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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily New

It’ll be a Tuesday-night test for the Callaway Cavaliers.

In a game that has been re-scheduled a few times, Callaway and Haralson County will play a rare Tuesday game, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. in Tallapoosa.

The game was originally going to be played on Oct. 23, but it had to be postponed when school was shut down at Callaway High because of Covid-19 concerns.

The game was re-scheduled for the following Tuesday, but they didn’t play then either because Haralson County shut its school down for a few days that week.

After a conversation among the Region 5-AA coaches, a new date for the game was agreed upon, and game day is here.

It’s an important game.

Callaway (5-0 overall) is 1-0 in the region after beating Bremen 26-16, while Haralson

County (6-1 overall) is 1-1 in the region after beating Temple 31-23 in overtime and losing to Heard County 26-12 last week.

“(Tuesday’s) game with Haralson County is going to be tough,” Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins said. “They’re very physical. They’ve got a lot of really good players. They’ve got a scheme that fits their players, and they execute it extremely well. Right now, they’re 6-1, and they’re playing with a lot of confidence. It’ll be a great challenge for us on the road in Tallapoosa.”

Haralson County features a formidable rushing attack led by senior Marc Harris, who is closing in on 1,000 yards for the season.

Quarterback Cal Hyatt is also a threat running the ball, and it was his touchdown run in double overtime that clinched the win over Temple.

Callaway, meanwhile, is coming off a gutsy win over Bremen.

The Cavaliers were short-handed with a number of key players unavailable, but they still found a way to secure the important home win.

Senior quarterback Demetrius Coleman, who is in his third season as a starter, threw for 191 yards with four touchdowns, and he also ran for 95 yards on 13 carries.

Fellow senior Jalin Shephard also came up huge with three touchdown catches for a combined 112 yards, and Carlos Billingslea had a scoring catch as well.

LaQuize Gilbert led the defensive effort with 14 tackles with a sack, and Kier Jackson had 11 tackles.

Cam Smith had eight tackles with an interception, and Caleb Woody had six tackles, including two for loss.

Following Tuesday’s game, Callaway will have to turn around and play a road game against Temple on Saturday.

Callaway closes the regular season with a home game against Heard County on Nov. 20.

So this is the start of a stretch of two games in five days for the Cavaliers, but Wiggins said the focus at the moment is solely on finding a way to dispatch the Rebels.

“Right now, our focus is on Haralson County,” Wiggins said. “We won’t move past that until tomorrow night. Our kids have prepared, and worked hard to put ourselves in the best situation we can for the game against Haralson.”

Wiggins has been a head coach at Callaway since 2005, and he’s been in the coaching business for more than 20 years, and this will be the first time he’s been involved with a game on Tuesday.

“I’ve never been a part of a varsity game on Tuesday,” Wiggins said. “Our kids are excited. They’ve worked hard. We’re just ready to play at this point. We’re looking forward to the opportunity tomorrow night against a really good football team. Our kids are excited about the opportunity to get on the field.”

CALLAWAY VS. HARALSON

WHEN: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Haralson County

RECORDS: Callaway (5-0, 1-0 in Region 5-AA); Haralson County (6-1 overall, 1-1 in Region 5-AA)

ALL-TIME SERIES: Callaway leads 6-0

LAST MEETING: Callaway beat Haralson County 40-7 in 2015.