DALTON CATAMOUNTS (9-0, 6-0) at ALLATOONA BUCCANEERS (5-4, 5-1)
Storyline: If Dalton is to win its first region title in Class AAAAAA, it will have to overlook Allatoona's four losses. Those include respectable defeats to Class AAAA's top-ranked Cartersville and perennial power Sandy Creek. The Buccaneers did lose in blowout fashion to Region 6 member Harrison, which Dalton recently handled fairly easily (though in the friendly confines of Harmon Field). The Bucs prefer to do their damage on the ground, where RB Charles Anderson leads the way with 936 yards this season and Adrian Boyd is a solid No. 2 option with 533. QB Tate Tatum is dangerous enough, having passed for 900 yards and six scores. A good bit of Dalton's success over the second half of the season has been due to the team's more balanced offense. QB J.P. Tighe has passed for 1,439 yards, and RB Ahmaad Tanner has 961 yards and 15 touchdowns. What makes the Catamounts so dangerous is the playmaking ability of wideouts Zeke Cobb and Kyric McGowan, who have combined for right at 1,100 yards. The Dalton defense, led by LBs and leading tacklers Tucker Sumner and Matthew Howell, will try to make the Bucs beat them through the air.
HERITAGE GENERALS (6-3, 3-2) at PICKENS DRAGONS (5-4, 4-1)
Storyline: Expect a high-scoring game between two teams averaging more than 30 points per game. Heritage has had an extra week to prepare, and a win would move it into Region 6-AAAA's No. 3 seed for the state playoffs. QB Corbee Wilson has the best touchdown-to-interception ratio (24-to-3) in the area and a pair of talented targets in Ryan Carter and Luke Grant, who have a combined 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns . Pickens QB Jacob Brumby's numbers (1,200 yards, nine TDs) aren't quite as impressive, but he has a better rushing game supporting him thanks to Chris Pittman (961 yards) and Dylan Huffman (447). Can the Generals and a defense that has been shredded at times hold up?
RINGGOLD TIGERS (5-4, 3-1) at SONORAVILLE PHOENIX (6-3, 3-1)
Storyline: Contrasting styles meet in Calhoun for one of Region 6-AAA's four playoff spots. Sonoraville won the first meeting 42-21 as Ringgold's porous rushing defense was gashed for more than 300 yards. Both RB Tristan Key (186 yards) and QB Patrick Moore (144) had huge games, and they will be the focus for the Phoenix again tonight. Ringgold has one of the area's top offenses, led by a pair of super sophomores - QB Cole Kibler, who has more than 2,000 passing yards and 20 touchdowns, and elite WR Andre Tarver, who is closing in on 1,000 yards. Ringgold's chances revolve around its often-leaky defense finding a way to control Key and Moore.
CHATTOOGA INDIANS (6-3, 5-1) at PEPPERELL DRAGONS (7-1, 6-0)
Storyline: Chattooga should be close to full strength in this Region 7-AA title showdown. QB Isaac Foster has missed the past two games after undergoing an appendectomy. He and twin brother RB Isaiah Foster have combined for nearly 2,000 rushing yards and likely need to have big games tonight against the top 10-ranked Dragons. Pepperell benefited from the return of its own QB last week as Trevor Thomas, after missing one game, was 8-for-10 passing with two touchdowns in a win over Armuchee. The big cog in the Pepperell attack, though, is RB Tae Hammond, a 1,000-yard rusher who had 158 yards and four touchdowns on just eight carries a week ago. Chattooga's upset chances will depend on being able to contain Pepperell's speed advantage.
MOUNT PISGAH CHRISTIAN PATRIOTS (5-3, 4-3) at TRION BULLDOGS (5-4, 3-3)
Storyline: Mount Pisgah features one of Class A's most dangerous dual-threat QBs, Jacob Cendoya, a junior who has committed to play baseball at Troy and has more than 2,000 total yards. In an opening-week upset win over Holy Innocents', he put up nearly 500 yards. The Patriots have complementary playmakers in RB David Woodward and WRs Kai Williams and Connor Richey, but their biggest offensive advantage tonight may lie up front, where Parker Bishop and Chad Peden anchor a solid line. Trion played perhaps its best game of the season last week in a 42-14 win over rival Gordon Lee. QB Jarrett Gill was 12-for-12 passing with three touchdowns and set a single-game record for the program with 276 yards (146 to Evan Walker), and RB Jarrett Pierce showed he's healthy after missing a pair of games.