Many might remember the Adairsville game of 2020 as one where Rockmart took a big lead early and held it on the road, cruising on their way to a fourth region title in a row and a run into the playoffs.

In 2021, the Jackets are in a similar scenario: a 6-1 run past the halfway point in the season and three more region games in 6-AAA put them in a position to win a fifth consecutive region title and host the first round of the playoffs.

This makes the next three games critical for the Jackets as they return home this Friday for a rematch with the Tigers that could prove pivotal toward winning the title.

Adairsville is not the same team as they were in 2020. The Tigers have only lost a single game this year – to an undefeated and top-of-the-region standings Ringgold Tigers – earlier in the month on October 1 while the Jackets were in the midst of a 34-13 victory over North Murray at home.

Despite that, Adairsville has won out all their games in 2021 so far otherwise. They’re on a two-game winning streak after a 20-10 win over Coahulla Creek and a 21-14 win over Sonoraville. They sit in third place in Region 6-AAA this week heading into the Rockmart game with a 6-1 record overall.

Rockmart beat the Tigers 45-7 on their way to a sweep of every region team with exception of LaFayette in 2020. The Jackets sit at 8-6 overall against the Tigers in the 14 times they have met.

The Jackets defense will have to stop Adairsville sophomore QB Jonathan Gough, who last week against Sonoraville went 19 for 30 and 213 yards for three touchdowns, but gave up a pick against the Phoenix. They’ll also have a trio of junior threats to face in the passing game in Grayson Belcher, Evan Sanders and Chris Roper, who combined for 18 passes on 213 yards and the three touchdowns – all scored in the fourth quarter after Sonoraville’s offense weren’t able to put up any points but two touchdowns in the second quarter.

One positive for the Jackets: they’ll have only one main rushing threat to face in senior Eli Agnew. He picked up 50 yards rushing on 14 carries for the leading rusher against the Phoenix. Agnew has 98 carries for 587 yards on the season, his best game so far was against Murray County where he had 14 carries for 182 yards and three touchdowns against the Indians.

Rockmart will likely not have many problems with the Tigers this year, who had their best game so far against Murray in terms of scoring with a 55-13 blowout on Sept. 10. By contrast, Adairsville’s Week 2 victory over Cass was by a single point in their home opener, 29-28. Against common region foes in Coahulla Creek and Sonoraville, the Tigers won against the Colts 20-10, and the Phoenix 21-14.

Rockmart by contrast won those games big, with the Jackets dominating the Colts 42-7, and Sonoraville earning a 50-28 victory over the Phoenix.

Check back on Saturday for highlights and coverage from Rockmart’s latest home game against Adairsville.