Lots to look forward to in final week of football season

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@thecitizennews.com

The final week of the regular season is upon us.

It seems as though the 2000 season began a few weeks ago and yet here we are on the cusp of another exciting postseason, with several teams headed to the state playoffs.

The Starr's Mill Panthers (10-0), Fayette County's first-ever undefeated team and division champion, has the week off to rest up and prepare for the playoffs. The Fayette County Tigers (1-9) played their final game of the season last week and will now rest up for next year.

East Coweta (9-0) hosts its biggest rival, the Newnan Cougars (6-3), tonight at Shoemake Stadium. The Indians have had a very successful year by clinching the division and could tie Starr's Mill for the region championship with a win. If they do win, a coin toss will determine which team, the Indians or the Panthers, will be the top seed coming out of region 4-AAAAA.

McIntosh (2-7) hosts North Clayton (3-6) tonight in a game that could equal a 200-percent improvement by the Chiefs on last year's record. McIntosh picked up its second win of the season last week with a strong running game and a defense that capitalized on mistakes. If the Chiefs can have a similar game this Friday, they can have a similar result.

Sandy Creek (7-2) is going to the playoffs and will host a home game in the first week. Another win helps seal that seeding and to get there the Patriots need big games from running back Kelvin German, quarterback Andre Green and the entire defense. Sandy Creek's opponents tonight will be Salem (4-5).

Northgate (8-1) has clinched a trip to the playoffs and could capture the top seed tonight with a win over Grady (6-3). The Vikings offense, featuring Kenny Strozier and Marlon Cruver, will have to be near perfect, scoring early and often, and the defense must be able to stop the Grady offense from putting too many points on the board. The Vikings may be without quarterback Mitch Stewart, who did not play last week due to a hand injury.

Landmark Christian (1-8) is going to the playoffs next week, despite only having one win under their belt. Coach Fred Gilkeson has seen improvement over the course of the season and believes that the team could capture some momentum entering the playoffs and be a surprise to some teams. The defense needs to force mistakes and the offense must capitalize for Landmark's season to be extended past next week.

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