Ridgeland High School’s Ivy Boehm (10) hands the ball off to Ridgeland High School’s Chris Henderson (45) in this file photo.Some of their situations may seem dire, but the great majority of football teams in the northwest Georgia area still have postseason lives to play for with three Friday nights to go in the regular season.
In Region 7-AAAA only Cartersville has clinched a playoff berth and only LaFayette is officially out. In fact, six teams can still decide their own fate, including a pair of teams sitting at 1-3 in league play, Ridgeland and Northwest Whitfield, that square off tonight in Rossville.
“I think Northwest and us are in the same boat in that we have to win out, but right now we’re just worried about surviving Friday night,” Ridgeland coach Mark Mariakis said.
Added Northwest coach Josh Robinson, whose team has played in recent weeks with seven starters sidelined with injury, “Us, Ridgeland, Heritage and Southeast all control our own destinies, and after the injuries we’ve been hit with I guess that’s all you can ask.”
Gilmer County and Pickens County each sits at 3-1, with Southeast Whitfield and Heritage at 2-2 in a league that will take at least four wins to advance. Of note is that Ridgeland’s one win was over Pickens, while Heritage defeated Ridgeland and Southeast beat Heritage. Heritage’s Generals face both Pickens and Gilmer, so second place is still within reach.