Only one high school football game in northwest Georgia tonight will decide a region championship, and it might be one of the area's most unlikely title tilts in recent memory.
In preseason projections, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe landed near the bottom of Class AAA and was picked no better than sixth in Region 6 - but as the regular season comes to its conclusion, the Warriors (7-2, 6-1) will visit Calhoun's Phil Reeve Stadium with the 6-AAA championship on the line. The host Yellow Jackets (9-0, 7-0) are ranked No. 1 in the classification and have won 17 straight region titles, with their most recent loss to a region opponent occurring in 2001, the year their streak of titles started.
Just two years removed from a 1-19 run in coach Bo Campbell's first two seasons, the Warriors will be heavy underdogs to Hal Lamb's Jackets, who have won three state championships this decade, including last year. Then again, Campbell knows what his team's odds were to be in this situation three months ago.
"I have learned to not tell these kids they can't accomplish something," Campbell said after last week's 19-9 win at North Murray. "Calhoun is a great team. We played them our first year at their place and they drilled us, so we want to go there and compete and see what happens."
Regardless of the outcome, Calhoun and LFO will host first-round games next week when the state playoffs begin and Haralson County is set at the No. 3 spot. As for the other berth from 6-AAA, there is much to be decided tonight - and maybe Monday.
Also, thanks to a GHSA rule, the region is likely to send five teams to the postseason instead of the traditional four, with one via an at-large berth.
North Murray would secure the No. 4 seed with a win at Sonoraville. A Sonoraville win and a Ringgold loss to Coahulla Creek gives Sonoraville the spot. Wins by Sonoraville and Ringgold would create a three-way tie for fourth that includes North Murray and would set up a mini playoff Monday night.
While the GHSA determines most of its Class A playoff berths via a power ratings system, in AAA and AAAAAAA the classification's final postseason spot is determined in similar fashion because each of those classes has one region with fewer than five teams. North Murray and Ringgold would be candidates for that at-large berth if outside the top four in the region, but the GHSA would have to rule on whether a mini playoff would impact power ratings.
In Region 6-AAAA, the four playoff qualifiers are set, with Pickens first and Ridgeland second. Northwest Whitfield is at Heritage tonight, with the winner third and the loser fourth.
In 7-AA, Chattooga visits Pepperell tonight, with the winner second and the loser third behind Rockmart, while the No. 4 spot will be awarded to the winner of tonight's Coosa at Gordon Central game.
In 6-A, it is region crossover week, which pits teams with similar subregion standings against each other. While Trion and Christian Heritage have clinched playoff berths, wins against Pinecrest Academy and Mount Pisgah Christian, respectively, would improve each team's power rating and could lead to home games in the first round of state.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.