Tucker senior defensive end Dawson Rivers (1) hopes to lead his Tigers defensive mates to several big plays against No. 4 Lovejoy on Thursday. (Photo by Mark Brock)
Thirteen games involving DeKalb County football games are on tap for this week headlined by the Tucker Tigers hosting the No. 4 ranked and undefeated Lovejoy Wildcats in a Thursday night game at Adams Stadium.
The Tucker (2-1, 1-0) vs. Lovejoy (6-0, 1-0) game is one of four Thursday night games set this week.
Tucker is coming off a tough come-from-behind 11-8 Region 4-6A win on the road over North Atlanta last week. The Tigers were down 8-0 heading into the fourth quarter before rallying to win on a 29-yard Camden Russell field goal with three seconds to play.
Lovejoy is coming off a 47-0 region opening win over Morrow last week while climbing to No. 4 in Class 6A.
Tucker and Lovejoy are meeting for the eighth time since 2011 with Tucker holding a 7-0 mark in the series. The first meeting of the two schools came in the 2011 Class 5 State Championship with the Tigers coming away with the title 22-7. The last six meetings were in region play with the closest game being a 29-26 win by Tucker in 2016.
Two big region matchups between DeKalb foes are set for Friday night in Region 5-5A and Region 6-4A.
Southwest DeKalb (1-2, 1-1) and Martin Luther King Jr. (1-2, 1-0) collide in Region 5-5A play at Godfrey Stadium with the opening kick set for 7:30 pm.
The two teams are meeting for just the seventh time and the first since 2015 in the series led 4-2 by the Lions. Southwest DeKalb won the last two meeting in 2014 (27-6) and 2015 (28-14). King won the first four meetings with the last win coming in 2013 (48-0).
It is a key region game for both teams as jockeying for a state playoff berth is underway. The Panthers are coming off a hard-fought 32-18 loss to No. 8 St. Pius last week and the Lions picked up their first win of the season 48-7 over Stone Mountain.
Cedar Grove defenders Demarius Jackson (50), Raul Aquirre (0) and Adonijah Green (99) try to stop a potent Greater Atlanta Christian offense in a battle of Top 5 teams on Friday, (Photo by Mark Brock)
The Region 6-4A clash pits a pair of teams known for their defensive play as the No. 4 ranked Stephenson Jaguars (2-0, 1-0) host the Miller Grove Wolverines (1-2, 1-0).
Stephenson leads the series with Miller Grove 3-1 having one the last three, but the teams have not met since 2015. Miller Grove won the first meeting in a big 32-29 upset of the then No. 3 ranked Jaguars. Stephenson took the next three meetings by a combined 105-14.
Both teams are looking to go 2-0 in region play with a victory.
A battle of Class 3A Top 5 ranked teams takes place in Gwinnett County on Friday as No. 1 ranked Cedar Grove (3-0, 2-0) travels to No. 5 ranked Greater Atlanta Christian (5-0, 2-0) for a 7:30 pm kickoff.
The two perennial Class 3A powers are meeting for just the third time and the first in the regular season with Cedar Grove holding a 2-0 advantage. The Saints won the first meeting 30-19 in the Georgia Dome in the Class 3A state title game in 2016 and won a hard-fought 28-18 decision in the Class 3A semifinals last fall on the way to a third state title in four years.
Cedar Grove cruised to a 70-0 victory over Redan last week while the Spartans knocked off Douglass of Atlanta 42-7.
See the full schedule for this weekend below:
DCSD FOOTBALL SCHEDULE – WEEK 4
Thursday, Oct. 22
ADAMS STADIUM
Lovejoy (6-0, 1-0) vs. Tucker (2-1, 1-0), 7:00 pm
AVONDALE STADIUM
South Atlanta (3-3, 3-1) vs. Towers (1-1, 1-0), 7:00 pm
HALLFORD STADIUM
St. Pius (4-1, 2-0) vs. Lithonia (0-3 0-2), 7:00 pm
AWAY
Redan (2-1, 0-1) vs. Carver-Atl (1-4, 1-1), Lakewood, 7:00 pm
Friday, Oct. 23
AVONDALE STADIUM
Northview (1-3, 0-1) vs. Stone Mountain (1-2, 0-2), 7:30 pm
GODFREY STADIUM
SW DeKalb (1-2, 1-1) vs. M.L. King (1-2, 1-0), 7:30 pm
HALLFORD STADIUM
Miller Grove (1-2, 1-1) vs. Stephenson (2-0, 1-0), 8:00 pm
AWAY
Arabia Mountain (1-2, 1-1) vs. Mays (3-3, 1-1), Lakewood, 8:00 pm
Cedar Grove (3-0, 2-0) at Greater Atlanta Christian (5-0, 2-0), 7:30 pm
Chamblee (2-0) at Mt. Pisgah (2-3), 7:30 pm
Dunwoody (0-3) at Fellowship Christian (6-0), 7:30 pm
Lakeside (0-3) at Berkmar (0-5), 7:30 pm
Saturday, Oct. 24
GODFREY STADIUM
Columbia (2-1, 2-1) vs. McNair (0-3, 0-3), 7:30 pm