Springtime is almost here, but fans already have the itch for Rockmart football. Too bad they’ll have to wait a while to get to scratch it.

August can’t get here soon enough as the Jackets prepare for the 2024 season and a whole new region – a whole new 7-AA – with multiple home games coming up to get a chance to watch one of the best teams in Northwest Georgia take on some real competition this year.

Bremen, Rome, Cedartown, Cartersville, and many more will be facing the Jackets this year.

Those first two teams on the schedule – the Bremen Blue Devils and the Rome Wolves – are both scrimmage games (return opportunities from last year) and both squads are having to come to The Rock in early August.

Rockmart hosts Bremen (who lost to Rockmart in the scrimmage last year) on August 2 for the first of two pre-season games coming up. Rome will follow on August 8, and the Jackets will have a chance to get some sweet revenge after the Wolves won the past several matchups against Rockmart.

The Jackets open the season at home as well on August 16, hosting rival Cedartown for First Responders night. The Jackets coming off another historic run to the title match hope for a chance to trounce the Bulldogs after a two-year run where Cedartown have topped Rockmart.

Trips following that on August 23 and September 6 will be against some real tough opponents who have a history with Rockmart. The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes and the Ringgold Tigers are hosting Rockmart for the next two games.

Cartersville is the team likely to deal an ugly loss to Rockmart, barring a miracle to upset the storm coming to Bartow when these two teams meet.

The Canes have been a dominant and perennial powerhouse for 20+ years in Northwest Georgia football.

Rockmart and Cartersville haven’t played since 2013, when the Canes dealt a home loss to Rockmart 41-0. The Jackets are 29-37-4 against Cartersville all-time, and last won one against them in 1989.

The Jackets then get a bye week in between on August 30.

The new region comes with a long run through the rest of the season without another break until the beginning of October.

Region play begins with the Tigers in the new 7-AA. Ringgold came down in classification and join Rockmart in the region after the two were foes in 6-AAA in years past, coming off a 2023 season where they went 6-5 overall, 3-4 in region play to finish third in 6-AAA, and got knocked out by Wesleyan in the first round of the playoffs.

The Tigers last played against Rockmart in 2021 when the two faced off in a 6-AAA season closer where the Jackets won out 18-6 at home. The Jackets are 3-0 against the Tigers.

Rockmart got a preview for who they were going to face in the new region against Union County during the playoffs in 2023. Union County in 6-AA last year finished in second place in region play and went 8-4 overall.

The only time the two teams have faced off in either’s history saw Rockmart trounce Union 56-14 at home in the second round of the Class AA playoffs.

The Jackets host for their second-ever matchup on September 13 for Faculty night.

In the third road trip of the season, Coahulla Creek hosts Rockmart in Dalton for the next region matchup on September 20. The Colts went 5-5 overall and finished fourth in the region in 2023 with a 4-3 record in 6-AAA. They come back into the region with Rockmart after the two teams spent 2020-21 facing off against each other.

Rockmart holds a 2-0 record over them in their only two previous meetups.

A real foe in the Sonoraville Phoenix might be in store for Rockmart coming up this season. The Phoenix dropped two classification levels for the 2024-25 seasons, and previously played Rockmart in the region back in 2020-21 when the Jackets were in 6-AAA.

Through four meetings, Rockmart is 2-2 overall against Sonoraville. They took wins in 2014 and 2015 when Bin Turner headed the Jackets in early September play.

Rockmart’s two outings in region play previously saw big double-digit wins over a Phoenix previously.

The Jacket host Sonoraville for homecoming night on September 27.

Rockmart will get a much-needed break after homecoming week on October 4 for a second (and final) bye week for 2024. After that, it’s a run right through to the end (with some of the easier teams in the region based on recent seasons in the last three matchups.)

But first, Rockmart has to face a team that could upset their annual run to a region title.

North Cobb Christian is probably the one team coming into 7-AA after realignments and reclassifications who have any chance of putting up a big fight against a powerhouse Rockmart squad.

The Eagles went 9-3 overall, was tops at 6-0 in Region 6-AA and were one of the top teams in Class AA, but fell in the second round of the playoffs in 2023 to Columbia in a 18-13 loss to end their season.

Rockmart won its only meeting with North Cobb Christian back in 2022, when the squads faced off in the second round of the playoffs that ended with a 63-10 win over the Eagles.

The Jackets host for Senior Night to close out their home games on the season, and an opponent they haven’t seen since region play in 2020 and 2021 is back on the schedule. Rockmart will host Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe for the last home stand for 2024.

It was ugly for the Warriors in the only two meetings between Rockmart and LFO. The 2020 win by Rockmart was 45-14, and in 2021 was a 56-0 shutout in October outings in region play.

LFO had a rough year in 2023, going 2-8 overall and 1-6 (7th) in 6-AAA. Their only two wins? A 33-25 victory over Murray County in Week 2, and a late September win over Ridgeland 21-9.

Speaking of Murray County, the Jackets hit the road to face the Indians on their first of two road trips to end the season. The Indians haven’t had any luck against Rockmart at all in six outings in total. The first two in 1956 and 1957 were closer losses: 21-13 win for Rockmart at home in ’56, and a 34-6 win on the road (Murray was ranked in the Top 10 that year by then split papers in the Constitution and the Journal – Atlanta, that is.)

After a dominant run since Head Coach Biff Parson took over the Jackets program, the Indians haven’t scored once against Rockmart. Murray County has been shutout in a 49-0 loss in 2020, a 72-0 loss in 2021, a 49-0 loss in 2022, and a 57-0 loss in 2023.

Murray County did at least have wins on the record last year, defeating Chattooga and Gordon Central for a 2-8 finish on the season.

A team with even less luck (but a better record overall) to close out the year against Rockmart is North Murray. The Mountaineers have given up 8 games to the Jackets in outings that began in 2010, and most of the wins have been by double digits with the exception of a close in.

When Bin Turner was coaching the Jackets in 2014, North Murray came about as close as they have when they fell in a 30-29 game at The Rock. The margin of victory since hasn’t been all that close.

A shootout win in region play over North Murray (49-42) is as close as the Mountaineers have come since to defeating Rockmart as the two battle in region competition for the past four seasons in 6-AAA and in 7-AA.

Last year’s win at home put Rockmart up 59-7 over North Murray.

The Mountaineers finished their season in second place behind Rockmart in 7-AA with a 5-1 record and went 8-4 overall, exiting the playoffs in the second round with a 63-14 loss to Fellowship Christian.