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Week 8: Five games to watch
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Hurricane Helene caused havoc on last week’s high school schedule. Some schools are playing games on Monday to keep pace.
Here are five of this week’s top games to watch in Week 8 of the GHSA season.
Collins Hill at Buford: The two Class 6A powers from Gwinnett County – Collins Hill is ranked No. 7 and Buford is ranked No. 2 – both play in Region 8. Both teams must still play No. 8 Mill Creek, but the winner will have a leg up and the loser will face a tougher path toward winning a region championship.
Collins Hill began the week 5-0 overall and 1-0 in region play. The Eagles have a makeup game against Mountain View (0-5, 0-1) on Monday. Buford is 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the region. The Wolves were off last week.
Although the two schools are only 12 miles apart, they have played only two times, with Buford winning both. The Wolves prevailed 43-0 last year and 23-3 in 2022.
The game will be carried live on GPB-TV’s Football Fridays in Georgia at 7:30 p.m.
Coffee at Lee County: Class 5A No. 6 Coffee (5-0), last year’s Class 5A champion, puts its 20-game winning streak on the line against No. 4 Lee County (6-0, 1-0 Region 2), which is coming off a 35-23 win over Thomas County Central on Saturday night. Lee County leads the series 5-4 and has won the last five meetings, the last come 35-17 in 2019.
Benedictine at Warner Robins: Class 4A No. 4 Warner Robins (5-1, 1-0) moved up its game against Wayne County and rolled to a 36-3 win on Wednesday. No. 3 Benedictine (2-2) had its game against Ware County moved to Monday. Warner Robins and Benedictine have played only one time, that coming in 1979 in the state quarterfinals, with Warner Robins prevailing 31-6.
Manchester at Bowdon: This game is a rematch of the 2023 state championship game and will help settle the Class A Division II Region 7 title. No. 3 Manchester (4-1, 1-0) knocked off previously unbeaten Trion 34-7, while two-time defending state champion and top-ranked Bowdon (42-18) beat Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee, Ala., 42-18 on Friday. Manchester won the regular-season meeting between the two teams, 21-20, but Bowdon won the state championship 28-27.
Charlton County at Clinch County: The “Swamp War” always carries great importance, and this year is no exception. The winner will have a leg up in Region 2 Class A Division II. Unranked Charlton County (4-2, 1-0) played early to beat the hurricane last week and beat Lanier County 15-12. No. 5 Clinch County (5-0, 0-0) did not have a game. This series is deadlocked 31-31-2 and Clinch County won 31-6 last year.