Region play is picking up steam as the season reaches the midway point, and the early front-runners in several regions will be established this weekend. Among those are 4-3A (Aquinas at Westside of Augusta), 8-A Division I (Athens Academy at Commerce), 5-3A (Douglass at Cedar Grove), 4-4A (Mays at Creekside) and 5-6A (North Cobb at Walton).

No. 2 Buford and No. 3 Douglas County will headline Week 5 of the season when they meet in Douglasville, trying to keep pace near the top of the Class 6A rankings. Elsewhere, the top three teams in 5A - No. 1 Milton, No. 2 Gainesville and No. 3 Lee County - will face tough tests on the road.

Jones County will meet Ola and Rockmart will face Ringgold in early battles for region supremacy in Week 4 of the season. Warner Robins will take on Houston County for the unofficial title of county champions, and North Gwinnett travels to Mill Creek in a battle of top-five teams in Class 6A.

Middle Georgia powers Houston County and Perry have engaged in high-scoring shootouts the past two seasons, and more of the same can be expected when they meet again Friday night. The Week 3 schedule also features high-profile games matching top-10 private schools when Blessed Trinity travels to Prince Avenue Christian and Marist visits Woodward Academy.

A week after knocking off Buford, Class 5A No. 1 Milton will travel to Florida to face American Heritage in a matchup of teams ranked in the top 20 nationally. The Week 2 schedule also includes two high-profile games between private schools - Blessed Trinity at Holy Innocents' and Hebron Christian at Fellowship Christian.