This week's high school football games at a glance

Only two of our four local high school teams are in action this week as Cartersville and Cass enjoy late-season bye weeks. Adairsville will host Ringgold in a game that is crucial to the local Tigers' playoff hopes. The visiting Tigers of Ringgold are winless on the season. Also this Friday, Woodland travels just across the county line to East Paulding where the Wildcats will take on a resurgent Raiders team that has won two straight.

CARTERSVILLE HURRICANES (9-0, 5-0) are idle

The Class AAAA second-ranked Purple Hurricanes defeated Chapel Hill last week and secured an eight-consecutive region championship when Troup lost to Cedartown. Cartersville has now won 78 of its last 79 regular season games and has not lost a region game since Oct. 21, 2011. The Canes travel to Troup next week to close out the regular season and are assured a home game at Weinman Stadium in the opening round of the Class AAAA state playoffs November 15. The Hurricanes will play the No. 4-seed from Region 8-AAAA.

RINGGOLD TIGERS (0-8, 0-6) at ADAIRSVILLE TIGERS (4-5, 3-4)

Two teams of Tigers will tangle Friday night at Adairsville High School as the winless Ringgold Tigers visit in a Region 6-AAA matchup. For Adairsville, it will be the regular season finale’ and senior recognition night.

Adairsville’s four wins this season have come against Cass, Coahulla Creek, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, and Murray County. Those teams have combined for a 12-22 record. The five Adairsville losses this year are to teams with combined records of 29-11. Those marks bode well for the local Tigers since a win this week moves Adairsville a step closer in a quest to return to the state playoffs after missing last season.

Adairsville has been in the state playoffs six times since 2011. Five of those trips have been under current head coach Eric Bishop who is 45-31 in his seventh season.

Adairsville has won five of the nine games in the all-time series with Ringgold. It is a series that dates back to 2008.

Adairsville won four of the first six meetings between 2008 and 2016. Ringgold won the last two years by scores of 31-10 (in 2018) and 47-42 (in 2017).

Ringgold is 0-8 this season after making the Class AAA state playoffs last year with an “At Large” berth. Robert Akins — in his 13th season as the head coach at Ringgold — is 75-62 and has been in the state playoffs six times.

Ringgold’s best season under Akins came in a 2013 run to the state semifinals before his Tigers fell to eventual Class AAA runner-up, Washington County.

Projections

CalPreps — Adairsville by 18

Massey — Adairsville by 14

Maxwell — Adairsville by 20

BROADCAST: This is the Johnny’s NY Style Pizza Bartow County Game of the Week via BartowSportsZone.com. Use the green, ‘Listen Live’ button at the top of this page to tune in beginning with pregame coverage at 6 p.m. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

WOODLAND WILDCATS (1-7, 0-6) at EAST PAULDING RAIDERS (2-6, 2-4)

This game features a pair of teams trending in opposite directions. The Wildcats have dropped seven straight games since an opening night 35-7 home win over Southeast Whitfield. In fact, Woodland has managed only one touchdown in the Wildcats’ last five games. That score came in last Friday’s 14-8 home loss to Villa Rica.

Meanwhile, East Paulding enters Friday’s game riding a two-game win streak. The Raiders started the year 0-6, but have enjoyed back-to-back wins over Cass and Paulding County in Region 7-AAAAA action. In the two triumphs, the East Paulding offense has averaged over 36 points per game. East Paulding holds a 9-4 advantage in the series that started in 2000. Woodland won four of five meetings between 2001 and 2005, but the Raiders have currently won seven straight in the series including last year’s 24-7 victory on “the banks of the Etowah.”

Projections:

CalPreps — East Paulding by 14

Massey — East Paulding by 28

Maxwell — East Paulding by 32

BROADCAST: With Cartersville on a bye week, this game will be broadcast on WBHF-Cartersville (100.3FM / AM1450) and is available online at wbhfradio.org or on the TuneIn app.

CASS COLONELS (3-6, 2-5) are idle

Cass has been eliminated from any playoff considerations.

The Colonels will close out the 2019 season one week from Friday at Paulding County.