When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Hugh Mills Stadium, Albany

2010 Records: Crisp County (3-4, 2-1 Georgia High School Association Region 1-AAA); Monroe (3-4, 0-3 GHSA Region 1-AAA)

Last Week: Crisp County defeated Westover, 14-3. Monroe did not play.

Series record: Crisp County leads 14-8.

First meeting: Crisp County 27, Monroe 14 (1972)

Last meeting: Monroe 17, Crisp County 0 (2009)

The Monroe Tornadoes and the Crisp County Cougars will square off in a game that has playoff implications in Georgia High School Association Region 1-AAA. Although both teams are 3-4, the Cougars and Tornadoes enter this critical

contest going in different directions.

After starting the 2010 season at 1-3, Crisp County has won two of its first three region games, with both of the Cougars wins coming against Dougherty (28-26 on Oct. 1) and Westover (14-3 last Friday). Their lone loss in region play was against Americus-Sumter (5-3, 4-0), who routed Dougherty, 42-0, at Hugh Mills Stadium last week. The Panthers held off the Cougars in a shootout, 31-28, on Oct. 8.

On the other hand, Monroe has lost four straight games after starting 3-0. After wins over Terrell County (32-12), Northeast (Macon)–(32-6), and Albany (23-14), the Tornadoes lost at Brooks County, 27-19 on September 17. Since that game, Monroe has come up on the short end of all three of their region contests, losing to Cairo, 49-0, Americus-Sumter, 14-6, and Worth County, 21-20.

Monroe has reached the GHSA Class AAA state playoffs four times in six years under head coach Charles Truitt (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009), including a GHSA Region 1-AAA title in 2006. But if the Tornadoes hope to make it five postseason trips in seven seasons, they must win their final three games of the 2010 season. They hope to take the first step towards a potential playoff run this Friday against the Cougars.

On the web: Georgia High School Football Historians Association (www.ghsfha.org/)