Heading into the midway point of the season for most teams, fans around the county have several exciting games to look forward to this Friday night.

The highlight of the week will be the county rivalry showdown between Lithia Springs and Alexander.

The Cougars are coming in following one of the biggest wins for Alexander in the Kenny Palmer era after edging Mays 17-14. Last week, the Lions were soundly defeated by Villa Rica 45-0 but several Wildcat scores followed Lithia turnovers deep in VRHS territory.

Douglas County and Mays will both look to rebound from tough losses when they meet at Lakewood. With identical 1-1 region records, the loser of the game will have an up-hill battle to reach the region playoff.

In the other Region 5B-AAAA showdown, Tri-Cities will visit Atlanta for a showdown with Banneker.

The other sub-region, 5A-AAAA, will open its slate with a trio of games. State-ranked Sandy Creek will hit the road for a matchup with Whitewater. The Wildcats upended Carrollton 21-14 last week and is 3-1 on the young season.

In Region 4-AAAAA, Chapel Hill will hope to enjoy its homecoming when it hosts the Falcons of Pebblebrook. The Falcons are coming off a surprise 21-7 victory over Lovejoy this week. In last year’s meeting, the Panthers blanked Pebblebrook 23-0 in Mabelton.

The biggest matchup of the week is the showdown of Creekside and Newnan in Newnan. Both teams are undefeated but have taken different routes to reach it. Newnan has pitched three straight shutouts and have averaged 37 points a game. Creekside has been in two games that were decided by fewer than seven points and hasn’t allowed more than 10 points in a game this season.