John McClellan's picks for high school football Week 1

The 2024 high school football season gets underway this week across most of Georgia with several local teams in action. Model hosts Sonoraville, Darlington is at home against Mount Vernon, Pepperell travels to Pickens, and Unity Christian opens against Young Americans Christian at Coosa High School.

The Rome Wolves, who were supposed to start the season against Creekside, now will wait until August 30 to begin play after injuries sustained in a bus accident last Friday forced them to cancel their scheduled opener.

Armuchee and Coosa play their first games next week. Other key games in northwest Georgia find Cartersville playing host to Columbia on Thursday night, Cedartown traveling to Rockmart, Cass meeting Callaway in the Corky Kell+Dave Hunter Classic at Barron Stadium, and Trion battling Gordon Lee in the longest rivalry in the state.

Sonoraville (3-7) at Model (7-4)

Series history: Sonoraville leads 10-6

Last meeting: Sonoraville defeated Model 21-0 on Aug. 20, 2021.

The Sonoraville Phoenix, who played the past two seasons in Class 4A, lost close games to Northwest Whitfield and Heritage and fell short of a playoff spot in their first losing regular season since 2018. The Model Blue Devils went 7-3 in the regular season in Class 2A and reached the playoffs for the second straight year before falling to Callaway 42-19 in the quarterfinals.

Sonoraville wins by 3.

Mount Vernon (8-4) at Darlington (6-5)

Series history: First meeting

The Mount Vernon Mustangs, who have reached the state playoffs for eight straight seasons, defeated Pepperell in the first round before falling to eventual Class A Division I state champion Prince Avenue Christian 72-41 in the second round. The Darlington Tigers, who are looking for their 29th consecutive winning season, finished 6-4 in the regular season in 2023 and lost to Whitefield Academy 28-14 in the first round of the playoffs.

Mount Vernon wins by 8.

Pepperell (5-6) at Pickens (3-7)

Series history: Pepperell leads 10-1-1

Last meeting: Pepperell defeated Pickens 34-20 on Sept. 6, 2019.

The Pepperell Dragons, who have a new head coach in Brandon Haywood, went 5-5 in the regular season before a first-round playoff loss to Mount Vernon 35-7 in a rare Friday afternoon game. The Pickens Dragons, who also have a new head coach in Craig Bennett, finished with a 3-7 record and fell short of a playoff berth.

Pepperell wins by 4.

Young Americans Christian (8-4) at Unity Christian (7-4)

Series history: Unity Christian leads 5-2

Last meeting: Young Americans Christian defeated Unity Christian 34-8 on Aug. 18, 2023.

The YACS Eagles started the 2023 season with four straight wins before losing three games in a row but still reached the Georgia Association of Private and Parochial Schools 8-man Class AA semifinals, where they lost to Sherwood Christian 65-38. The UCS Lions overcame a 0-3 start a year ago before dominating opponents as the season progressed and avenged a loss from 2022 by defeating Sherwood Christian 52-24 to win the GAPPS 8-man Class AA state championship. GAPPS has changed to 9-man football in 2024.

Unity Christian wins by 14.

Columbia (9-4) at Class 4A No. 4 Cartersville (13-1) (Thursday)Series History: Cartersville leads 3-0

Last Meeting: Cartersville defeated Columbia 31-6 on Sept. 8, 2023.

The Columbia Eagles won five of their six region games in 2023 and reached the Class 2A quarterfinals before losing 23-20 to Cook. The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes recorded their seventh unbeaten regular season in the past nine years and won their first three playoff games before falling 33-18 to Coffee in the Class 5A semifinals.

Cartersville wins by 24.

Cedartown (8-4) at Class 2A Number 3 Rockmart (12-3)Series history: Cedartown leads Rockmart 53-25-2

Last meeting: Cedartown defeated Rockmart 13-12 on Aug. 17, 2023.

The Cedartown Bulldogs finished second to Central of Carrollton in region play and defeated Holy Innocents’ before losing to North Oconee 35-9 in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs. The Rockmart Yellow Jackets rebounded from a 1-2 start and won 11 straight games before falling to Pierce County 48-45 in triple overtime in the Class 2A state championship game.

Rockmart wins by 8.

Cass (7-6) vs. Class 2A No. 4 Callaway (9-3) at Barron StadiumSeries history: First meeting

The Cass Colonels recovered from a 34-0 opening week loss to Rome and reached the playoffs following a 52-29 win over Calhoun before losing to Class 5A state champion Coffee 30-0 in the quarterfinals. The Callaway Cavaliers, who have reached the state playoffs 18 consecutive seasons, went 8-2 in the regular season a year ago and lost to Fitzgerald 17-14 in the Class 2A quarterfinals.

Cass wins by 7.

Class 3A No. 4 Calhoun (6-4) at Creekview (7-4)Series history: Calhoun leads 2-0

Last meeting: Calhoun defeated Creekview 28-14 on Sept. 1, 2023.

The Calhoun Yellow Jackets lost back-to-back games to Dalton and Cass to see their season come to an end and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1999. The Creekview Grizzlies finished 7-3 in the regular season and ended the year with a 24-10 loss to Blessed Trinity in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.

Calhoun wins by 3.

Gordon Lee (6-5) at Class A Division II No. 9 Trion (11-1)Series history: Trion leads 66-22-1

Last meeting: Trion defeated Gordon Lee 56-14 on Aug. 18, 2023.

The Gordon Lee Trojans, who elected to play up in classification the past two years, lost to Lumpkin County 52-6 in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. The Trion Bulldogs ended the regular season with their first perfect record since 1974 and dominated St. Francis in the first round before a 42-41 overtime loss to Elbert County in the second round of the Class A Division I playoffs.

Trion wins by more than 30.

Allatoona (2-8) at Adairsville (8-3)Series history: First meeting

The Allatoona Buccaneers defeated only Woodstock and Etowah as they struggled to their first losing record since they finished with a 4-6 mark in 2009. The Adairsville Tigers won their last seven regular season games to finish with an undefeated region record before falling to Gilmer 35-28 in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.

Allatoona wins by 3.

LaFayette (3-7) at Chattooga (2-8)Series history: LaFayette leads 23-18-2

Last meeting: LaFayette defeated Chattooga 28-3 on Aug. 18, 2023.

The LaFayette Ramblers, who have a new head coach in Ethan Thompson, opened the year with a win over Chattooga and closed the season with a win over Ridgeland but still finished without a winning record for the 14 th year in a row. The Chattooga Indians finished with a 2-8 mark highlighted by wins over Coahulla Creek and Coosa.

LaFayette wins by 8.

Gordon Central (0-10) at Southeast Whitfield (1-9)Series history: Gordon Central leads 15-11

Last meeting: Southeast Whitfield defeated Gordon Central 19-16 on Aug. 25, 2023.

The Gordon Central Warriors finished with a record of 0-10 for the third straight year and ran their winless streak to 31 games dating back to the last game of the 2020 season. The Southeast Whitfield Raiders, who will be playing a non-region schedule in 2024, finished 1-9 with their only win coming over Gordon Central in the second game of the season.

Southeast Whitfield wins by 5.

Woodland of Stockbridge (0-10) at Woodland of Cartersville (2-8)Series history: First meeting

The Woodland Wolfpack out of Stockbridge struggled in 2023 and finished with the first winless season in school history. The Woodland Wildcats out of Cartersville, who have a new head coach in Andy Scott, defeated Coosa and Pepperell and finished with a losing record again in a streak that started in 1999.

Woodland of Cartersville wins by 2.

In other games involving schools in regions in northwest Georgia:

New Manchester (4-6) over Washington (3-8) by 14 (Thursday); South Paulding (3-8) over Dunwoody (8-3) by 13 (Thursday); Dade County (6-6) over Ringgold (6-5) by 6 (Thursday); Class 7A No. 2 Carrollton (11-2) over Class 5A No. 3 Woodward Academy (12-3) by 22; Hiram (9-3) over Paulding County by 18; Parkview (7-4) over North Paulding by 7; Sprayberry (6-5) over Alexander (2-8) by 20; Harrison (7-4) over Kennesaw Mountain (1-9) by 18; Lithia Springs (2-8) over Lithonia (1-9) by 24; Class 3A No. 10 Troup (9-3) over Villa Rica (4-6) by 20; Spalding (12-1) over Central of Carrollton (12-1) by 11; Dalton (8-4) over North Murray (8-4) by 29; Fannin County (5-6) over Gilmer (7-5) by 6; Heritage (6-5) over Christian Heritage (4-6) by 15; Northwest Whitfield (6-5) over Coahulla Creek (5-5) by 6; Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (2-8) over Ridgeland (0-10) by 6; Murray County (2-8) over Towns County (0-10) by 6; Class 3A-A Private No. 10 North Cobb Christian (9-3) over Providence Christian (8-3) by 8; Haralson County (2-8) over Mt. Pisgah Christian (4-7) by 3; Heard County (4-7) over Clarkston (0-10) by more than 30; Temple (5-6) over McNair (4-6) by 12; Class A Division II No. 1 Bowdon (13-2) over Class 3A-A Private No. 4 Fellowship Christian (10-3) by 4; Greenville (2-7) over Calhoun County (5-3) by 23; Harris County (11-2) over Class A Division II No. 3 Manchester (11-3) by 6; Mt. Zion (3-8) over Chattahoochee County (1-9) by 7.