One of the premier rivalries in northeast Georgia will take place this week when Calhoun travels to Cartersville. It’s also the first broadcast of the year for GPB’s Football Fridays in Georgia.

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This is the seventh straight meeting where both teams have been ranked in the top-10 of their respective classification.

Cartersville, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 4A, is off to a 3-0 start after trouncing Hapeville Charter 42-6 last week. Calhoun, the reigning state champion and No. 1 team in Class 3A, is 2-0 and looked strong in last week’s 35-17 win over Westminster.

Cartersville leads the series 33-7-1 and has won the last two meetings, including 21-17 in 2024. Cahoun’s last victory came in 2022, a 50-48 triple-overtime thriller that was also broadcast on GPB Sports.

Kickoff from Sam Reimann Stadium in Cartersville will be at 7 p.m. The game can be viewed on GPB-TV, as well as the GPB Sports app.

Four other top games this week include:

Douglas County at Hughes: This is one of the biggest regional rivalries in the Atlanta area between schools from different counties. Only about 20 miles separate the two campuses. And the football teams are both among the best in the state.

Douglas County (3-0) is No. 3 in Class 6A. The Tigers are coming off a 27-21 win over Newton. Hughes (2-0) is the No. 2 team in Class 5A; it had last week off after trouncing Mays 42-7. The Panthers won a state championship in 2023 and lost in the title game a year ago.

Hughes leads the series 6-5, but Douglas County won the last two games, including 21-14 in 2024.

Thomasville at Thomas County Central: Bragging rights will be the line when the rivalry is renewed for the 58th time. Thomas County Central leads the series 29-28 and the Yellow Jackets have won the last three, including 45-7 in 2024.

Thomas County Central (3-0) is the No. 1-ranked team in Class 5A. The Yellow Jackets, who won a state championship in 2023, are coming off a 79-14 win over Florida High School of Tallahassee. Thomasville (3-0) is ranked No. 2 in Class A Division I. The Bulldogs are coming off a 42-23 win over Cairo.

Houston County at Warner Robins: The two county rivals meet in a big non-region game. Warner Robins leads the series 18-8  and won last year’s game 54-44 to end a two-game losing streak to the Bears.

Houston County (3-0) is ranked No. 6 in Class 5A. The Bears handled rival Perry 13-7 on Friday night. Warner Robins (2-1) is coming off a victory over rival Northside 22-13 and has won two straight.

Swainsboro at Appling County: Swainsboro (3-0), the No. 10 team in Class A Division I, will step up in classification to play Appling County (1-1), in its first season under coach Tucker Pruitt. The all-time series is tied 4-4-1. Appling won last year’s game on the field 32-12, but had to forfeit for playing an ineligible player.

Swainsboro clobbered Class A Division II No. 2 Metter 44-14 last week. Appling County rolled to a 38-26 win over Wayne County.

This week's GPB Streaming Game of the Week features Walton (1-2) at Norcross (3-0). It may be seen on GPB.org/sports. 

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