The Callaway Cavaliers went on the road and came away with a big region win Friday night.

Now, they’ll try to keep it going at home when they host the Chapel Hill Panthers Thursday night at Callaway Stadium.

The game features a pair of teams coming off wins in their Region 4-AAA openers.

Callaway (3-1) went to Atlanta and handled Jackson 38-18, while Chapel Hill (2-2) got past Rockmart 23-22.

The Cavaliers got two touchdown runs from Devon Rosser and one from Kel Kyles, and Tez Parks threw a

scoring pass to Cortez Leonard.

Callaway’s defense also got into the scoring act, with Wilson Lindsey returning one of his two interceptions 70 yards for a touchdown.

Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins called it a “big win for us.”

“Anytime you can get a region win on the road, it’s good for our football team,” he added. “I was real proud of the way they competed the entire night.”

A big storyline in the game was the play of Lindsey, who not only returned an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter, but had another pick a short time later to thwart a Jackson drive.

Callaway’s run-oriented offense also continued to excel, and Chase Freeeman made a field goal to contribute to the effort.

Wiggins was pleased with how the Cavaliers played in a venue they were unfamiliar with.

“It was a different environment for us,” Wiggins said. “We had never played at Grady Stadium. It was an awesome venue. I was real proud of the kids’ effort.”

Wiggins figures Thursday’s game will offer another stringent challenge.

A lot of Callaway’s attention from a defensive standpoint will be centered on running back Tre Mitchell, who had two touchdowns against Rockmart, including a 60-yard run.

In the second half against Rockmart, with the Cougars nursing a lead, Mitchell kept getting his number called, and he responded.

“Tre’s a tough nut. We rely on him,” said Chapel Hill head coach Geoff Pastrick. “I almost rested him toward the end of the game, but he told me he wanted to stay in.”

Defensively, the highlight of the night for the Cougars was Tay Twine’s interception return for a touchdown.

Wiggins comes into the game with plenty of respect for Chapel Hill.

“Chapel Hill has a great football team. They’re well-coached. They have a lot of good-looking kids on both sides of the football,” Wiggins said. “From an offensive standpoint, they do a lot of stuff. They can throw the football and they can run it, so that will present our defense problems. From a defensive standpoint, they run to the ball well. They’ve got some good-looking kids. So it’s going to be a tough opponent for us. And they’re coming off a big win over Rockmart last week. They’re confident.”

As for the game being on a Thursday, Wiggins said that isn’t a big deal since Callaway has played a lot of Thursday games over the years.

A few things need to be adjusted for the Thursday game, but Wiggins said “there aren’t a lot of drastic changes.”

Wiggins added that “once you get to the middle part of the season, you have to keep your kids focused and playing hard. That’s the key to winning ballgames.”