Northwest hopes to keep playoff hopes alive at Central-Carrollton; Dalton seeks to upend Cartersville

Oct. 28—Northwest likely needs win at Central-Carrollton to continue playoff streak

Northwest Whitfield High School has made the playoffs seven straight years, but that streak may come to an end if the Bruins can't get a win tonight.

Northwest (5-3, 1-2 Region 7-4A) travels to play Central-Carrollton (5-3, 1-2 Region 7-4A) at 7:30 in what may be an elimination game for the playoffs. Northwest has already lost to Heritage and Sonoraville, currently the second and third seeds in the region, and undefeated and rolling Cedartown awaits Northwest next week.

If Northwest downs the Lions in Carrollton the Bruins will hope for either an upset win over Cedartown or a Central loss to Heritage next week to secure a playoff spot.

The Bruins will have to slow down the rushing attack of Central, which is led by Jonaz Walton, a freshman who has 1,134 yards and 14 scores on the ground through eight games. Quarterback Devan Powell has thrown for 1,039 yards and nine touchdowns, but also does a lot of damage in the run game.

Northwest is looking to get its offense going earlier in the game.

The Bruins scored a flurry of late points in an attempt to come back against Heritage last week, but Northwest entered the fourth quarter with 10 points. Quarterback Owen Brooker concluded the game with big numbers — 289 passing yards, 98 rushing yards and five total touchdowns — but he'll look to not repeat the two interceptions that helped put Northwest in a hole. The senior, who has been the Bruins quarterback since he was a freshman, has led Northwest to the playoffs in his first three years as a starter.

Playoff seed to be determined for Dalton as Cats host Cartersville

Dalton enters the final game of the regular season with an opportunity to finish anywhere from Region 7-5A champ to the fourth seed for the playoffs.

Dalton (5-4, 3-1 Region 7-5A) hosts 8-1 (3-1 Region 7-5A) Cartersville at Harmon Field tonight at 7:30.

The Catamounts have already clinched a return to the postseason for the first time since 2019. For Dalton to have an opportunity at hosting a playoff game it needs to topple Cartersville. The only loss for the Hurricanes this season was a triple-overtime defeat to Calhoun.

Dalton still has an outside shot at the region championship. If it does defeat Cartersville and Cass upsets Calhoun, Dalton would be region champs. With a win over Cartersville and a Calhoun win over Cass, Dalton would be the second seed. A loss to Cartersville puts Dalton at either third or fourth for the playoffs, depending on the result of the Calhoun-Cass game.

Dalton will have to upend a Cartersville squad that has been dominant outside of the Calhoun loss. Seven of the eight Cartersville wins have come by at least 18 points, with the only exception a 28-20 win over Allatoona.

Cartersville has a powerful rushing attack, led by the 857 yards and 15 touchdowns of senior running back Malachi Jeffries. Dalton couldn't slow the rushing attack of Calhoun last week, allowing 376 yards.

Christian Heritage closes regular season with region battle

Christian Heritage School (4-5, 0-1 Region 7-A Division II) plays its second and final region contest tonight at 7:30 as the Lions travel to Mount Zion to play the Eagles (4-4).

Christian Heritage was assured a playoff spot before the season began due to playing in a three-team region, but, after a loss to Bowdon in its first region game, tonight's contest will help shake out the Lions' order of finish.

Mount Zion hasn't played Bowdon. If Christian Heritage falls tonight, the Lions will be the third seed for the playoffs. With a win, Christian Heritage will likely grab the second seed and a home playoff berth, but the Lions will have to wait on the result of next week's game between Bowdon and Mount Zion to know for sure.

The Lions will look to continue their stretch of strong running performances, led by senior running back Eli Thomason. Thomason crossed the 1,000-yard mark last week and has 21 scores.

Christian Heritage must contend with a Mount Zion squad that also likes to run the ball. A committee rushing approach has the ground yardage outpacing passing 1,650 to 550. Preston Denney leads the team with 430 yards rushing.

Colts look to improve on playoff seeding with game at LaFayette

The Coahulla Creek Colts already know they are bound for the playoffs for the first time in school history. The final two games of the season will determine how they make that debut.

Creek (6-2, 4-1 Region 6-3A) travels to play LaFayette (2-6, 1-4 Region 6-3A) tonight at 7:30. The Colts hope to down LaFayette and set up a showdown at region leader Adairsville in the final week of the season. If Creek defeats LaFayette and Adairsville beats Bremen, the Colts would then go into Adairsville next week with an opportunity to force a three-way tie atop the region with Ringgold, provided the Tigers win their last two.

But the Colts must first focus on getting past LaFayette, and Coahulla Creek is 0-2 against LaFayette all time, with both in the last two seasons with the pair being region foes.

After contending for playoff spots in those two years, LaFayette has dipped to 2-6 so far this season, although the Ramblers did power past Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 30-14 last week for their first region win.

After being held to 14 and 13 points in the last two weeks against staunch defenses, the normally-sharp Creek offense will look to return to form against the Ramblers.

Southeast travels to play suffocating Cedartown

Southeast Whitfield (4-4, 0-3 Region 7-4A) is looking for its first win in region action, but with a road game at undefeated Cedartown (8-0, 3-0 Region 7-4A) tonight at 7:30, the task only gets tougher.

Cedartown has won each game by at least 13 points. The closest two games for Cedartown were a 27-14 win over Rockmart and a 21-7 victory over Calhoun, and all others have seen at least a 32-point winning margin. Cedartown has thrashed Central and Heritage, two teams that Southeast fell to in region competition, by a combined score of 81-7.

After a shutout loss against Northwest Whitfield, Southeast got a little spark with an early 6-0 lead over Central last week, but that was quickly erased in a 51-6 loss.

Murray travels to face Haralson County

Murray County (0-8, 0-4 Region 7-2A) has wrapped up its home slate with two games to go, and the Indians will hit the road for the final two games in the first season under head coach Kurt Napier.

The first of those is a game tonight at 7:30 in Tallapoosa against Haralson County (2-6, 1-3 Region 7-2A).

Murray finally broke its streak of three straight shutout losses with a second-half score against Fannin County last week, but the Indians most likely will need to put up more points than that to grab their first win.

The only region win for Haralson County was a 42-12 victory over Gordon Central, another win-less team in the region. Haralson comes in off of an open week after decisive losses to Rockmart and Model.