This week's high school football games at a glance
The local high school football games for this Friday include one of the state's most anticipated games of the year as Cartersville hosts Sandy Creek. Adairsville will entertain Sonoraville in a key region clash in 6-AAA that could ultimately decide a state playoff berth. Meanwhile, Cass will look to keep its slim playoff hopes alive with a trip to East Paulding. Woodland has a bye week.
SANDY CREEK PATRIOTS (6-0, 2-0) at CARTERSVILLE HURRICANES (7-0, 3-0)
A pair of unbeaten teams will square off Friday night at Weinman Stadium as Class 4A 2nd-ranked Cartersville hosts Class 4A 4th-ranked Sandy Creek. Cartersville routed LaGrange last week 45-2 behind 15-of-23 passing by quarterback Tee Webb for 296 yards and four touchdowns. Kyler Johnson caught six passes for 116 yards and two of the scores.
Meanwhile, Sandy Creek utilized a 20-for-27 passing game by quarterback Matt Williams to beat Chapel Hill 45-24. Williams finished with 302 yards passing and two touchdowns. Rashad Amos rushed for 131 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries. Brian Branch hauled in six passes for 119 yards and Jaden Downey returned an interception for a Patriots’ touchdown.
Sandy Creek has a playoff-storied program, but that history has not been as affluent in the series with Cartersville. Under the father-son tandem of head coaches Rodney Walker and Chip Walker, Sandy Creek won eight region titles between 2003 and 2013, including state championships in Class AAAA in 2009 and 2012 and a Class AAA title in 2010. Current Patriots head coach Brett Garvin is 18-9 in his third season as the top man at Sandy Creek. The Patriots were 5-5 and 7-4 in his first two seasons. This is his first head coaching job and he has Sandy Creek 6-0 for the first time since 2014.
Friday will mark the seventh time Cartersville and Sandy Creek have squared off on the gridiron since the series started in 2006. The average win margin has been 20 points although a 63-0 win by the Canes in 2017 skews those results. Cartersville won 7-0 last year in Tyrone and also had a 35-31 playoff win over the Patriots in 2014 along with a 17-16 win at Sandy Creek in 2007.
Projections:
CalPreps — Sandy Creek by 14
Massey — Cartersville by 3
Maxwell — Cartersville by 3
Broadcast: WBHF-Cartersville (100.3 FM / AM1450) Also available on wbhfradio.org and via the TuneIn app for your smart device.
CASS COLONELS (3-4, 2-3) at EAST PAULDING RAIDERS (0-6, 0-4)
The Colonels fell flat last week in their effort to stay atop the contenders for the final playoff spot in Region 7-AAAAA. The 31-0 setback at home to Hiram gives Cass three consecutive losses after the Colonels won three straight in September. In order to make the playoffs now, Cass likely needs to win their final three games and have Hiram drop their last four. That may sound incredibly unlikely, but the Hornets have Villa Rica, Rome, Kell, and Carrollton remaining on their schedule. Cass has Kell and Paulding County remaining after this week. Friday night Cass travels just down the road a piece to East Paulding to take on a winless Raiders team. This is not your typical 0-6 team, however. East Paulding lost a one-point game at Upson-Lee to start the year and fell to a 5-1 Class AAAAAAA North Paulding team in their other non-region game. In Region 7-AAAAA action, the Raiders have lost to the four teams currently at the top of the standings — Carrollton, Rome, Kell, and Hiram. Billy Shackleford is the veteran head coach at East Paulding. He had the Raiders in the state playoffs Sweet Sixteen last season and was 11-11 in his first two seasons at the school. Previously, Shackleford was 51-53 in 10 seasons at Sprayberry between 2007 and 2016. This will be the eighth all-time meeting between Cass and East Paulding on the gridiron. Cass won the first three matchups in 1998-2000. The Raiders won in 2001 and in 2016-2018 to lead the series 4-3. East Paulding won last year’s game at Cass, 33-21.
Projections:
CalPreps — Cass by 7
Massey — East Paulding by 14
Maxwell — East Paulding by 6
Broadcast: The Johnny's NY Style Pizza Bartow County Game of the Week on bartowsportszone.com. Pregame coverage begins at 6 p.m. covering all four local games. Kickoff at 7:30 p.m. Click on the green 'Listen Live' button on the header of this website. You can also use THIS LINK to LISTEN to this week's game beginning at 6 p.m. -- https://www.meridix.com/event/157153
SONORAVILLE PHOENIX (3-3, 2-2) at ADAIRSVILLE TIGERS (3-4, 2-3)
This will be a crucial meeting between two teams coming off losses last week. They each lost to teams in strong contention for playoff spots in Region 6-AAA and this appears to be a head-to-head battle for the fourth and final playoff slot in the region. Sonoraville fell to Haralson County 32-20 last week while Adairsville dropped a 39-14 decision to Calhoun. With North Murray ahead of both Haralson County and Calhoun in the region standings, the final playoff spot will likely be determined by Friday’s winner. Following Friday’s showdown, Adairsville will have Murray County and Ringgold remaining on the schedule. Those two opponents are still looking for their first region win of the year. Sonoraville will have a much tougher schedule with LFO, Coahulla Creek, and North Murray remaining. This will be the 14th meeting between the Tigers and the Phoenix with Adairsville winning ten of the previous thirteen dating back to the 2006 season. Sonoraville has won two of the last three, however, including last season’s 14-10 win in Gordon County. The Phoenix also won 35-0 in 2016. The Tigers won the 2017 matchup at Sonoraville, 35-25. Sonoraville’s Denver Pate is 11-15 in his first head coaching job. The Phoenix have gone 4-6 in his first two seasons. Adairsville head coach Eric Bishop is 44-30 in his seventh season at the helm of the Tigers. Adairsville is looking to return to the state playoffs after missing last season. The Tigers made the playoffs in six of seven seasons between 2011 and 2017.
Projections:
CalPreps — Sonoraville by 14
Massey — Sonoraville by 6
Maxwell — Adairsville by 1
WOODLAND WILDCATS (1-6, 0-5) have a bye week
The Wildcats dropped a 47-0 decision at Class AAAAA 2nd-ranked Carrollton last week for their sixth straight loss. Woodland will host Villa Rica October 25.
