Photo by Studio 7

In a battle for the best Class 4A team in Cobb County, undefeated Pope took on undefeated Kell in an important Region 5-4A battle last Friday. Pope almost pulled the upset against the Longhorns, but Kell was able to come away with a 35-21 win. Derek Cook’s bunch was able to do it with the running combination of Chris Gaines and Brian Randolph. Gaines rushed for 160 yards while Randolph rushed for 102 yards and three touchdowns. With the win, Kell is the only undefeated team in their region and Cobb County. They will continue their quest for a prefect season when they face Osborne Friday night. ...

Saturday night featured a special game at Hallford Stadium, as M.L. King took on Valdosta. Fans who saw the game live (either at the stadium or on gpb.org) got a treat because this game featured a lot of offense. With the help of quarterback Ryan Whilden, who threw for 343 yards and five touchdowns, Valdosta defeated the Lions 43-28. Out of the five touchdowns Whilden threw, two went to tight end Jay Rome and two went to wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell. But M.L. King’s quarterback Jonquel Dawson did not have a bad game either, throwing for 413 yards and three touchdowns. M.L. King drops to 3-2 and will face Luella Saturday for homecoming. ...

With the season at the halfway mark, region games are underway which means there will be some big matchups each week will have important playoff implications. One of the games to watch Friday night is Norcross taking on North Gwinnett in a Region 7-AAAAA contest. Norcross is having its best start to a season in four years and are having success by playing great defense and by using a strong running game. They will have their toughest test of the season Friday as North Gwinnett has been the hottest team in the state and with the leadership of QB/WR C.J. Uzomah, the Bulldogs look to not only take the region title, they look to win their first state championship. ...

Tucker, who has the inside track to win the Region 6-AAAA championship, will take on Mays in what could be tough test for the Tigers. Like Norcross, Tucker runs the ball well and has a great defensive unit led by James Vaughters. But the Raiders defense is just as good, as they have only given up 32 points in five games. ...
McEachern is another team that looks to be on track to win their region, but they will have to get by Hillgrove first. The Indians got one of the biggest wins of the season a few weeks back, defeating Lowndes at the last second and haven’t looked back since. In fact, they have put up 50 points in their last three games. Hillgrove is 4-1 and has looked good since moving from 4A to 5A. Quarterback Gage Henry will look to build on his 301 total-yard performance last week as the Hawks rolled past Harrison 21-0. ...

Another game to watch for this weekend that is not local is Valdosta taking on Lowndes where the winner will more than likely be the winner of Region 1-AAAAA. Valdosta comes into the game with a chip on their shoulder because Lowndes has been the more dominant team in the county over the past decade. The Vikings have won four state titles since 1999 while Valdosta, who has won 25 state titles in their storied history, hasn’t won one since 1998. The game will be played at Bazemore-Hyder stadium and over 12,000 fans are expected to be there for one of the best rivalries in the state, as well as the country. ...

Region tournaments for softball got underway at the beginning of the week which means the state tournament will begin Wednesday. In Class 5A, Collins Hill looks to be the odds on favorite to win the state title again with the team only losing two games in the regular season. Pitcher Kayla Floor has won over 10 games this season and pitched a shutout in the first game of the Region 7-5A tournament against North Gwinnett on Friday. Other teams that have a shot at taking down Collins Hill in the tournament are Brookwood, Parkview, Lassiter and Hillgrove. Over in 4A, Madison County is the top-ranked team in the coaches poll, but locally a team to watch for is Kell, who won the 5B-AAAA regular season region title and look like a team that can do some damage in the playoffs. Creekview is another team that can step up and take the 4A crown as they defeated Sequoyah over the weekend to win the Region 7-4A title.