Which region is better in basketball: Region 7-AAA or Region 8-AAA? We probably won’t get a definitive answer to that question this week, but a slice of these schools will go head-to-head.
Chestatee plays host to Oconee County on Monday, then turns around for a trip to Hart County on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, North Hall faces Hart County on Monday at Chestatee, then visits Hart County for a game against Oconee County.
East Hall is opting to play games against schools from higher classifications in this early week of the season. The Vikings play host to Sandy Creek on Tuesday and visit Milton on Saturday.
Most other schools’ basketball programs are playing in tournaments, which are sandwiched around the Thanksgiving holiday this week. Flowery Branch is playing in the Adairsville Tournament, Lumpkin County is playing in the White County Tip-Off tournament,
Johnson and West Hall are playing in the East Jackson Talon Tip-Off tourney.
High school football
Three area high school football programs are left standing after the second round of the playoffs. In Class AAA, Flowery Branch (9-3) and Gainesville (12-0) are two of the eight teams still with a shot at claiming the state title. The Red Elephants play host to defending state champion Cairo (9-3) on Friday at Bobby Gruhn Field. Meanwhile the ‘Road Warriors’ from Flowery Branch are faced with a trip to face Carver-Columbus (11-1) in Columbus.
In Class AA, back-to-back state champion Buford (11-1) is still alive and comes home to face No. 4 seed Cook (7-5) at Tom Riden Stadium, after a win at Jefferson in the second round.
Thanksgiving Day Marathon
The nation’s largest Thanksgiving Day race is in Atlanta on Thursday morning with the Thanksgiving Day Marathon and Half Marathon, which is orchestrated by the Atlanta Track Club. Last year, a combined 9,475 runners took part in the two races.
The 13.1-mile half marathon starts near the Chamblee Marta Station on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and travels south to Atlanta and finishes at Turner Field. The full 26.2-mile marathon starts at Turner Field, makes the midway turn at the starting point of the half marathon and also finishes at Turner Field.
College football
Georgia Tech (10-1) plays host to Georgia (6-5) at 8 p.m. Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Yellow Jackets have already secured the Coastal Division title in the ACC and will play in the league’s title game on Dec. 5 in Tampa, Fla. The Bulldogs enter the game after a 34-27 loss against Kentucky last Saturday night in Athens. Both teams are already bowl eligible.