Collins Hill will be the latest high-powered team to take a whack at mighty Buford when the two Gwinnett County powers meet on this week’s GPB Sports’ Football Fridays in Georgia contest.

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Buford, the No. 2 team in Class 6A, has started the season with five straight wins – four of them against state-ranked clubs. The Wolves opened Region 8 play last week by destroying Discovery 71-7.

Collins Hill opened the season with back-to-back losses to No. 1 Grayson and Class 5A power Woodward Academy. The Eagles have since won four straight and defeated Mountain View 48-0 on Friday, improving their league record to 2-0.

Buford dominated Collins Hill a year ago, winning 34-7 at Buford. The Wolves went on to  reach the state semifinal. Collins Hill was beaten in the quarterfinals by eventual state champion Grayson.

Buford leads the all-time series 3-0 with the closest game a 23-3 Buford victory in 2022.

Here are five other games to watch:

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Cartersville at Cass: This game between two ranked Class 4A teams will help determine who wins the Region 8 championship and grabs the No. 1 seed for the state playoffs.  No. 2 Cartersville (6-0) did not play last week; the Purple Hurricanes have dominated their schedule, the exception being a 38-35 win over rival Calhoun. Cass (6-1) has won six in a row since losing the season opener to LaGrange. The Colonels defeated Woodland 55-9 last week.

Cartersville leads the all-time series 46-5. The Canes have won 11 straight since the last Cass victory in 2007. The closest call came in 2023 when Cartersville escaped 21-14 in overtime.

The game will be this week’s GPB’s Web Game and can been seen on GPB.org.

McEachern at Harrison: No. 7 McEachern (5-0) will face its biggest test of the season when it travels to play unbeaten Harrison (5-0) in a crucial Region 3-6A contest. McEachern has had only one close game all season – a 16-13 win over Marietta – with all others decided by an average of 35.2 points. Harrison brings a high-scoring attack that averages 40 points and has scored 49 on three occasions. McEachern leads the all-time series 17-8. Harrison won last year 28-12 to break a 10-game losing streak to the Indians.

Thomasville at Worth County: Two state-ranked South Georgia giants meet to help determine who wins the Region 1-AI championship. No. 4 Thomasville (5-1) has lost only to crosstown rival and Class 5A No. 1-ranked Thomas County Central. The Bulldogs are an offensive juggernaut, averaging 44.5 points and have scored more than 45 points in three games. Last week Thomasville rolled to a 56-21 win over Jeff Davis.  No.1-ranked Worth County (5-0) is coming off a 50-0 win over Brantley County, the Rams’ fourth shutout of the season. Worth averages 41.7 on offense, too. Thomasville leads the series 15-7, but Worth County won last year’s game 28-27 to snap a six-game series losing streak.

Pierce County at Cook: The Region 1-2A opener for both teams could be the most important for these state-ranked teams. The winner will have a definite leg up on winning the regular-seasons title. No. 2-ranked Pierce County (5-0) has shut out three of its opponents, including Vidalia 21-0 last week. No. 9 Cook (4-2) bounced back from back-to-back losses to defeat Irwin County 38-0 last week. In their four victories, the Hornets have limited the opposition to six or fewer points. Cook leads the all-time series 10-5, but Pierce won last year’s game 42-7 in their first meeting since 2015.