Shon Thomaston knows all about his Carrollton High School girls basketball team’s public image as the powerful No. 2 Class AAA team in the state, and he doesn’t have much use for the perception.

“We’re wearing this big ol’ target on our back. We’re ranked highly in these polls, which I care nothing about,” Thomaston said. “I wish they’d go away.”

He said such rankings give opponents even more motivation, as if crosstown Central High School’s girls needed any more motivation for today’s 7 p.m. rivalry contest at Carrollton. Even with his team’s fast start to the season and success in recent years, Thomaston said his girls will be going against the best Central team he can remember in recent years.

“The last few years we’ve had really, really good teams and good players,” Thomaston said. “But I have taken notice of them that they’re good and they’re for real. And we’ve got to be on top of our game (tonight).”

Central coach Jimmy LeBlanc said the biggest challenge for his Lady Lions (14-4, 2-1 Region 6B-AAA) against the Lady Trojans (18-1, 3-0 Region 6B-AAA) will be keeping a pace that is fast, but not frantic.

“They shoot the ball extremely well, and they play pretty fast,” LeBlanc said. “We like to play fast, but because of their pressure, their goal is to get you to play fast and in a hurry.”

LeBlanc’s team has built an impressive record by often creating offense from its defense. He said his team will have to be careful not to push the pace of the game too much in that regard, while still playing to the strengths that have helped Central so far this season. Even so, he knows his girls will have to do a great job on defense to gain an edge.

“I don’t know of anybody that’s applied pressure to Carrollton and gotten an advantage out of it,” LeBlanc said.

Thomaston doesn’t expect the Lady Lions to be changing their gameplan, though, just for tonight.

“Me and coach LeBlanc are the same in that regard. You do what you do,” Thomaston said. “It’s either good enough, or it’s not.”

LeBlanc also said he is interested to see how his team will respond to probably the toughest defensive pressure it has faced all season.

“I think we’ll learn a lot about ourselves ... we’ll learn if we’ve turned the corner in that sense or not,” LeBlanc said.

And though the Lady Trojans are looking good right now, Thomaston said his girls have taken note of things going on around the state: namely Class AAA No. 1 Franklin County’s 53-50 loss to an Oconee County team whose record is hovering around the .500 mark on Tuesday.

“Nobody’s invincible, and if you don’t come to play, you’re going to get beat,” Thomaston said.

And the one player who makes things go for Central, who could be the spark if the Lady Lions pull off the upset, is senior point guard Kelsye Holt.

“She’s quick. She can shoot the ball,” Thomaston said. “And I think she’s developed into a really good leader for that team ... all the other kids have gotten better, and they’re following her lead.”

Central-Carrollton boys: The Trojans have won nine straight games as they head into tonight’s 8:30 rivalry game at home against Central. But Trojan coach Tim Criswell knows that won’t mean much once the teams start playing.

“Any time Carrollton and Central play, you can throw everything out the window,” Criswell said. “It’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be an intense contest.”

LeBlanc echoed that idea.

“There’s going to be a tremendous amount of emotion on each side,” LeBlanc said. “When you get between the lines, there’s not a lot of love lost.”

With that in mind, though, LeBlanc said his team must make sure it doesn’t allow the emotional nature of the contest to become a distraction.

And against a deep Carrollton group, the Central coach knows making nothing easy for the Trojans will be a key to the outcome.

“You’re not really going to stop anybody,” LeBlanc said. “You just have to make them earn everything they get.”

And as Criswell’s team looks to make it 10 straight wins, he said the amount of guys he can use on a given night has kept his team from getting caught up in its own success. With 10 or 11 guys playing nearly every game, practices have turned into an intense competition for playing time.

“That competition in practice is huge for us,” Criswell said. “It helps keep you sharp. It helps keep you motivated.”

Having so many guys see minutes has also allowed plenty of players to contribute to Carrollton’s success.

“We’re just getting a lot of contributions in a lot of different ways from a lot of different people,” Criswell said.

LeBlanc, too, has seen more competition for minutes as younger guys have begun to step up for his team. He’s been trying to make sure his guys give their best effort every night.

“They’ve matured a little bit in that sense and been playing with a little bit more heart,” LeBlanc said.

Both coaches noted the Lions’ size advantage, with Criswell citing it as a concern. LeBlanc said it must be a strength for Central if the Lions hope to win.

“Our big guys need to be able to stick it in the hole,” LeBlanc said.

While the Lions (7-11, 2-1 Region 6B-AAA) will look to draw on their size for an advantage, the Trojans (15-4, 3-0 Region 6B-AAA) will try to use their versatility to gain an edge.

“We’ve got to try to use our depth and our speed and try to use those things to our advantage,” Criswell said.

And though both teams will certainly want the win for local bragging rights, Criswell said there’s another important factor in play, too.

“It’s a big region game for us,” Criswell said. “And we’ve got to take care of our homecourt.”