ITG Next’s Phil Jones gives his score predictions for the top six games being played in Week 6 of the 2026 Georgia high school football season.
Lee County vs. Thomas County Central
Friday, Sept. 25
This battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in ITG Next’s Georgia high school football Class 6A rankings is arguably the biggest game of the 2026 GHSA football season as the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets travel to Lee County to take on the Trojans in a battle of 4-0 programs.
The last time TCC lost a regular-season contest was two years ago at Lee County. In that contest, the Trojans defeated the Yellow Jackets 35-23.
Now the two teams will meet once again in Leesburg, Georgia, on Friday night.
This game could come down to two things: the quarterbacks and turnovers.
For TCC, that could mean quarterback Aidan McPherson or quarterback Roland Waldrop, who have each played meaningful minutes in head coach Justin Rogers’ offense. Combined, the two have completed 62-of-88 passes, or 70%. McPherson has also rushed for 261 yards and eight touchdowns.
Lee County started the season with running back Jordan Bush playing quarterback, but Cohen Lawson has settled in as the starter since arriving from Colquitt County, where he was the starting quarterback for the past two seasons.
Lawson has thrown for 827 yards and five touchdowns since arriving at Lee County, second in Region 2-6A only to Houston County quarterback Ryan Maxwell. Bush can, and likely will, still see time at QB in Wildcat situations.
Both teams pretty much balance each other out with an abundance of talent at every position. That could make this game about turnovers, specifically which team can avoid them. I think either offense will be hard to stop without help from turnovers. But give either offense a short field to work with, and that could be the difference.
Phil’s Pick: Thomas County Central 42, Lee County 35
Marist vs. Blessed Trinity
Friday, Sept. 25
This is a battle of the Class 5A top-ranked Blessed Trinity Titans and No. 3-ranked Marist War Eagles. These two programs have one of the best rivalries in Georgia high school football, and with both teams part of Region 6-5A this season, the stakes are even higher.
Marist enters the game with a 3-1 record, while Blessed Trinity is undefeated at 4-0. The War Eagles’ only loss came against Class 7A Brookwood two weeks ago 27-21.
The teams met in last year’s state playoffs, with Marist defeating Blessed Trinity in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs 28-10. Marist has won the past four meetings between the two private Catholic schools and leads the overall series 5-4.
While much of the attention is centered on Blessed Trinity five-star senior linebacker and defensive end DJ Jacobs, running back MJ Craft is one of the state’s top offensive threats, averaging more than 125 rushing yards per game.
Marist has its usual blue-collar group of running backs under head coach Alan Chadwick, who is in his 42nd season as head coach and 51st season overall on the Marist coaching staff. Chadwick enters the matchup with 460 career victories.
Blessed Trinity is coached by another veteran head coach in Ed Dudley.
Phil’s Pick: Blessed Trinity 21, Marist 10
Toombs County vs. Pierce County
Friday, Sept. 25
Another top-five matchup in this week’s Pick 6 has Ryan Herring’s Pierce County Bears traveling to Toombs County to battle Buddy Martin’s Bulldogs at the newly renovated “The Pit.”
Toombs County is our top-ranked team in the ITG Next Georgia Class 3A Top 10 rankings, while Pierce County is ranked No. 3.
Both programs enter the game undefeated with identical 4-0 records, and both are 1-0 in Region 3-3A after opening region play last week.
This matchup will feature two of the state’s top running backs, who have each piled up impressive yardage and touchdown totals.
Pierce County’s offense always centers around a top back, and this year that player is senior running back Jae’veon Williams. Williams is averaging 296 rushing yards per game with 16 touchdowns. That production has come mostly in the first halves of his first four games, as all of the Bears’ wins have been by 21 or more points.
For Toombs County, the top rusher is senior running back Donterrius Mincey. He is averaging 214.5 rushing yards per game and has 19 touchdowns.
This is going to be a good one.
Phil’s Pick: Toombs County 29, Pierce County 28
Berrien vs. Thomasville
Friday, Sept. 25
This might rank as the Berrien Rebels’ biggest regular-season game in five years, if not longer. It’s also one of Jackson Dean’s biggest regular-season tests since he took over as head coach at the start of last season.
Of course, it’s hard to top last year’s major upset of top-seeded Lamar County in the opening round of the state playoffs as perhaps the school’s best overall win in quite a long time.
But this is the game that could really give Berrien a major boost in expectations for the Rebels’ football program moving forward.
Thomasville is one of Georgia’s most historic high school football programs, with five state championships and a national championship in 1974.
Berrien has never won a state title in football, but head coach Jackson Dean is trying to change that. A win over Thomasville would certainly raise the bar.
Phil’s Pick: Thomasville 28, Berrien 17
Norcross vs. Brookwood
Friday, Sept. 25
It’s a battle of traditional Georgia high school football blue-blood programs as Norcross hosts Brookwood this week.
This is the region opener for Norcross, one of these two Region 7-7A rivals. The Blue Devils are 2-2 overall after splitting their first four nonregion contests.
Norcross opened the season with an impressive 40-16 win over Mill Creek but lost a Week 2 matchup at West Forsyth. After a loss to North Atlanta, the Blue Devils bounced back with a home win over North Forsyth last week.
Meanwhile, Brookwood is looking like the Broncos teams of days gone by with a 5-0 record through the first half of the 2026 regular season. The Broncos won their first region game last week, defeating Duluth 46-0 at home.
Norcross could get right back in the swing of things with an upset win over the unbeaten Broncos and take an early lead in region play.
Can the Blue Devils pull it off?
Phil’s Pick: Brookwood 31, Norcross 16
East Coweta vs. Richmond Hill
Friday, Sept. 25
Two teams that enter this game with high postseason ranking standings in Class 7A hope to improve their postseason seeding with a win.
Richmond Hill is playing well, buoyed by one of the program’s best wins in recent memory when the Wildcats blocked a last-second field goal attempt and returned it 95 yards for the game-winning touchdown against Ware County. Matt LeZotte’s Wildcats are No. 8 in the current PSR standings, while head coach John Small’s East Coweta Indians are No. 11.
Richmond Hill is off to a 5-0 start, including last week’s 35-7 win over Wando of South Carolina.
The Wildcats are looking to start the season 6-0. It would be their best start since 2024, when they also opened 6-0 after defeating Valdosta 35-14 at home.
Meanwhile, East Coweta is 4-1 after impressive wins over Ola, Newnan, Douglass, and Lithonia. Its lone defeat was a Week 3 loss to North Cobb 38-27.
