Blessed Trinity and Marist poised for a high-stakes first-time meeting

There’s one Thursday game and 20 games slated for Friday night in Class AAAA with just three weeks of action left until the state playoffs begin. Every game means a lot at this point, even for teams mathematically out of the playoff picture. Playing high school football in the state of Georgia is a badge of honor this senior class will be able to wear the rest of their lives. While we celebrate another weekend of high school football collectively as a state, however, there are two matchups in particular to really keep an eye on in AAAA.

Blessed Trinity at Marist

This game is almost guaranteed to determine the winner of Region 7. Blessed Trinity sits at 2-0 in region play with just the (1-0) Marist War Eagles and (1-1) West Hall left on its schedule. Although West Hall is still technically alive in terms of possibly taking the No. 1 seed, it is a long shot as Marist handed them a 43-3 defeat last Friday. Marist would have to beat Blessed Trinity Friday and then lose to both (0-2) Chestatee and 0-1 White County its final two games to even give the Spartans a shot. Plus West Hall would have to actually beat the Titans in the season finale. In Marist’s blowout over West Hall last week, Jack Dinges totaled three touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air while Michael Addicks joined Dinges, rushing for two touchdowns. This duo will face a Blessed Trinity defense that has given up just 13 combined points against its last three instate opponents. The Blessed Trinity offense is powered by sophomore sensation Steele Chambers, who has accounted for 908 rushing yards, 12 rushing touchdowns and a 7.6 yards per carry average this season. Most importantly, this is the first time in history that Marist and Blessed Trinity are facing off on the gridiron.

Oconee County at Stephens County

This game may not be the deciding game in the Region 8 race, but it will certainly sharpen the odds for the No. 1 seed. Oconee County, Stephens County and Jefferson are currently 2-0 in the region, while St. Pius, North Oconee and Madison County sit at 0-2. North Oconee and Madison County are facing each other and St. Pius will look for its first win of the season against Jefferson. It’s easy to see why this is the biggest game in the region this week. It’s been five years since the Warriors faced Stephens County, but they’ve historically struggled in this matchup with a 4-14 record since 1992. Oconee County had to rally last week in it 20-16 win over St. Pius. Quarterback Sam Middlebrooks found Roques Dowdy for a Warriors touchdown with 3:25 left in the half, before St. Pius connected on a field goal at the end of the half to push its lead to 16-7. Middlebrooks found Corderius Paschal for a 44-yard touchdown to make it a 16-14 game and then Middlebrooks ran in the game-winning touchdown with 10:08 left to make it 20-16. Stephens County handled St. Pius 27-13 two weeks ago before cruising past Madison County 34-7 last Friday. Former Cartersville head coach Frank Barden has seen junior quarterback Jackson Bell step up in big ways this season as a dynamic dual threat.

Storylines worth mentioning: In Region 2, a Thomson win over Cross Creek and a Burke County win at Baldwin would guarantee the Bulldogs and Bears a region championship game next Friday night at Thomson. … A Troup win over Cedartown Thursday and a Cartersville win at Chapel Hill on Friday would guarantee a region championship matchup between Troup and Cartersville in the Nov. 4 finale at Weinman Stadium.

Week 10 Schedule

Region 1

Hardaway at Americus-Sumter

Cairo at Westover (M)

Carver-Columbus at Columbus (CM)

Northside-Columbus at Shaw (K)

Region 2

Upson-Lee at Howard (ED)

Mary Persons at West Laurens

Perry at Spalding (GM)

Region 3

Burke County at Baldwin