They are ranked in the top 10 in of Class AAA in scoring offense, scoring defense and margin of victory.

They enjoy playing a run-first, physical brand of football, although they also have big-play capabilities in the passing game.

Six times this season, their offense has put up 33 or more points in a game.

Seven times this season, their defense has held an opponent to seven points or less in a game.

And they are quite possibly the fastest team in school history.

So who exactly are we talking about? Ridgeland or Carrollton?

Try both.

A rematch anticipated for a full year will finally take place on Friday night at historic Grisham Stadium in Carrollton where 9-0 and fifth-ranked Carrollton will host 8-1 and 10th-ranked Ridgeland in a battle to decide the Region 6-AAA champion.

"We've tried to be business-like in our approach the last few weeks, but our goal since the summer started has been to get back to this point and play for another (region championship) ring," Ridgeland head coach Mark Mariakis said. "We've had a good practice on Monday at Finley Stadium (Chattanooga). The kids were excited to get their feet back on the turf again, but they also know they have a tough task ahead. There are two good football teams that will be meeting again."

Playing for region championships is nothing new to Carrollton, which has won 27 of them since 1955.

But losing them - like they did to Ridgeland last year, 28-13 - is another story entirely, which is why the Trojan players aren't treating this like just any other region title tilt.

"We're out to get (Ridgeland)," Trojans' senior running back Louis Hudson recently told the (Carrollton) Times-Georgian newspaper. "We should have won it last year. We felt we should have won it last year. We feel we should win it this year. And we're going to go out and do it."

Carrollton certainly has the numbers to back up their confidence.

They are ranked fourth in all of Class AAA with 37.9 points per game on offense and their 5.6 points allowed per game is tops in the classification. Their 32.2 point-per-game average margin of victory is third-best.

By comparison, Ridgeland is 10th in scoring offense (32.3), third in scoring defense (6.6) and fourth in margin of victory (25.7).

The Trojans don't have a main go-to player on offense, but instead are armed with a stable of running backs that run behind a big, strong offensive line.

Senior fullback Jared Coley is the team's leading rusher with 422 yards and five touchdowns while Hudson is second on the team with 305 yards and four scores on the ground. Senior Preston Brooks and speedy juniors Broderick Snoddy and Damon Addison will also tote the rock for the Black-and-Gold.

Junior quarterback A.J. Barge, injured and unavailable for last year's championship game, is healthy and ready to go this time around. Barge has thrown for 935 yards (49-of-81) with 11 touchdowns against just one interception. He also can run with 113 yards and five touchdowns on the season.

Like the running backs, the corps of receivers is deep and talented.

Junior Marlandas Crane leads the team with 17 catches for 364 yards and four TDs while sophomore Josh Barge had 10 grabs for 186 yards and two scores. Additional depth comes from senior J.R. Freeland (9 rec., 132 yards, 2 TDs) and sophomore Telvin Brown (7 rec., 155 yards, 2 TDs), who is also a big-play threat on returns.

Seniors Conner Thomason and Chas Presnell, along with sophomore Zach Gordon, are mainstays in the offensive trenches. Senior kicker Joel Smith is also a weapon with 5-of-7 made field goals, 34-of-37 extra points and numerous touchbacks on kickoffs.

"Offensively, they are a carbon copy of last year," Mariakis said. "They have backs that can run and make plays. The quarterback makes good decisions and throws a decent ball and the line does a good job of blocking. They aren't 9-0 because of luck. They bring a lot of tradition to the table year in and year out."

On defense, the front four of seniors James Bryant and Jarvis Crane, junior Sherrod Mitchell and sophomore Tevin McCoy lead the way for a squad that has recorded 12 sacks, allowed an average of just under 93 yards per game and three shutouts.

Seniors Clay Horton and Ricky Strickland are standouts at linebacker while the secondary features Josh Barge, Brown and senior Parker Tuggle. Senior punter Jamie Swindle is average 33.7 yards per attempt.

"They'll go in a 50 front on defense and they don't get out of it," Mariakis added. "It's really hard to get them out of position. They have good size along the front and linebackers that can run. It will be just like last year. Points will be at a premium, so we have to take advantage of our opportunities when they come."

Head coach Rayvan Teague is also familiar with the Ridgeland program. The Flintstone native began his head coaching career in LaFayette, winning 26 games in four seasons with the Ramblers before moving to Swainsboro, where he guided the Tigers to a state title in 2000. He took over Carrollton in 2002 and has averaged 10 wins a year, taking the Trojans to the state quarterfinals four times.

Last year's game was the first-ever between the two schools.

"We're the defending region champions, so we're not sneaking up on anybody," Mariakis said. "But at the same time, (Carrollton) has 27 (region titles). This game isn't make or break for our program, but (winning region) has been our goal since Day 1. We're going down there to take care of business and hopefully bring home another region championship trophy."

The winner will host the No. 4 seed from Region 7 in the first round of the state playoffs while the loser will host Region 7's No. 3 seed.

Last year Ridgeland, heavy underdogs in the Region 6-AAA championship game in Rossville, gave up an early field goal, but stunned the Trojans on a 78-yard first-quarter touchdown catch by Mike Bowman.

Carrollton scored 10 unanswered points in the second quarter and looked to take a 13-7 lead into the locker room. But a hook-and-ladder play in the closing seconds set up Carlan Bowman's 4-yard TD run that gave Ridgeland a 14-13 halftime lead and tons of momentum.

Another long MIke Bowman TD grab, this one for 79 yards halfway through the third quarter, shocked the Carrollton faithful, and the Panthers iced the game with a methodical 12-play drive in the fourth. Devin Bowman's 20-yard scoring run with 4:02 left was the dagger that gave Ridgeland its first outright region title, 28-13.

Ridgeland racked up 368 yards of offense on the night, with 272 coming in the air on 10-of-15 passing by Carlan Bowman. Mike Bowman hauled in six passes for 211 yards.

Louis Hudson had 66 of Carrollton's 250 rushing yards, but the Panthers defense shutdown the Trojans in the second half. Dewaun Harrison picked off Trojans quarterback Josh Barge once while Mason Harris recorded a sack and a one pass breakup.