Here’s a recap of some of the big stories in Class AAAAA from Week 6:
- Two Region 7-AAAAA teams – Cambridge and Forsyth Central – were looking for respect on Friday, and both of them earned it, even though one of them lost. Cambridge, a third-year program from Milton, proved that its 3-0 record wasn’t a fluke when it took third-ranked Kell to the final buzzer before losing 28-27. Kell scored on a 40-yard pass from Cameron Rosendahl to Ivan Walls as time expired. Forsyth Central, which also played Kell close last week before losing 28-14, rebounded with a 41-13 rout of previously unbeaten Riverwood. Forsyth Central, 3-2, is above .500 at the halfway point of the season for the first time since 2001.
- There was no letdown for Jones County, which knocked off previously top-ranked Northside-Warner Robins 45-37 a week ago. The Greyhounds moved to 5-0 for the first time since 1975 with a 45-7 victory over Grovetown. Bradley Hunnicutt passed for 222 yards, and Reggie Lewis and Chandler Rammage scored two touchdowns each, according to the Macon Telegraph. Jones County took advantage of Houston County’s loss to Lakeside-Evans to move into sole possession of first place in Region 2-AAAAA.
- Gainesville’s Chris Byrd, the leading rusher on a predominantly passing team, suffered a broken left ankle in the first quarter of the Red Elephants’ 47-13 victory against Heritage-Conyers, according to the Gainesville Times. The report said that Byrd was injured when he was tackled at the 10-yard line with Gainesville leading 20-0. Byrd rushed for 149 yards in the first three games for Gainesville (3-1 overall, 3-0 in Region 8-AAAAA), which averages 235.3 yards per game passing and 85.3 rushing.
- Next weekend’s showdown between No. 9 Allatoona and Alexander will be for sole possession of first place in 5-AAAAA. The Buccaneers and Cougars entered Friday’s games as two of the four undefeated teams in the region but were the only ones to remain unbeaten. Allatoona took advantage of two first-quarter fumbles to beat previously undefeated South Paulding 33-13. Alexander survived a tough challenge from Lithia Springs to win 24-14. New Manchester suffered its first loss, 31-28 to East Paulding.
- Region 4-AAAAA Div. B was full of upsets during the first week of subregion play, at least according to the computer Maxwell Ratings. Dutchtown was a five-point underdog but beat Woodland-Stockbridge 42-21, handing the Wolfpack its first loss of the season. Ola was a seven-point underdog but beat Union Grove 35-14. The biggest surprise, according to Maxwell, was Luella, which despite being 3-1 was a 15-point underdog against Stockbridge. Luella won 7-6 to move to 4-1 for the first time since 2008.
