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Important region matchups on this week’s schedule

By MICHAEL BOYLAN
mboylan@TheCitizenNews.com

The top four teams from every region will make the state playoffs and our local football teams are in the hunt for one of those four spots. The remainder of their seasons will be played against region opponents, so now every game counts.

• Region 4-AAAAA: Starr’s Mill’s overtime loss to Lovejoy two weeks ago shifted the Panthers to third in the region at 2-1 behind Newnan (3-0) and Lovejoy (2-0). There is still a lot of football to be played and the Panthers will take on Newnan head to head on Oct. 22. This week’s opponent is Mundy’s Mill (1-4-1), 0-2 in the region and losers of three games in a row. Mundy’s Mill’s lone win this season came against Morrow, 27-0.

Starr’s Mill got back to their winning ways with a win over East Coweta. The Panthers are averaging over 28 points per game on offense and though there have been a few lapses this season, their defense can often be described as awesome.

Fayette County started off the season slowly, losing all of their non-region games. The Tigers have come on of late though. They defeated Union Grove for a region win and played Lovejoy close for a while before losing last week. Fayette County is 1-2 in the region and hosts East Coweta (3-3, 1-1 region) tonight. The Tigers have scored 67 points in the last two weeks and are hoping to continue their offensive onslaught this Friday. The Indians lost to Starr’s Mill last week but got a region win the week before over Mundy’s Mill.

• Region 4-AAAA: Circle Oct. 29 on your calendar because that is when Sandy Creek (6-0) will meet Creekside (6-0). Barring any unforseen lapses, both teams should still be undefeated when that game, the final one of the regular season, rolls around.

Sandy Creek defeated Lithia Springs last week 38-7. They played great on both sides of the ball and got solid performances from nearly all involved. The defense for Sandy Creek has only allowed 51 total points this year while the offense is averaging over 32 points per game.

This week the Patriots will host Woodward Academy (3-3). The War Eagles lost to the Northgate Vikings in the season opener and also have losses to Villa Rica and Douglas County, both of whom Sandy Creek has defeated already this season. The Patriots will have to play as well as they have been and not make any mistakes to assure themselves another region win.

McIntosh (3-3) lost a heartbreaker last week and an upset over Creekside tonight would certainly help last week’s wounds heal better. The Chiefs have been playing solid defense of late and have also been getting great performances from the offensive line and running back Charles Castleberry, although he is no longer a secret weapon and Northagte seemed to key in on him last week.

Creekside has a big, bad defense that has only allowed 42 points this year, while their offense has been averaging just over 28 points per game. McIntosh must eliminate the mistakes that plagued them late in last week’s game, continue to work hard on both sides of the ball and hope for a little luck.

Whitewater (4-2) is playing a non-region schedule and will have their second Saturday night game in a row when they host Athens Academy (5-1) this week. The Wildcats got edged out by Landmark Christian last week but continue to get good production from the offense, which is averaging over 25 points per game in their games against varsity opponents. Athens Academy has put up a fair amount of points this season as well, averaging over 24 points per game.

• Region 5-A: This Friday, Landmark Christian (3-4) will travel to take on Our Lady of Mercy (0-7). Landmark is tied atop the region 5-A standings at 1-0 with Whitefield Academy, while Our Lady of Mercy is at 0-1 with Mt. Zion, Carrollton. The War Eagles got a 28-27 win over Whitewater last week but lost Miles King and Brian Houston to injury. Down early to the Wildcats, Landmark responded with an air attack that netted over 250 yards passing and three touchdowns for Matt Moody.

Our Lady of Mercy lost to Whitefield Academy last week 38-7, but went into the half tied 7-7. Coach Curtis barrineau felt that his team gave teir best performance of the season but ran out of gas in the fourth quarter when Whitefield put a majority of their points on the board. Mike Donald caught the touchdown pass for the Bobcats and Wesley yates and Bernard Michel played solid on both sides of the ball.

All games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m.