The last time Calhoun lost a region high school football game was against Darlington, 14-7, on Oct. 19, 2001, when the nation still was reeling from the 9/11 attacks.
It had been 17 seasons without a region loss. Then came Friday.
North Murray's stunning 31-7 victory against Calhoun snapped the Yellow Jackets 139-game region winning streak. The Mountaineers led 17-7 with 2:41 left in the game, when Noah Lundsford sealed the victory on a 33-yard run. North Murray added another touchdown after Chaisen Buckner intercepted a Calhoun pass and returned it to the 1-yard line, which set up Lunsford for another touchdown.
Quarterback Ladd McConkley, who was 9-of-12 passing for 93 yards in the first half, scored on a short run early in the second quarter to give North Murray a 10-0 lead. With 4:17 left in the third quarter, McConkley passed to Hayden Hulett for a 4-yard touchdown pass to move the margin to 17-7.
Jerrian Hames scored on a 16-yard run for Calhoun, and that was it. It was Calhoun's lowest points since the 58-6 loss to Trevor Lawrence's Cartersville in 2017.
The loss was costly. Calhoun took a tumble from No. 3 to unranked in Sunday's Class AAA poll. But the program still has a chance to keep its streak of 18 consecutive region titles alive.
Here's what happened with some of the other ranked teams:
-- No. 1 Peach County weathered an early deficit to beat Class AAAA Mary Persons 44-13 and get back on track after losing to Class AAAAAA Houston County last week. Peach trailed 10-7 after the first quarter, but the Trojans held Mary Persons scoreless in the second quarter and scored 17 points to retake control.
-- No. 3 Pierce County stayed perfect with its 10-0 road victory against Bradford, Fla. Pierce scored on a field goal in the third quarter and a touchdown in the fourth. Pierce hosts Class AAAAA South Effingham on Friday before entering region play against Brantley County on Oct. 11.
-- No. 4 Greater Atlanta Christian scored 21 of its 38 points in the fourth quarter, while holding Thomson scoreless, to take the victory. Jackson Hardy passed for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to keep the Bulldogs at bay. Tyler Bride rushed for touchdowns of 76, 64 and 2 yards and finished with 184 yards on 12 carries. Jackson Hardy passed to Christian Thomas (31 yards) and Brooks Miller (51 yards) for touchdowns. Tyler Curland was 5-for-5 on extra points for GAC and added a 23-yard field goal.Thomson led 12-0 before GAC scored with nine seconds left before the half.
-- No. 7 Crisp County can say that it spent the past two weeks beating Class AAAAAAA programs. Crisp defeated Tift County 27-14 last week, then beat South Gwinnett 24-21 Friday. A.J. Lofton was 6-of-10 passing for 76 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Marquis Palmer carried the ball 23 times for 118 yards and a touchdown. Junior Chris Paul Jr. caught three passes for 35 yards and a touchdown.
The Class AAA rankings
1. Peach County (3-1) beat Class AAAA Mary Persons 44-13.
2. Cedar Grove (2-2) was off. Travels to No. 8 Lovett on Friday.
3. Pierce County (4-0) beat Bradford, Fla., 10-0.
4. Greater Atlanta Christian (3-1) beat Class AAAA Thomson 38-19.
5. Hart County (4-0) was off. At home against Jackson County on Friday.
6. Appling County (4-0) beat Cook 21-14.
7. Crisp County (3-2) beat Class AAAAAAA South Gwinnett 24-21.
8. Lovett (3-1) was off. At home against No. 2 Cedar Grove on Friday.
9. Liberty County (1-0) was off. At home against AAAAAA Richmond Hill on Friday.
10. Jefferson (2-1) beat AAAAAA Gainesville 41-7.
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