Class 3A Blog: North Hall travels to Pickens for key Region 6 game; three ranked teams rest

There are six ranked and undefeated teams as the season reaches its mid-point and entering Week 7 – with regions entering inter-league play – its worth looking at the unbeatens while doing a little bit of speculating.

Top-ranked Peach County (5-0), No. 2 Stephenson (5-0), No. 3 Sandy Creek (5-0), No. 6 North Hall (5-0), No. 9 Troup (5-0) and No. 10 West Laurens (5-0) are the ranked teams who have yet to lose a game.

Some of the programs face an easier region run than others.

Top-ranked Peach County enters Region 1 play this week at Westover (3-1), which could be the toughest region game of the season. Other league teams – Cairo (2-2), Monroe (2-3), Dougherty (1-4) and Bainbridge (0-5) – have struggled through the pre-region schedule.

Stephenson – ranked No. 2 – will face North Clayton for a Region 5 matchup and could have a clear pathway to back-to-back region championships for the first time since 2018-19. Stephenson’s semifinals appearance last season matched the finish in 2005 – both program bests.

But for No. 6 North Hall (5-0, 2-0), its undefeated season could be in jeopardy Friday against unranked and undefeated Pickens (5-0, 2-0). The game will help determine the Region 6 pecking order and could absolutely have playoff implications.

North Hall has beaten Wesleyan 41-7, Cherokee Bluff 43-31, East Hall 51-49, Chestatee 51-7 and White County 56-14. The Trojans’ junior quarterback Akex Schlieman is 91-of-127 passing for 1,588 yards and 13 touchdowns to lead the Trojans offense which averages 348 passing for 196 rushing yards per game.

Senior Ty Kemp leads the pass-catchers with 35 receptions for 641 yards and eight touchdowns. Junior Cole Cable, senior Parker Carlton and junior Dawson Gray each have two touchdown receptions. Senior Justin Allen has 29 carries for 171 yards and seven touchdowns while senior Smith McGarvey has 25 carries for 206 yards and five touchdowns and senior Parker Carlton has 22 carries for 151 yards and three touchdowns.

Pickens has moved past Pepperell 28-20, Sonoraville 34-14, Gilmer 38-24, White County 34-7 and Dawson County 34-23. The Dragons are relatively balanced on offense and average 190 rushing yards to 169 passing yards per game. Hayden Jones is 53-of-86 passing for 679 yards and six touchdowns – four to senior McCord Purdy. On the ground, junior Ike Wyngaard has 34 carries for 420 yards and six of the team’s 12 rushing touchdowns.

Three ranked teams – No. 3 Sandy Creek (5-0, 3-0), No. 5 LaGrange (5-1, 3-1) and No. 9 Troup (5-0, 3-0) – will rest in Week 6.

Class 3A Top 10 Schedule (Results from Week 5)

1. Peach County (5-0) at Westover (3-1) for Region 1 opener. (Beat Northside-Warner Robins 19-6 last week)

2. Stephenson (5-0, 1-0) travels to North Clayton (4-1) for a key Region 5 matchup. (Rested last week after beating Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 22-17 on Sept. 12.)

3. Sandy Creek (5-0, 3-0) rests. (Beat Trinity Christian 43-10 last week) Next game: Oct. 3 vs. Spalding (0-5).

4. Calhoun (2-2) at Adairsville (2-3, 1-0) to open Region 7 play. (Rested last week after back-to-back losses to Cartersville and Cambridge)

5. LaGrange (5-1, 3-1) rests. (Beat Spalding 41-14 last week in Region 2 game) Next game: at Whitewater (2-2, 1-1) on Oct. 3.

6. North Hall (5-0, 2-0) travels to Pickens (5-0, 2-0) for a meeting of the unbeatens from Region 6. (Beat White County 56-14 last week).

7. Cherokee Bluff (4-1) hosts Oconee County (3-2) to open Region 8 play. (Rested last week after beating Banks County 24-21 on Sept. 12.)

8. Jefferson (4-1) at West Hall (2-3) to open Region 8 play. (Rested last week after a 35-0 loss to Class 4A No. 1 North Oconee on Sept. 12).

9. Troup (5-0, 3-0) Rests. (Beat Fayette County (0-5, 0-3) 44-0 on Sept. 19)

10. West Laurens (5-0, 3-0) hosts Baldwin (2-2, 1-1) in a Region 4 game. (Beat Harlem 26-21 last week)

‍