The Jackets traveled for their second and final scrimmage of the season

The time has finally come, football fans.

Scrimmages - which didn’t count anyhow - are over with and done. The teams have been preparing for weeks during practices and watching film on the weekends to figure out strategies and areas of improvement.

Now it comes down to who honestly is better on the field, and who wants to win more than the other team.

Though it won’t affect whether they make the playoffs like it used to when both teams were in the same region, but it matters to those fans in Rockmart on the east side of the county and Cedartown on the west who put great faith in how the Jackets and Bulldogs perform each year.

Friday night will provide the test when Rockmart travels down Highway 278 to Cedartown for the two teams to tangle in their annual rivalry game, which kicks off on Doc Ayers Field at 7:30 p.m.

Both teams are coming into the game with wins in both scrimmages under their belt (if they had counted, both teams would be undefeated heading into this game and have scored 153 points between them.)

So it comes down ultimately who is more prepared for the clash to come, and both coaches are determined to pick up the season opening win on their record heading into the next set of games locally for both teams, the second annual Battle of the Borders.

Rockmart will play in that double header next week starting with a 5:30 p. m. kickoff against Piedmont High School, Ala., with Cedartown to follow after a brief break as host against Cherokee County High School, Ala.

Find more in-depth previews about the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets in this week’s edition in our annual special Pigskin Preview section, which also features information about this year’s cheerleading squads and their quest for state gold in competition, and what the marching bands bring to the field.