The rest of the schedule:
Bledsoe County (1-2, 0-1) at Notre Dame (2-1, 1-0)Chattanooga Christian (0-4, 0-1) at Sequatchie County (1-3, 0-1), 8Copper Basin (3-0, 0-0) at Silverdale Baptist (3-1, 0-1)East Hamilton (3-1, 1-0) at Brainerd (0-3, 0-1)East Ridge (0-3, 0-1) at Tyner (2-1, 1-0)Grace Baptist (1-3, 0-0) at Boyd-Buchanan (4-0, 1-0)Howard (0-3, 0-1) at Central (0-3, 0-1)Meigs County (0-4, 0-1) at McMinn Central (1-3, 0-1)Soddy-Daisy (1-2, 0-1) at Rhea County (1-3, 0-1)Signal Mountain (1-3, 1-0) at Grundy County (2-2, 1-0), 8Sweetwater (4-0, 0-0) at Polk County (3-1, 1-0)Walker Valley (3-0, 0-0) at Cleveland (2-2, 1-0)Whitwell (1-3, 0-1) at Lookout Valley (3-1, 0-1)GEORGIAHeritage (0-2) at Cass (1-1)LaFayette (0-1) at Cedartown (1-0)River Ridge (0-2) at Ridgeland (0-1)Northwest Whitfield (1-0) at Pickens County (1-0)Gilmer County (1-0) at Southeast Whitfield (0-2)Christian Heritage (1-1) at Coahulla Creek (1-1)Dade County (1-1) at Lakeview-F.O. (2-0)Ringgold (1-1) at Central Carroll (2-0)Gordon Central (2-0) at Murray County (0-2)North Murray (1-1) at Gainesville Johnson (2-1)Sonoraville (0-2) at Model (1-0)Darlington (0-2) at Chattooga (0-2)Carrollton (1-1) at Calhoun (2-0)Armuchee (0-1) at Gordon Lee (1-1)ALABAMAArdmore (2-0, 1-0) at North Jackson (0-2, 0-1), 8Ider (2-0, 1-0) at Westbrook Christian (1-1, 0-1), 8Sand Rock (2-0, 1-0) at North Sand Mountain (2-0, 1-0), 8Scottsboro (0-2, 0-1) at Gadsden Southside (2-0, 1-0), 8
The headliners for Friday, Sept. 14
(All kickoffs at 7:30 unless noted)
McMinn County (3-1, 1-0) at Ooltewah (2-2, 0-1)
An early peek: Both teams coming off losses, McMinn's Cherokees 23-10 to Farragut and the Owls 47-7 to Siegel. With a loss in the region already to Cleveland, Ooltewah can ill afford another 5-AAA setback if it hopes to make the playoffs. Siegel exposed some defensive weaknesses but the Cherokees are a run-first, pass-if-you-have-to team anchored by the backfield tandem of Dre Sanders and Kelvin Wells. McMinn will have to improve on its time of possession after letting Farragut ground-and-pound and keep the football twice as long as the Cherokees' offense had it.
Hixson (2-1, 1-0) at Red Bank (1-2, 1-0)
An early peek: Hixson's Wildcats got their heads above water -- and probably gained much needed confidence -- last week by knocking off previously unbeaten Marion County 36-27 with a major fourth-quarter rally while Red Bank was falling 33-22 on the road at unbeaten Walker Valley. The game was once one of the area's premier rivalries and might be once again with each program now in the hands of first-year guys: Jason Fitzgerald at Hixson and E.K. Slaughter at Red Bank. They know each other well from their days in Region 4A at Rhea County and Cleveland respectively and Slaughter's one year at Soddy-Daisy.
Marion County (3-1, 1-0) at South Pittsburg (3-0, 1-0), 8
An early peek: How long has it been since someone could possibly argue that there was a chance for the visiting Warriors? Possibly 1995, the last time they got off to a 3-0 start. Marion let one slip through its fingers last week, surrendering three fourth-quarter TDs in a 36-27 loss to Hixson while the Pirates were blowing by Sequatchie County 49-7. The 49 points, though, is the fewest South Pittsburg has scored this season. They put up 58 against Grundy County in the season opener and followed that with 69 at Lookout Valley, giving them a 58.7 per-game average. However, last Friday was the first game an opponent had failed to score at least 20 points. Last time Marion won was 2005 (13-12).
Headliners on the road:
Baylor (3-1, 1-1) at Ensworth (4-0, 1-0), 8
McCallie (1-2, 0-1) at Father Ryan (2-2, 0-1), 8:30
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765.