AA in brief: Gordon Central halts 21-game skid

There was a slight shakeup in the Class AA polls after Heard County beat Callaway but other than that, it remains largely intact. Callaway dropped from No. 5 to No. 10, which was Heard County's spot. The Braves moved up to No. 9. Every team behind the Cavaliers moved up a spot.

For a breakdown of AA games played in Week 9, go here.

One game that didn't make the Friday night recap was B.E.S.T. Academy at the No. 2 Hapeville Charter Hornets, a Region 6 game played on Saturday. The Hornets won 49-0 for their second shutout of the season, moving to 6-1 and 3-0 in league play. Through three region games, they've outscored opponents 154-13 and are all but guaranteed to earn a No. 1 seed.

Here's a glimpse at the updated rankings, with the previous week's rankings in parenthesis:

1. (1) Benedictine (7-0)

2. (2) Hapeville Charter (6-1)

3. (3) Screven County (6-0)

4. (4) Rabun County (7-0)

5. (6) Thomasville (7-0)

6. (7) Brooks County (6-0)

7. (8) Jefferson County (8-0)

8. (9) Dodge County (7-0)

9. (10) Heard County (6-1)

10. (5) Callaway (6-1)

• WJCL  and WSAV have highlights of top-ranked Benedictine handing Toombs County its first loss of the season with a 28-14 win last Thursday. It was the latest point in the regular season in which the Cadets faced an undefeated team since 1997 , according to the Benedictine scouting report. ToombsNow also has extensive coverage of the game.
• Benedictine plans on killing Bacon County on Friday and have prepared a proper burial for the Red Raiders. The Cadets are 5-0 against Bacon County dating back to 2012 and beat them 65-7 last year.
• At 6-1, the Toombs County Bulldogs could be considered a bubble team for rankings consideration, especially with their only loss being by just two scores to Benedictine. Other teams on the bubble: Elbert County (6-1) and Swainsboro (6-1). With ranked teams playing each other in region games later this season — No. 5 Thomasville plays No. 6 Brooks County and No. 3 Screven County plays No. 7 Jefferson County — it wouldn't be a surprise to see one of those teams enter the rankings at some point, especially Elbert County if it beats Rabun County this week.
• Thomasville is 7-0 for just the ninth time in a program history that dates back to 1914.
• Fitzgerald quarterback James Graham is healthy again after missing almost all of September with a knee injury and has the Purple Hurricane back on a winning track, having beaten Berrien 35-7 on Friday. At 3-4, they may not see the top 10 again this season, but they can be a force in the playoffs. They still have Thomasville and Brooks County to play in Region 2, where they're 1-0.
• The Gordon Central Warriors ended a 21-game losing streak in dramatic fashion by beating Armuchee 29-22. David Dawson of the Calhoun Times has the recap of the game, which ended with a Warriors goal-line interception. Frank Crowe has a cool picture of Warriors coach Cory Nix getting doused following the win.
• No team is ranked from Region 7, but Rockmart appears to have emerged as the clear favorite to win it after beating Pepperell 56-43. The Yellow Jackets (5-2, 4-0) opened region play by shutting out Dade County and Chattooga a combined 80-0 and appear poised to run the tables if it can beat Coosa (5-2, 3-1), Gordon Central  (1-6, 1-3) and Model (1-6, 1-3).
• WJBF has Region 4 highlights and in Top Plays, Screven County's Kashawn Robinson's one-handed reception comes in at No. 4.
• Thomasville's Kevon Shy had a punt return for a touchdown that earned him WTXL's Play of the Week .
• Hapeville Charter's Kingsley Enagbare was honored as Lineman of the Week by the Touchdown Club of Atlanta on Monday.
• GHSFD top performers include Banks County's Clayton Dykehouse, Chattooga freshman E.J. Lackey, Dodge County's Mykeal Carr, Heard County's Aaron Beasley, Jefferson County's Jaden Jenkins, and Swainsboro's Jacolby Gibbons, Jalyn Williams and Deandra Jackson. Rockmart's offensive line earned "lines of distinction" honors.
• The Swainsboro Tigers will release balloons at halftime of their game against Vidalia in honor of Green Beret and Staff Sargent Dustin Wright, whose funeral service was held at Toombs County's Booster Stadium.

“AA in brief” runs every Tuesday. Is there something you’d like to see in this space? Follow and reach out to us on Twitter.