With the season halfway over, most region contenders are starting to have some important contests pop up on the schedule. Here are five games to watch this week that will make a difference in how the playoff seeding stacks up when the postseason begins.

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Grayson at Newton: This is a crucial game in Region 4-6A. Newton (2-3, 1-0) is coming off a 50-25 win over Archer. Grayson, No. 7 in the GPB Top 10, is 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the region after its 63-0 win over Grovetown. Newton stunned Grayson 31-27 last year in Grayson for its first-even win over the Rams. Grayson had won the first seven meetings.

This game will be featured on GPB’s Football Fridays in Georgia broadcast.

Camden County at Valdosta: Two of the undefeated teams in powerful Region 1-6A meet to begin league play. Neither Camden County nor Valdosta, both 5-0, played last week. Valdosta leads the series 9-7-1 and won last year 24-21 to break a two-game losing streak to Camden.

Thomas County Central at Lee County: The early lead in Region 2-5A will be on the line when these two state-ranked powers clash in the region opener for both. Thomas County Central (5-0) is coming off a 63-7 victory over Bainbridge. No. 4 Lee County (5-0) is coming off a 62-17 win over Wekiva, Fla. No. 2 Thomas County leads the series 23-3 and won last year’s game 31-24.

Trion at Manchester: These two state-ranked teams open the Region 7-Class A Division II season. No. 3 Manchester (3-1) routed Chapel Hill 36-0 and has allowed only six points since losing the season opener to Class 4A No. 10 Harris County. Trion (6-0) is coming off a 35-28 win over Robbinsville, N.C., and has scored 30-plus points in five games. Manchester leads the series 3-0 – all coming in the playoffs. They haven’t met since 1997 when Manchester won 30-0 in the Class A quarterfinals.

Cambridge at East Coweta: This is a non-region matchup between two outstanding programs. Cambridge is 5-0 under first-year coach Tyler Jones. East Coweta is 3-2 under veteran coach John Small and last week defeated Perry 31-15. This will be the first meeting between the teams.

This game will be live-streamed Friday on GPB.org.