Week 7 preview: Five high school football games to watch Friday in the Athens-area

(This story was updated to add new information.)

The regular season of high school football in Georgia has passed the halfway mark already, and things are still shaping up a tad differently than expected as region competition begins.

That said, there are several teams to keep an eye on in the Athens area in Week 7. Which teams will take advantage of the slates metaphorically resetting to 0-0? Will any winless teams finally find glory and victory against division rivals? Will any undefeated teams falter? Here's what to watch for.

Week 7 Athens-area high school football preview

Commerce (2-3) at Elbert County (2-3)

Kickoff: Friday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m.

The Tigers are on equal playing ground with the Blue Devils after a brutal one-point loss to Athens Academy opened region play last week. They are fourth in the region, Elbert County second with a quarterback who has completed 84 of 182 passing attempts for seven touchdowns and six interceptions, as opposed to the slim number of attempts Commerce has taken with their run-centered offense.

Throwing against Commerce is not much of a strength though for opponents, not with the trio of Mac Mullis, Jermiah 'Pap' Mintz and Michael Duncan on defense. The trifecta on offense keeps things interesting between Tysean Wiggins, Jaiden Daniels and Jacari Huff, and they be just enough to get through hell and high water — the Blue Devils have 326 tackles in five games.

Jefferson (3-2) vs. West Hall (4-1)

Kickoff: Saturday, Sept. 28 at 11 a.m.

The Dragons have filled the gaps left behind by Zay Minish, Skyler Zimmerman and, of course, Sammy Brown pretty well so far, picking up their feet after a tough loss at Marist in Week 1. West Hall marks the start of their region schedule as they've shifted to AAA-Region 8 for the next two years.

Rett Hemphill is second in the region for interceptions (2), while Taylor McCall is in second for field goals made (4-for-4), third for PATs (18), second in kick scoring (30) and second in yards per punt (36.58; 439 total on 12 punts). Meanwhile, West Hall's Junior Aliva leads McCall in all of those categories.

Jayden Yang and Kelan Butler have kept the defense churning, Yang averaging 8.8 tackles per game and Butler having four sacks on the season. Talan Childress and Dallas Russell have kept the offense's wheels spinning on the other end of the ball, Childress averaging 51.3 receiving yards per game and Russell averaging 67.3 rushing yards per game for five touchdowns.

Prince Avenue Christian (2-3) vs. Hart County (3-2)

Kickoff: Saturday, Sept. 28 at 11 a.m.

It's grind time for the Wolverines, who are off to their worst start since 2009. Hart County marks the start of their region schedule after three out-of-state trips earlier in the season. They have the gas in the tank, the gears are even oiled, but something hasn't been clicking and they keep coming up short at final buzzers.

The Wolverines, who are starting at the very bottom of their new classification (AA-Region 8) with a .400-win percentage, have never played the Bulldogs. However, they're ranked second in the entire Class 2A due to their strength of schedule. Andrew Beard actually leads the region in rushing yards (764), total points (74) and total touchdowns (12).

East Jackson (3-2) vs. Hebron Christian (4-1)

Kickoff: Saturday, Sept. 28 at noon

The Eagles are set to take on one of the harder opponents of their classification area for the first week of region play with the Lions. The Lions have 169 points for and 57 points against them in the AA-Region 8 rankings with the highest win percentage at .800.

The Lions have four pass rushers with over 100 yards, two with over 300. Their main scorer Devon Caldwell has eight touchdowns, and their defense has recorded 11 sacks and seven interceptions in just four games.

Winder-Barrow (3-2) vs. Habersham Central (2-3)

Kickoff: Saturday, Sept. 28 at 12:30 p.m.

The last two years for the Bulldoggs, around this time, is when things have started to go downhill. Last year, they 4-1 through their first five games before losing the remainder of the schedule. Similarly, in 2022, they went 3-2 in their first five games and then only won twice more near the end of the season, but still finished an even 5-5.

Right now, they stand atop the AAAAA-Region 8 rankings with a 1-0 record, only ahead because of the points for (42) and points against (7) them. They have a running back who averages almost 140 rushing yards per game (139.8) and has six touchdowns on the year. Four of his five games this season have been over 100 rushing yards for a total of 106 carries for 699 yards.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Week 7 preview: Five high school football games to watch Friday in the Athens-area