Prep football teams across the state are closing in on the mid-point of their 2014 schedules. This is week five of twelve regular season weeks and a few teams will play their fifth game of the season while many other teams across the state will play their third game this weekend. For those teams which have played only two games, it will be a brutal stretch ahead since they have already enjoyed their open dates.

2014 will be remembered as the year of surprise teams who are getting off to great starts. Then, there are many other teams who were expected to dominate their classifications, but are getting off to a slow start. Heading into this weekend’s games, Region 1-AAAAAA is undefeated. Colquitt County, Camden County, Lowndes, Valdosta, Tift County and Lee County are all unbeaten. Four of those teams are in the top ten while Tift County is also receiving votes in the weekly polling.

Milton has to be one of the biggest surprises of the season thus far after shutting out defending champion Norcross 26-0. That effort a couple of weeks ago moved the Eagles into the AAAAAA top ten at No.8. This team finished 8-3 a year ago and can make a deep run into the playoffs this season based on their performance thus far. They’ve taken the past two weeks off and now head into the teeth of a very difficult schedule.

One of the preseason favorites in AAAAAA was Archer, 11-1 a year ago but now, 0-3. This group of Tigers has lost their first three games by a total of 16 points. They lost to Sandy Creek, one of the Class AAAA’s top teams in their season opener, 21-13, and then added a pair of 14-10 losses to their ledger at the hands of Peachtree Ridge and Grayson. The Tigers take the week off this week before returning to action, and I feel that they will rebound from a winless start and be in the hunt for a state title when the statewide playoffs get underway.

In Class AAAAA, Northside-Warner Robins and Ware County are off to great starts. The top-ranked Eagles from the mid-state have rolled to three victories thus far, opening the season with a big win over North Cobb, 38-20 and then topping Evans and Lakeside-Evans, 38-6 and 38-7 respectively. Ware County has proved their mettle with wins over Coffee last week 24-21, and a 23-7 win over one of Florida’s top teams Manatee from Bradenton on August 29th. Class AAAAA will be a dog fight all the way to the title game the second week in December.

Buford, Sandy Creek and defending champion Griffin are atop the latest poll in Class AAAA and all three are capable of winning a title in 2014. Marist, one of the premier football programs in the state is right behind those three in the polls, but equal in tradition and the ability to win titles.