiver earlier this year. Larry Harris (260 rushing yards) is a reliable fullback, and Walker has also rushed for 146 yards. King (1-4) is led by junior quarterback Antonio Anderson (267 passing yards, 253 rushing yards.) This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
Lithonia vs. Arabia Mountain at Hallford Stadium, Thursday, 7 p.m.: Arabia Mountain (2-3) is looking to continue building its playoff record against Lithonia (0-5) winless in the Region 4 opener for both teams. Arabia Mountain is led by quarterback Julian Shanks (459 passing yards, six touchdowns) and running back Solomon Rayton (500 rushing yards, three touchdowns). Lithonia is led by quarterback Amante Hardin, who threw for 454 yards and rushed for 142. Arabia Mountain leads the series 4-3 and has won the last two games, including the 20-9 decision in 2021 .
Hurricane Ian has a huge impact on the calendar
With heavy rain expected on Friday due to Hurricane Ian, most Class 5A schools have changed their schedules. The majority of matches have been moved to Thursday. Here is a region-by-region overview.
Check back later for updated information as decisions are still being made. (Last update Wednesday at 5 p.m.)
Region 1: The region took a break with the weather. All league teams are absent.
Region 2: Only two games were scheduled and both were moved to Thursday at 7:30 p.m. – Jones County at Eagle’s Landing and Warner Robins at Ola.
Region 3: The Harris County game at Sandy Creek is rescheduled for Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Heard County-McIntosh game remains scheduled for Friday.
Region 4: The Arabia Mountain-Lithonia match is Thursday at 7 p.m. at Hallford Stadium and the King-Chamblee match is Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at North DeKalb Stadium. The Tucker at Decatur game remains Friday.
Region 5: The Mays game at Creekside will move to Thursday at 8 p.m. at Henderson Stadium and the Banner game at Tri-Cities will be Thursday at 8 p.m. The Chapel Hill match at Maynard Jackson is on Saturday. Remain Friday Midtown at Temple and Villa Rica at Lithia Springs.
Region 6: All three games have been moved to Thursday – Centennial at Chattahoochee (7:30 p.m.), Cambridge at Greater Atlanta Christian (7 p.m.) and Northview at North Springs (7:30 p.m.).
Region 7: All three games have been moved to Thursday – Calhoun at Cartersville (7:30 p.m.), Dalton at Hiram (7 p.m.) and Cass at Woodland (7:30 p.m.).
Region 8: All three games have been moved to Thursday – Clarke Central at Flowery Branch, Winder-Barrow at Jefferson and Eastside at Loganville. Everything will start at 7:30 p.m.
