By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

HOGANSVILLE – Their hopes of winning a third consecutive region championship have likely been dashed, but the Callaway Cavaliers still have plenty to play for.

If Callaway (7-1) beats Spencer on Friday, it will likely finish second in Region 5-AA, meaning it will be at home for a state-playoff game.

If the Cavaliers win their next two games, they’ll finish a regular season with nine wins for the fourth time since 2008.

Beyond the regular season, Callaway will be looking to put together another extended stay in the state playoffs after reaching the semifinals a year ago.

First things first.

Spencer (5-3 overall) is tied with Callaway at 2-1 in the region, so a lot will be on the line when the two teams get together at Memorial Stadium in Columbus, with kickoff set for 8 p.m.

“They’ve got a lot of talent,” Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins said. “Coach (Pierre) Coffey does a great job. Going to Columbus will be a big challenge. That’s a tough place to play. Their kids will be ready to play. They’ve got a lot of explosive guys, and we’ll have to be ready to go.”

Callaway’s quest to make it a three-peat in the region basically ended with a 35-28 loss to Heard County.

That loss also halted Callaway’s chances of posing a second consecutive unbeaten regular season.

If there were any lingering effects from that loss, though, it didn’t show.

Callaway, facing a Temple team that’s having a solid season, delivered a superb all-around performance in a 48-21 win.

Callaway led 48-7 before Temple scored a pair of late touchdowns to make the score more respectable.

“I think it’s a great testament to our team (the way it bounced back),” Wiggins said. “We’ve had some really good days of practice. They come to work each day. They want to win.”

The Cavaliers had nearly 500 rushing yards last week.

Senior DJ Atkins led the way with 143 yards on nine attempts with two touchdowns, and he also had one catch for nine yards.

Friday’s game holds special significance for Atkins since he played at Spencer before transferring to Callaway.

“That’s my old school,” Atkins said after the Temple game. “We’ve got to go to work on Spencer.”

Cartavious Bigsby had six carries for 67 yards with two touchdowns against Temple, and Qua Hines had four attempts for 107 yards with an 80-yard touchdown.

Jacob Freeman had three carries for 87 yards with a touchdown while lined up at quarterback.

Kedrick Ramsey completed 6-of-10 passes for 75 yards.

Fullback Adrian Porter, who has been used mostly as a blocker, added a 16-yard touchdown run.

As has been the case all season, the offensive line of Keiondre Jones, John Curtis, Lawrence Thompson, Nolan Brooks, Keshawn Cameron and Jalen Moss carved out plenty of running room for the talented backs.

Callaway’s first-team defense limited Temple to one touchdown, which came in the first half on a long run by DJ “Flea” Winters.

Winters added another touchdown run in the second half, and he finished with more than 200 yards.

CALLAWAY VS. SPENCER

WHEN: Friday, 8 p.m.

WHERE: Columbus (Memorial Stadium)

RECORDS: Callaway (7-1 overall, 2-1 in Region 5-AA); Spencer (5-3 overall, 2-1 in Region 5-AA)