Week 1 was a mere appetizer. Now it’s time for the main course.

Region play has arrived, and for several of The Herald’s coverage area teams it’s a chance to put a tough week of football behind them. Five of our seven teams lost their opening games, and now the stakes are raised. How will they fare? We’ll find out in a few days.

I’m hoping to fare as well as I did in last week’s picks. I went 4-1, with the only blemish being Spring Garden’s loss at Appalachian.

Now, let’s see what the crystal ball has in store for Week 2.

Woodville at Cedar Bluff: Almost anything that could have gone wrong for Cedar Bluff last week against Sand Rock did go wrong. Turnovers, penalties and a pair of injuries to Kyle Crane and Marcus Reese made it a night to forget for the Tigers.

Head coach Jonathan McWhorter said the Tigers were going to focus a lot of practice time this week on the fundamentals. When game time comes on Friday, I expect the mistakes to be toned down, which will translate into a big win … Cedar Bluff 38, Woodville 7.

Gaylesville at Gaston: How’d you like to be the Gaylesville coaching staff right now? They had a tough time preparing last week for Coosa Christian running back A.T. Thomas. Now, they have to come up with a plan to stop Gaston’s Demont Buice.

Buice, who recently committed to Clemson, rushed for 252 yards and six touchdowns in a 39-29 win over Sardis last week. While I don’t expect Buice to have quite as big a night against the Trojans, I still think the second-ranked Bulldogs will come out on top … Gaston 32, Gaylesville 14.

Collinsville at Spring Garden: Spring Garden opened up strong against Appalachian last week, but tailed off in its 31-14 loss.

The opposite was true for Collinsville. It struggled to begin its game against Victory Christian, but scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns in its 21-12 loss.

I expect the same for both teams this week. I think Spring Garden will jump out early and have to hang on to victory late. Trey Littlefield scores a touchdown in the clutch to lift Spring Garden to the win … Spring Garden 21, Collinsville 16.

North Sand Mountain at Sand Rock: Sand Rock coach Russell Jacoway said he couldn’t have been prouder of how well his Wildcats played last Thursday. And why shouldn’t he be?

Contributions were aplenty against Cedar Bluff in almost every facet of the game. If the Wildcats perform like that every week, they will be in contention for the Class 2A, Region 6 title. They take a big step toward that goal against North Sand Mountain … Sand Rock 35, North Sand Mountain 14.

Piedmont at Wellborn: Piedmont’s 42-13 loss to Cherokee County last week really wasn’t a true indicator of how good the Bulldogs are. If not for giving up a pair of special team touchdowns, the score would have been a lot closer.

I look for Piedmont to do a much better job in defending returns against Wellborn. I also look for another strong rushing game from tailback Christian Cantrell in leading the Bulldogs to victory … Piedmont 42, Wellborn 16.

Cherokee County at Alexandria: I made a comment to someone at last week’s Cherokee County-Piedmont game about how much better I think the Warriors are this season as compared to last.

That’s a scary thought, because the Warriors went 14-1 last year and finished as Class 4A runners-up.

Gabriel Chambers, D.J. Fife and Coty Blanchard continued doing what they do best in last week’s win over Piedmont, but the Warrior defense did a great job of containing a potent Bulldog offense.

Alexandria struggled in its 14-13 loss to Anniston last week, and while its hard to imagine a Valley Cub team being 0-2, I feel that’s exactly what they’re going to be staring at after Friday … Cherokee County 36, Alexandria 14.

College Football

Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech: The Gamecocks won’t have the services of quarterback Ryan Perrilloux after he was suspended for a violation of team rules. That’s bad news for the Gamecocks. I see the Yellowjackets swarming all over JSU … Georgia Tech 42, JSU 14.

Louisiana Tech at Auburn: Much has been made of the quarterback situation at Auburn over the summer. Chris Todd won the starting job over Kodi Burns, who will see playing time at other offensive positions. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Tigers ran some sort of variation of the Wildcat formation to utilize Burns’ talent.

I think Auburn will claim victory on the Plains in Gene Chizik’s debut as the Tigers’ head coach … Auburn 24, Louisiana Tech 10.

Alabama vs. Virginia Tech (Georgia Dome): The Alabama Crimson Tide has some fond memories of the Georgia Dome. It crushed Clemson 34-10 in the season opener last year.

The Tide also has some not-so-fond memories of the Dome. It lost 31-20 to national champion Florida in the SEC Championship game.

I look for Alabama to begin this season the way it started the last one. Quarterback Greg McElroy will have a solid performance in leading the Tide past the Hokies … Alabama 27, Virginia Tech 13.

Georgia at Oklahoma State: The Georgia Bulldogs are having to replace a lot on the offensive side of the football this season. On the flip side, the Cowboys return a lot of their weapons.

I think it may take a while for Georgia to get in a rhythm, and by the time the Bulldogs do, it may be too late … Oklahoma State 33, Georgia 24.