Two top-10 region games will highlight the final week of the regular season, when No. 2 Appling County (9-0) travels to No. 5 Pierce County (7-2), and No. 8 Sandy Creek (8-1) plays host to top-ranked Cedar Grove (7-2).
Appling County (1-3A) will by playing for its 15th victory in the series that dates to 1992 and hoping to win its first region title since 2013. But Pierce County has won the last three games in the series – 27-26 in 2018, 23-14 in 2019 and 28-21 last season, when Pierce won the region, then won the 3A championship.
Darris Smith, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound four-star UGA commitment, is the most recruited player in the game. He fills multiple roles behind the line in the Appling County defense, which has held opponents to 64 points through nine games.
Pierce County likes to run the ball, and its best back, junior D.J. Bell, has only played four games due to injury. He has 76 carries for 511 yards and four touchdowns. Daytin Baker (six touchdowns), Donelius Johnson (seven touchdowns), Danarius Johnson (two touchdowns) and Jaquez White (two touchdowns) also have been productive for the Bears running game.
Here are other games to follow in Week 12:
-- A lot is on the line when Cedar Grove travels to Sandy Creek. If Cedar Grove wins, it will capture the program’s seventh region title (5-3A), and fifth since 2015, with three state championships (2016, 2018 and 2019). If Sandy Creek wins, there will be a three-way tie between Cedar Grove, Sandy Creek and No. 7 Carver-Atlanta. Sandy Creek’s last region title came in 2013 was the last in a streak very similar to the current one that Cedar Grove is enjoying. From 2008 to 2013, Sandy Creek won six consecutive region titles with three championships (2009, 2010 and 2012).
-- No. 3 Monroe Area (9-0, 4-0) will play host to Hart County (8-1, 3-1) and has to win to capture the region. If Hart pulls the upset against Monroe Area, there will be a three-way tie between Hart, Monroe Area and No. 4 Oconee County at 4-1. Monroe beat Oconee County 17-14, and Oconee beat Hart 35-13 earlier in the season.
-- Ringgold (9-0) is on the cusp of two firsts -- a region title and an undefeated regular season in the history of a team that dates to 1934 and has been playing football since 1949. Tenth-ranked Rockmart stands in its way, and the winner gets the Region 6-3A title. No pressure, right? Just two seasons ago, Ringgold (9-0) went 0-10. Last season, the Tigers finished 5-5. The teams have met just twice, and Rockmart has won each – a 35-12 victory last season and a 43-0 shellacking on Oct. 20, 1950.
Last week, Cherokee Bluff clinched the 7-3A No. 1 seed, and Crisp County won the 2-3A title.
To see the full region standings go here or follow the link to the GHSA Football Brackets which will be filled Friday evening as the games go final and the region seedings are determined.
Class 3A top-10 schedule
1. (1) Cedar Grove (7-2) – Friday at Sandy Creek, 7:30 p.m. (5-3A)
2. (2) Appling County (9-0) – Friday at Pierce County, 7:30 p.m. (1-3A)
3. (3) Monroe Area (9-0) – Friday vs. Hart County, 7:30 p.m. (8-3A)
4. (4) Oconee County (8-1) – Friday vs. Franklin County, 7:30 p.m. (8-3A)
5. (5) Pierce County (7-2) – Friday vs. Appling County (1-3A)
6. (6) Thomson (8-0) – Friday vs. Hephzibah, 7:30 p.m. (4-3A)
7. (7) Carver (Atlanta) (6-2) – Friday vs. Salem, 7:30 p.m. (5-3A)
8. (8) Sandy Creek (8-1) – Friday vs. Cedar Grove, 7:30 p.m. (5-3A)
9. (9) Hart County (8-1) – Friday at Monroe Area, 7:30 p.m. (5-3A)
10. (10) Rockmart (8-1) – Friday vs. Ringgold, 7:30 p.m. (6-3A)
About the Author
