Before Hurricane Helene showed up, this would’ve been the final week of the high school football regular season. As it is, the GHSA pushed that out until next Friday, giving teams an extra seven days to get in the matchups they missed during the two-week hurricane hiatus.
Nevertheless, this is still the time of season where the contests are most crucial for teams still with an eye on the postseason. With that in mind, here are the top five most pivotal games we’re eyeing for the week, along with predictions with two of our top five being games that will play Thursday night.
Richmond Academy (2-5, 2-3) at Aquinas (3-4, 2-3) (Thursday, 10/31, 7:30 p.m.)
The Matchup: It hasn’t been the kind of season Aquinas had hoped for, but with this being the first of a three-game stretch over the next 10 days, the Fightin’ Irish have a chance to finish strong and perhaps even play their way into fourth place in Region 4-AAA. First things first. Aquinas has to bounce back from a two-game skid to get past a pesky Richmond Academy squad that has played some very tough teams very closely. The Musketeers came within one score of knocking off Thomson earlier this year, then ran out of gas against Westside and Howard before knocking off Cross Creek before the pandemic. Both of ARC’s main signal callers are freshmen. Arguably its best overall athlete, Lo’than McBride, is a sophomore. That means the future bodes well for Richmond Academy if it can keep this nucleus together.
The Prediction: Many things have gone against Aquinas this season, but one thing that hasn’t is the Irish’s ability to physically impose its will on opponents. That should continue here. Aquinas 38, Richmond Academy 14.
West Laurens (7-1, 5-1) at Westside (6-2, 4-2) (Thursday 10/31, 6 p.m.)
The Matchup: It wasn’t too long ago that we were talking about Westside among the ranks of the unbeaten. We were eying this West Laurens matchup as a potential de-facto region championship game. But after the Patriots took down Aquinas before Hurricane Helene and Cross Creek after, it’s been tough sledding with 24-0 and 42-21 losses to Harlem and Baldwin, respectively. It puts coach Lee Hutton’s squad in a precarious place. If you’re into score comparisons, West Laurens’ only loss this season was a 28-7 setback to Harlem the week before Helene. Since then, the Raiders’ offense has been unstoppable, averaging 48.3 points per game in wins against Richmond Academy, Hephzibah and Aquinas. When Westside is good, the run game is doing its things. In the past two losses combined, Jeanarion Kamga has been held to just 112 yards on 26 carries. His longest run in that stretch? Just 10 yards. West Laurens hasn’t been particularly elite in stopping the run this year, though, giving up almost 180 yards per game.
The Prediction: Westside gets its run game going and pulls off a mild upset. Westside 38, West Laurens 31.
Greene County (7-1, 2-0) at Lincoln County (8-0, 3-0)
The Matchup: As far as games pitting teams with top-flight win-loss records go, this one takes the cake in the CSRA. You’ve got to go back almost a decade to find the last time a Lincoln County football team was undefeated this deep into the season. In fact, the year was 2015, and the Red Devils were 8-0 that year before falling 24-3 to eventual Class-A state runner up Aquinas on the day before Halloween. This time, the pivotal contest takes place the day after Halloween, and though it appears as just another regular season game on the schedule, this one is for the undisputed Region 8-A Division II championship. The Red Devils aren’t just winning. They’re dominating. Their last three games against Washington-Wilkes, Lake Oconee Academy and Warren County have produced a combined score of 110-3. Last week’s 42-0 shutout of Warren County came in a game that, at least on paper, should’ve been competitive. Offensively, they’re getting it done with a punishing run game that’s averaging 245 yards per game and 7.8 yards per carry with three ball carriers having rushed for 300-plus yards.
Greene County will, far and away, be their toughest adversary with a solid defense and an almost equally potent rushing attack led by junior Travez Gibson (729 yards, 8 touchdowns) and senior Amari Durham (684 yards, 7 touchdowns).
The Prediction: When two evenly-matched teams clash with high stakes, look to the intangibles to decide it. Lincoln County’s at home for this one with a shot at a second region crown in the last two years and their first undefeated regular season since the end of the Larry Campbell era. Lincoln County 35, Greene County 27
Burke County (7-1, 3-0) at Laney (5-3, 2-1) (Saturday, 2 p.m.)
The Matchup: At the beginning of the year, the odds were that the newly constructed Region 4-AA would come down a Burke County-Thomson-Laney round robin. So far, that’s turned out to be the case. A 38-12 loss two weeks ago at Thomson kept the Wildcats from controlling their own region title destiny. But they can redeem some of that with a win against the only other team in the region besides Thomson that hasn’t lost a region game. While Laney has surprised a few with its competitiveness despite fielding a fairly new and inexperienced roster, and Thomson has raised eyebrows with its 180-degree turn around from the beginning of the year until now, Burke County’s just kind of quietly — and quite impressively — gone about its business.
The Bears’ only blemish so far is a 43-14 loss at Class AAAA No. 10 Benedictine. Aside from that, no one has challenged Burke County, save a 14-6 win against Northside on Sept. 13. Northside and Benedictine aside, no one has held Burke County under 44 points, and no team has scored more than 12. Laney will be the Bears’ toughest tilt since Benedictine though, and the Wildcats won’t be intimidated at home.
The Prediction: Laney keeps it close early. A’merre Williams eclipses 1,000 yards and leads the Bears to a win that sets up a gargantuan Region 4-AA title match next week. Burke County 41, Laney 21.
Midland Valley (4-5, 4-2) at North Augusta (7-1, 3-0)
The Matchup: Kudos to Midland Valley head coach Brent Dorn and his staff for helping right a ship that looked like it was about to cap size at the beginning of the season. After last year’s school-record success, an unexpected coaching change that brought some unwanted drama to the program and two season-opening losses to J.L. Mann and Blythewood by a combined score of 90-7 that were part of an 0-4 start, there were no signs that the Mustangs would still be in a playoff chase in November. But wins in three of their last four games, including a 3-game winning streak of dominant proportions with blowout wins against Aiken, Airport and South Aiken have Midland Valley playing another meaningful region game with Region 4-AAAA leader North Augusta.
This one doesn’t carry the drama that last year’s down-to-the-wire region title game did. But it’s still important, and still a game that, if North Augusta comes in sleep walking, Valley has the talent and momentum now to make things very uncomfortable for the Yellow Jackets.
Meanwhile for North Augusta, a 20-19 loss to Lexington in the second week of the season is the only thing keeping the Jackets from playing for an undefeated regular season Friday night.
The Prediction: Though without the intrigue of last year’s game, it should still be a good won. Too much focus and too much talent on the North Augusta side will help them prevail. North Augusta 38, Midland Valley 24.
