FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The center of Region 8-4A will be at Yonah Field Thursday night when Johnson travels to take on Cherokee Bluff in a boys and girls doubleheader.
The Johnson boys have a chance to wrap up their second straight Region 8-4A title and ninth-straight overall while both the Cherokee Bluff and Johnson girls are still very much alive for a region championship.
Kickoff for the girls is set for 5:30 p.m.. The boys is set for 7:30 p.m.
For the boys, it will be a supreme test for Cherokee Bluff (9-4-1, 5-2 Region 8-4A) despite the Bears riding a season-high five-game win streak. The Class 4A top-ranked Knights (8-1-1, 7-0 Region 8-4A) have won 60 consecutive region matches going back to 2015 and also come on a five-game win streak.
Johnson dismantled No. 3 Cedar Shoals on Tuesday in a 6-1 win while Bluff rallied to beat Chestatee 2-1 in overtime. A win for the Knights would clinch the region title while a Bluff win would give them the head-to-head tiebreaker but they would need either Walnut Grove or East Hall to beat Johnson and the Bears would also have to beat East Hall next week to win the region title.
In the girls match, eight-ranked Cherokee Bluff (10-3, 7-0 Region 8-4A) is tied with fourth-ranked North Oconee (9-1-1, 5-2 Region 8-4A) atop the standings and those two teams will meet next Thursday at Bluff. Ninth-ranked Johnson (8-2-1, 6-1 Region 8-4A) is tied with Walnut Grove for third but the Lady Knights lost to North Oconee earlier this month. But a win over Bluff and a Lady Bears win over North Oconee could sent it to a three-way tie. Johnson also has Walnut Grove left next week as well.
