Three pivotal contests take to the airwaves this Friday

For a handful of area teams, there is still plenty of time to regroup from slow starts, while a few other northeast Georgia prep football teams are still looking to fine-tune some facets of their game this weekend. And of course others will be gunning to maintain their strong starts.

Of the three games that will be broadcast live on Friday on the Jacobs Media family of radio stations, two will feature region battles, while a third will be the last non-region contest of the year for the two teams involved.

For Flowery Branch, this week’s showdown at Cedar Shoals represents an opportunity to erase the memories of an 0-2 start, as well as a chance to get started on the right foot in the playoff race in Region 8-AAAAA.

The Falcons will face a 2-0 Cedar Shoals team in Athens on WDUN AM 550.

The Jaguars are under a new head coach in Chris Davis and are off to their best start in five years.

Flowery Branch battled for four quarters in last week’s loss to Class AAAAAA No. 9 West Forsyth but couldn’t overcome a 14-0 deficit in a 21-14 defeat.

On ESPN Radio 1240 AM, another Region 8-AAAAA game will get underway, as Gainesville travels to face Winder-Barrow. The Red Elephants (1-1) bounced back from their season-opening loss to West Forsyth with a 19-15 win over Buford last Friday and will be wary of overlooking a Winder program that has lost 26 straight contests.

Gainesville’s defense should again play a key role after holding the Wolves to 68 yards rushing in last week’s win.

Meanwhile, on WDUN 102.9 FM, North Hall and Jefferson will face off in each of the two programs’ final non-region contest of the campaign.

The Trojans (2-0) have impressed in starting strong, especially on offense, where North Hall has shown it has plenty of spark in backs like TJ Tate and Kevin Christmas, while quarterbacks Bradley Brown and Andrew Smith are also capable of producing big plays and leading the attack.

Jefferson (1-1) bounced back from one rivalry loss, in the season opener to Commerce, to run away from another rival, Jackson County, 28-6 last week. The Dragons know they have a standout quarterback in Bryant Shirreffs and flashed some big-play ability in last week’s win.

Plenty of other key games dot the schedule this week, and be sure to tune in to WDUN and log on to Access North Georgia during the week and on Friday night to keep apprised of all the latest from the prep girdiron.

AREA PREP FOOTBALL SCHEDULE, Sept. 14
Flowery Branch at Cedar Shoals -- Radio: AM 550
Gainesville at Winder-Barrow -- Radio: 1240 AM
Jefferson at North Hall -- Radio: 102.9 FM
North Murray at Johnson
Lumpkin County at West Hall
Stephens County at Hart County
Banks County at Commerce
Hancock Central at Buford
Dawson County at Forsyth Central
East Jackson at East Hall
White County at Fannin County
Athens Christian at Jackson County
Towns County at Rabun County
Riverside Military at Georgia Military College
Andrews, N.C. at Union County
Cherokee at North Forsyth
Collins Hill at Habersham Central
Mountain View at Mill Creek
Norcross at North Gwinnett