The battles are fixing to get serious in Class A in Central Georgia as region play nears, and there are some big-boy showdowns on the near horizon.

Who all is undefeated?

At 2-0: Crawford County and Tattnall.

At 3-0: Stratford, Taylor County

And with only one loss are Macon County, Mount de Sales and FPD, each at 2-1.

The game of the week has Mount de Sales at Aquinas in crossover Region 7 play.

Aquinas lost 35-17 to Prince Avenue Christian and then beat Class AA Laney 38-12.

History has been on the Fighting Irish’s side, having won three straight in the series, by 27-14, 52-21 and 55-35. The Cavs’ lone win? Back in 1973, 35-9.

Next week? Strap on a helmet.

Stratford visits Lincoln County, which is 1-2 but has scored 15 more points than it’s allowed. Tattnall travels to 1-2 Washington-Wilkes, led by former Northside offensive coordinator Chad Alligood.

The big one pits a pair of teams that are about 30 miles apart, are both ranked and are both state title contenders.

Macon County visits Taylor County in Region 4-BA, the Vikings hoping to avenge last year’s 63-27 spanking at home, which was their first loss of the season.

The Bulldogs are a little more run-oriented this season, although quarterback Jaddarius Hicks has passed for 487 yards on just 30 completions (in 53 attempts) with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Considering he has Trey Brown to throw to, he doesn’t need to air it out quite as much as Macon County did last year with K’Hari Lane.

Returning running back Aukeeveous McLendon has 401 yards and a touchdown while Hicks has added 295 yards on 45 carries. Brown has 14 catches for 269 yards and four touchdowns.

Taylor County is throwing much less than expected with returning quarterback Gunnar Watson, who is 15-for-22 for 260 yards and two touchdowns in two games.

Tennessee commit Lyn-J Dixon has 332 yards on 19 carries, an average of 17.5 yards a carry.

Bears break through

It was a legitimate question: Would Houston County win a game this season?

The Bears did little right, especially on defense, in a 42-3 blowout loss to Jones County to open the season. Starting quarterback Max Rigsby went down early with a shoulder injury and didn’t return.

The Bears didn’t look too bad in losing by 30 to Peach County, a game that was a little bit closer than the 44-14 score. Houston County went with Isaiah Harris at quarterback, and the passing game showed expected growing pains, but running back Wesley Steiner ran for nearly 240 yards and showed power and speed in the process.

Eagle’s Landing took control early for a 27-7 win, the Bears failing to score until late.

That spread was a bit of a surprise, and only added to the possibility of a winless season.

Next came Veterans, which was a so-so 2-1.

But the Bears, with Rigsby back at quarterback, looked much better and held on for a 27-22 win over the Class 5A Warhawks, their county neighbors to the east.

Region 1-6A looks a little funny, with defending state champ Valdosta struggling to a 1-3 record.

Coffee is 3-0 and Lee County 4-0. All of Lee County’s wins are against smaller programs, three vs. AAAA and one vs. AAAAA. Coffee has two wins vs. 6A and one vs. 5A, the latter coming 21-14 over (0-2) Ware County, which hosts Northside this week.

Houston County’s remaining non-region games are this week against top-10 5A team Warner Robins and Class AAAA Spalding, which is 1-2 but off an upset of Class 6A’s No. 8 Lovejoy.

Milestone Watch

* Peach County head coach Chad Campbell long ago became the Trojans’ winningest coach, and now he’s 11 wins from doubling up who’s second and third, Rance Gillespie (65-16) and Neal Rumble (57-15).

* Washington County is making head coach Joel Ingram wait for his 100th win.

The Golden Hawks are 0-3, with two losses to 4A programs and one to a 5A team.

But they’ve been outscored 64-124, and Friday’s 34-28 loss to neighboring Baldwin, breaking a three-game winning streak against the Braves.

Ingram fell to 0-5 against Jesse Hicks, who was 4-0 against the Golden Hawks during his first stint at Baldwin.

Alumni Update

* Former Warner Robins standout Marquez Callaway is certainly making the most of his increased playing time at Tennessee.

The sophomore wideout has five catches for 152 yards. Three of the five have gone for touchdowns, including a team-long 50 yards.