It is officially fall on the calendar, which at one point meant high school football teams were just getting settled into their seasons.
In 2024, however, it’s at least the halfway point for the majority of GHSA teams — in fact, a number of programs have played six games already — and for area programs in Northwest Georgia, there are numerous storylines playing out.
Here are a few of those as region play begins in full.
Haves and have-nots: Three area teams have yet to taste defeat, but five others are still trying to find a way to win. That’s half of the schools in the Times Free Press coverage area of Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Gordon, Walker and Whitfield counties.
Two of the unbeatens sit about seven miles apart in Chattooga County — Trion is 6-0, having yet to enjoy one of its two bye weeks, while Chattooga is 5-0 — and Northwest Whitfield has used one of the state’s stingiest defenses to start 5-0.