Newton County teams were widely successful this past week on the gridiron. As we move past the midpoint of the season, let’s take a look at this week’s matchups

Grayson Rams (4-1) @ Newton Rams (2-3)

It’s a battle of the Rams this Friday, as the Newton Rams will host the Grayson Rams at Sharp Stadium.

For Newton, it has not been the season they had hoped. But a bounce back win against Archer last week may swing the momentum in the home teams favor.

The ground game has continued to be the bread and butter for the Rams, with Cincinnati commit Zion Johnson scoring a hat trick. The young freshman Kevin Hartsfield also added a 66-yard score, too. Quarterback Deron Benson was also efficient in the air, with receivers Malik Brightwell and Andrew Leslie having respectable performances as well. 

Defensively, the Rams allowed 25 points to Archer in week 6. But they will have to be more stout against Grayson, as they have outscored opponents 144-14 in the last three weeks.

Grayson also comes into the game as the ninth ranked team in the state, according to MaxPreps. Their one loss came in Week 1 against seventh ranked Collins Hill, in which the final score was 20-19.

Last year Newton defeated Grayson 31-27.

The battle of the Rams will commence at 7:30 p.m. in the heart of Covington.

Alcovy Tigers (1-4) @ Jackson County Panthers (3-2)

Not much went right last week as the Tigers fell to Winder-Barrow last week in a 42-7 final score.

The lone touchdown came in the air with a 29-yard score from Ashton Hawkins.

The Tigers were without the team’s leader in all-purpose yards, Nick Slidell. Head coach Spencer Fortson remained cautious when discussing Slidell’s status for this week’s matchup.

“We didn’t want to rush Nick back,” Fortson said. “We know this is our first region game, but want to make sure he is able to finish the region. We didn’t want to rush him back tonight, we are going to continue with rehab and Ty, our trainer, will make sure he is doing the necessary things he needs to do so he can be ready to go if need be by next week.”

When looking at the Panthers, they have had an up and down season. Last week they lost their region opener against Clarke County in a 27-11 defeat.

Alcovy has just one win on the season, with a 12-9 victory over Rockdale County in overtime.

The Tigers will need to tap into more of their offensive productivity – with or without Slidell – if they want to improve to 2-4 for the year and 1-1 in region play.

They will travel to Jackson County on Friday Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Eastside Eagles (5-0) @ Madison County Red Raiders (2-2)

A historic season continued for the Eagles last week, as they improved to 5-0 in a 48-12 win over the Flowery Branch Falcons.

Jayden Barr, Tyler Solomon and Tyler Marks had standout games on both sides of the ball, leading to the Eagles dominant victory.

The Eagles will make the trip to face the Madison County Red Raiders.

The Raiders have split the season so far, though there is no score on MaxPreps recorded for their matchup against Stephens County on Sept. 5. They are coming off of a loss against Jackson County, who are facing the Alcovy Tigers this week.

Regardless, the Eagles are looking stout on all sides of the ball with the offensive-defensive differential sitting at 210-73 on the season.

The Eagles will look to hold that momentum as they travel to Danielsville in a 7:30 p.m. matchup on Friday Sept. 27.

Social Circle Redskins (3-2) @ Putnam County War Eagles (2-3)

The region opener could not have gone any better for the Social Circle Redskins as they routed Utopian Academy in a 65-6 victory.

Everything clicked for the Redskins, as the starters were pulled for the junior varsity team going into the half. However, there is some room for concern as lead running back Jaylen Victor was injured in the contest. His availability for the road matchup is unknown.

After starting 0-3, the Putnam County War Eagles have won two straight and are looking to get to .500 on the season. In a time where region play is commencing, the War Eagles are heating up at the right time.

The two teams last played in 2021, where the Redskins fell 42-22. The War Eagles went undefeated in the regular season that year and fell in the playoffs.

The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. over in Eatonton.