Barber shops are notorious for offering their fair share of colorful debates when it comes yip-yapping about sports.

But when you localize it to trash-talk between Carrollton and Central football, things can heat up in a hurry, something Artagus Hollomon discovered first-hand this week.

“Half the barber shop was on our side, half the barber shop was on their side,” the Lions senior running back explained of his Thursday morning visit. “It’s going around everywhere in the community.”

Be it barber shop, coffee shop or the work-place water cooler, this is the one week of the year where Carrollton is a community divided: Either a Lion or Trojan — there’s no in between.

And tonight at 7:30, there will be no more talking, as the in-city rivalry showdown kicks off at Grisham Stadium.

Following a week of back-and-forth yammering, both the coaches and players are ready to finally hit the field and let their actions speak for themselves.

“Just a lot more people talking junk, that’s about it,” Carrollton senior linebacker Wes Dothard said of the mood this week. “It’s about the same atmosphere and everything, but a lot more people talking junk. They’ve had a decent season, so there’s a lot of trash-talking going on.”

Dothard said he’s heard plenty about how the Trojans (6-1, 2-0 Region 6B-AAA) are soft up front on the line, and as a team in general.

It’s something he’s dealt with in the past — and he’s treating it the same way as usual.

“It just goes in one ear and out the other,” Dothard said. “We’re used to teams talking junk to us, so it doesn’t really matter.”

Carrollton coach Rayvan Teague said it’s generally the fans who do most of the squawking, while the players — many of which have several friends at the opposing school — are just focused on playing the game.

“The fans get more into all the trash-talking than the kids do,” Teague said. “We just come out and do the job every week, and the kids have been focused on learning their assignments. They know this is an important game for bragging rights, but really no different than any other week.”

For first-year Central coach Mike Ledford, much of this is new to him personally, although he’s quite familiar with the in-city rivalry being that he’s spent the past decade in Carrollton, where Grisham Stadium was actually his home field as a coach with the University of West Georgia.

As for the series itself, the Trojans own a 33-7-1 all-time record against the Lions (4-4, 2-1 Region 6B-AAA), who are coming off a 28-22 region setback to Cartersville this past week, while the Trojans had an open week.

Carrollton can clinch the sub-region with a win tonight, while a Central victory would clog up the standings, giving both the Lions and Trojans one loss apiece, while the winner of tonight’s Cartersville-Cedartown matchup would also have just one loss.

Ledford said he realizes his team is the underdog, but that’s nothing new this season.

“That’s every week for us,” Ledford said. “This isn’t any different than the other ones. We live an underdog life right now. I don’t imagine there’s been a single, solitary game anybody’s picked us to win. And that’s understandable. We’ve had our share of homecoming games that we’ve been a part of besides our own.”

The Lions came out and stunned the Trojans last year by shutting them out in the opening half on their home field, before Carrollton scored 29 unanswered points in the final 24 minutes for the 26-point victory.

Teague said he expects another tough contest tonight, especially with the way Ledford has the Lions playing this year.

“They always play us tough,” Teague said. “Coach Ledford’s got them believing this year, so obviously they’re going to be playing even harder. The fact that the game has some positions and something on the line for it also makes a big difference. So I expect a very competitive game.”

Weather could become a factor tonight as the forecast calls for a chilly, wet night, something that both teams addressed on Thursday.

“You don’t know. Sometimes when it’s flooding like that, the best team doesn’t always win,” Teague said. “You have all kinds of mistakes and stuff that play into the outcome of the game, but hopefully we’ll have a dry night.”

Wet or dry, clear or cloudy, both teams are just ready to suit it up and let their game do the talking.

And yes, it’s a big game due to the cross-road connection, but it also has other important implications for both teams.

“It’s a big game. I mean, it’s a region game,” Dothard said. “It determines whether we’re going to stay No. 1 or not, so it’s important that we go out there and take care of our business, regardless.”