A road trip for Rockmart’s third game of the season gives the Jackets a chance to get things back on track – or potentially fall short as they travel up to Catoosa County for the opening of the 7-AA schedule.

The last time the Jackets played against the Ringgold Tigers, the stakes were high for the 6-AAA region title and Rockmart holds a 3-0 record.

It might go a bit differently this year.

Rockmart sits at 0-2 after an epic storm delayed game against Cedartown in a 24-3 loss, then a 35-6 loss to Cartersville on the road the following week put the Jackets back on their heels.

On the other side of the matchup, Ringgold is starting their season off with positive results. They sit at 3-0 after just picking up their latest win over Heritage-Catoosa in early season play in a 17-14 victory at home.

The Tigers already rolled over Murray County in region play in a 48-7 victory in Week 2, and opened the season with a win over always tough Dade County (despite the record.)

Ringgold will be looking for a chance for revenge in this one, as the last time the two played in 2021 the region title was on the line and it came down to the final regular season contest between Rockmart and Ringgold.

The Jackets took an 18-6 win in the game at Rockmart, which also resulted in knocking the Tigers off a undefeated season.

Rockmart will need to get their passing game back in action and dominate on the offensive line in the upcoming contest on Friday night. They’ve struggled as quarterback Luke Parker hasn’t found his targets downfield in the pair of big losses to Cedartown and Cartersville.

Tristan Anderson has remained a bright spot for the Jackets so far this year, and Nate Davis carrying forward continues a longstanding Rockmart tradition of hard-pounding running backs pushing ahead for first downs.

The two seniors will hopefully get a chance to be playmakers up in Ringgold on Friday night.

Kickoff is Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Ringgold High School.