The Callaway Cavaliers took a big step last week in their quest for a region championship.

In a battle of teams without a region loss, Callaway walked away with a hard-earned 14-10 victory over Central-Carroll.

Now, with a clear path to the region title, the Cavaliers will try to keep it going on Friday when they host the Haralson County Rebels in a Region 5-AAA matchup.

Callaway (5-1) brings a flawless 3-0 region record into the game, while Haralson (4-3 overall) is 2-2 in the region after last week’s 36-34 overtime victory over Rockmart.

“It’s going to be a great football game,” Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins said. “Coach (Alan) Lane and his staff, they do a great job. They’ll be coached up, and they’ll be ready to play.”

Haralson County came into the season expected to compete for a playoff spot, but it found itself with an unflattering 1-2 region record heading into last week’s game against Rockmart.

The Rebels came through with an inspired performance to get back into the playoff picture, rallying late to tie it before eventually winning in double overtime.

“Any time you win, it helps you mentally. I know it did me,” Lane told the newspaper in Carrollton. “After losing to B.E.S.T. (the week before) and playing the way we did in that game, we needed to go out there and play a better ball game.”

If the Rebels could pull off the upset at Callaway, their playoff hopes would be greatly enhanced, but Lane knows how difficult that task will be.

“Callaway is one of those teams that can put one on you in a hurry. They’ve got athletes,” Lane said. “We’re hoping we can keep our fingers in the dike and don’t allow the flood gates to open up on us and keep it close until the fourth quarter.”

Callaway heads into Friday’s homecoming game on the heels of a dogfight against Central-Carroll.

The Cavaliers trailed 10-7 in the fourth quarter before putting together a late touchdown drive that was capped by a Tez Parks scoring run.

Wilson Lindsey then sealed the victory with an interception.

In the first half, Terry Godwin returned an interception for a touchdown to give the Cavaliers their other score.

“I told the kids that I was extremely proud of the way they kept fighting throughout the game and finding a way to win,” Wiggins said. “That’s the sign of a good football team is to be able to handle adversity in an environment like Central. It was their homecoming, they had a week off to prepare for us, and they’ve got a great football team. It was a big win for us on the road. I was really proud of our kids to come away with a victory.”

It was the second hard-fought region road win for the Cavaliers after beating Jackson-Atlanta 38-18 in a game that was close late.

Callaway thumped Chapel Hill 35-0 for its other region win.

So far, Callaway is adjusting just fine to being in a new classification and a new region.

“Our kids are handling the new environments of the region, and they’re handling the different competition and new football teams that we play,” Wiggins said. “I’m just real proud of their work ethic throughout the week and preparing for whichever opponent we play on Friday night.”