High school football recap

IS IT OVER ALREADY?

Marist takes control in Region 6-AAAA

The season is only halfway complete, but the race for region championships might be all but over in four of the state’s 40 regions.

Marist, ranked No. 7 in Class AAAA, has a huge leg up in Region 6-AAAA after its 38-0 victory against No. 1 Tucker on Friday. The War Eagles, who lost a non-region game to St. Pius in the opener, are 4-1 overall and 4-0 in league play. More important, though, is that they have already beaten the two teams considered the top challengers, Tucker and Chamblee.

“Everything just clicked,” Marist coach Alan Chadwick told the AJC’s Michael Carvell after his team dismantled Tucker. “It was one of those nights when everything went right for us, and a lot of things went wrong for Tucker.”

Marist and Tucker have played in the same region since 1996, and one of them has won the championship every year (Marist with seven, Tucker with five.)

Southwest DeKalb is the only other roadblock in Marist’s way. Those teams meet Oct. 24 at Marist.

A clear leader has also been established in these regions:

• Region 3-AA: Jefferson County’s 13-6 victory against Vidalia leaves the Warriors as the only unbeaten team in the 11-team region. Jefferson County already has beaten one other key challenger, Laney. The key showdown could come in a season-ending game againt Dublin.

• Region 8-AA: Jefferson crushed Union County 50-14 in a meeting of the final two unbeatens in the region, and the Dragons beat title contender Fannin County earlier this season. Riverside Military and North Oconee will be the remaining hurdles.

• Region 2-A: Although it was just the opening week of region play, Wilcox County’s 63-34 victory against Twiggs County puts the Patriots in the driver’s seat. Both teams came into the game ranked in the Top 10. Next weekend, the Patriots play the region’s other contender, Telfair County.

DYNAMIC DUO

Boydston, Williams unstoppable

Walton’s Michael Boydston and Milton’s Toney Williams have terrorized Region 6-AAAAA through the first half of the season, and they kept it up on Friday night.

Boydston, a senior, had his second game of 300 rushing yards or more, running for a season-high 335 in the Raiders’ 42-14 victory against Alpharetta. He has 1,054 yards through the first five games.

Williams, a University of Tennessee commitment, eclipsed the 200-yard mark for the fourth time in five games, rushing for 226 yards in Milton’s 41-20 victory against Centennial. Williams has 1,151 yards this season, including a 357-yard effort against Chattahoochee in the opener.

Both teams will have a week off before going head-to-head at Walton on Oct. 10 in a game that ultimately could decide the region champ.

JUST WIN, BABY

GAC 0-4 for first time

Greater Atlanta Christian led Class AA No. 3 Westminster for most of the game Friday, but the Wildcats’ 17-14 victory left the Spartans still searching for their first win of the season.

The Spartans have been playing varsity football since 1991, and this is the first time they have started the season 0-4. The schedule has been difficult, with losses to Hart County, St. Pius and Baylor (Tenn.) in the first three games. And it doesn’t get easier any time soon — up next for the Spartans is No. 7 Blessed Trinity.

However, only one loss came in region play, and one upset could put GAC back in the playoffs, which it hasn’t missed since 1994.

Here are some of the other perennial powers that are still looking for their first win:

• Starr’s Mill: The Panthers had the week off, and they’ll take an 0-4 record into region play next weekend. Starr’s Mill had never been 0-4 in its previous 10 seasons.

• Shaw: The Raiders’ 33-10 loss to Class AAA No. 7 LaGrange dropped them to 0-5 for the first time since 1987. Shaw’s schedule has been difficult, too, with losses to Class AAAA No. 6 Sandy Creek, Class AAAAA No. 8 Coffee, and two good Alabama teams. The Raiders haven’t lost five games in any season since 1995.

• Dodge County: The Indians have been playing varsity football since 1957, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association, and never had they started a season 0-5. That’s where they find themselves after losing to Laney 35-0.

• Thomasville: The Bulldogs always play a difficult non-region schedule, but this is the first time they have started a season 0-4. Losses this season have come against Thomas County Central, Colquitt County, Cairo and Brooks County, and all of them have been by eight points or less.