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Week seven was a key week for several schools, but Lanett and Valley will be the two teams in the Greater Valley Area who will be facing elimination this week.

Lanett’s win over LaFayette last week put them in a matchup against Goshen that could decide which team makes the 2A playoffs.

Valley will be facing elimination with their homecoming game against Elmore County.

Beulah will also be facing elimination in their region with a difficult matchup against Randolph County.

Chambers Academy will play Macon-East in a game that will most likely decide the region champion.

LaFayette will look to finish strong with a game against Highland Home, who is ranked second in 2A. Springwood will look to overcome injuries in a road game against New Creation. All the teams in the Greater Valley Area are still competing for something, and these final three weeks will tell a lot about where each team stands before the postseason.

Game of the week: Elmore County (4-3) at Valley (3-4)

The Valley Rams will play their most important game of the season this weekend against Elmore County, and the winner of this game will advance to the playoffs while the loser will be eliminated.

The Rams are coming off of a 25-7 loss to Tallassee on the road, and things won’t get easier as Valley will have to figure out their offense while they have players recovering from the flu.

Elmore County is coming off of a 31-20 loss to Beauregard, and they’ll be playing with a chip on their shoulder as both teams are facing elimination.

This will be the sixth ever meeting between these two teams, and the Rams lead the all-time series 3-2.

This will also be the first time in 39 years that these two teams will play each other, and the Rams beat Elmore County 14-7 back in 1983.

The game will be homecoming for Valley, and it will be played at Ram Stadium on Friday at 8 p.m. EST.

Lanett (3-5) at Goshen (5-3)

The Lanett Panthers are coming off of a dominant 45-8 win over the LaFayette Bulldogs this week, but now they’ll face elimination against the Goshen Eagles, who just lost 28-21 to Luverne.

The Panthers will now have to travel to Goshen to face a team who will be just as motivated to make the playoffs.

When it comes to the playoffs, the overall record doesn’t matter as much as head-to-head and region records.

If Lanett wins, they’ll be 3-3 in the region, and Goshen will be 2-4 in the region while both teams have one game left.

Even if the Panthers lose next week, a win over Goshen would give them the tiebreaker.

For head coach Clifford Story, he knows the importance of this matchup.

“It’s one of the most important games we’ll have this year,” Story said. “The winner of the game will be in the playoffs. It’s important for the players and the staff. Goshen is really good at running a misdirection offense. They’ll be at home, and their community knows what’s at stake. We just have to make sure we’re focused and locked in.”

This will be the third ever meeting between the Panthers and Eagles, and Lanett leads the overall series 2-0. The two teams haven’t played since 2007 when Lanett won 42-14.

The game will be played at Goshen at 8 p.m. EST on Friday.

Highland Home (8-0) at LaFayette (2-5)

The LaFayette Bulldogs are coming off of a disappointing 45-8 loss against Lanett, and now they’ll be facing elimination against an undefeated Highland Home team.

Unlike Lanett, LaFayette needs other teams in the region to lose in order for them to make the playoffs. The Bulldogs don’t have the tiebreaker over Lanett and Goshen, but there’s still a small chance LaFayette can squeeze their way into the fourth playoff spot.

If the Bulldogs manage to upset Highland Home this weekend, they would still need to beat Luverne on the road next weekend. They would also need either Goshen or Lanett to lose their last two games.

This will be the second ever meeting between these two teams, and the Flying Squadron beat the Bulldogs 42-3 in the second round of the playoffs in 2018.

The game will be LaFayette’s senior night, and it will be played at Bulldog Stadium on Friday at 8 p.m. EST.

Chambers Academy (5-2) at Macon-East (5-2)

After losing their first two games of the season, the Chambers Academy Rebels have now won five straight, and they’ll look to keep that momentum going against Macon-East, who is one of the top teams in the Alabama Independent School Association.

The Knights are coming off of a 35-34 loss to Edgewood, who is second in the region.

While the Rebels have a very high chance of making the playoffs, they’re looking to become the number one seed so they can have home field advantage in the playoffs.

Since their loss to First Presbyterian Day in week one, the Rebels have won five straight games with a combined score of 227-33.

If they beat Macon-East, they should win the region since their final region game is against Hooper, who is in last.

This will be the eighth all-time meeting between these two teams, and the Rebels lead the series 4-3.

Last year, the Rebels beat the Knights 35-19.

The game will be played in Montgomery at 8 p.m. EST on Friday.

Beulah (1-6) at Randolph County (7-0)

The Beulah Bobcats are coming off of their first win of the season over Childersburg last week, but now their playoff chances hang on their game against an undefeated Randolph County team.

The Bobcats need a lot of things to go their way if they want to make the playoffs this year.

A loss would immediately eliminate them from playoff contention.

The Bobcats are 1-11 all-time against the Tigers, but they haven’t played each other since 2015 when Randolph County won 35-0.

The game will be played in Wedowee at 8 p.m. EST on Friday.

Springwood (4-3) at New Creation (2-5)

The Springwood Wildcats are coming off of a tough 36-12 loss to Windsor Academy at home, but they’re dealing with some injury issues.

Luckily for the Wildcats, they’re still sitting in first place in their region.

The game against New Creation isn’t a region game either, and it gives Springwood a chance to get healthy before their final game of the season next weekend.

This will be the second straight week the Wildcats face a team from Georgia, and this will be the first ever meeting between these two teams.

The game will be played in McDonough, Georgia at 8 p.m. EST on Friday.