Several Class AAA teams went searching for success Friday and Saturday against higher-classification teams, and four of the top-ranked teams in the class – Crisp County, Pierce County, Lovett and Hart County -- found it.
The biggest upset of the weekend was Crisp County's 27-14 victory against Class AAAAAAA Tift County. The Cougars began the season at No. 10 in the rankings and climbed to No. 7 after a 29-14 victory against Americus-Sumter in Week 1. Its 16-13 loss to West Laurens in Week 2 moved the Cougars back to No. 10. Last week, Crisp fell out of the poll after it lost to Class AAAAA Dutchtown 19-17. Now, Crisp is back in at No. 9.
Sirad Bryant opened scoring against Tift in the first quarter with a 47-yard interception return. Marquise Palmer rushed for touchdowns of 56 and 7 yards. His 56-yard run capped a 4-play, 80-yard drive in the second quarter. His 7-yard run put Crisp ahead 27-7 near the end of the third quarter. Kamron Moate also scored on an 8-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Jack Carter. The victory avenged last year's 42-0 loss to the Blue Devils.
While Crisp celebrated, the top two teams in the class went down. No. 1-ranked Peach County lost to Class AAAAAA No. 10 Houston County 32-31 in overtime, and No. 2-ranked Cedar Grove lost to Class AAAAAAA No. 6 McEachern 29-7 in a game that began Friday and had to be continued Saturday because of weather. Both programs retained their spots in the polls.
Two teams lost their upper-class games and fell out of the top 10. No. 7 Benedictine lost to Class AAAA No. 5 Blessed Trinity 28-7, and No. 10 Westminster lost 14-0 to Class AAAA No. 2 Marist.
Here were the other winners:
-- No. 4-ranked Pierce County defeated Class AAAAA New Hampstead 49-40 Thursday. Jermaine Brewton was 6-of-11 passing for 107 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 55 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Brewton is 20-of-29 for 442 yards and four touchdowns with 25 carries for 111 yards and three touchdowns this season.
-- Lovett beat Class AAAA Mary Persons 29-27. Blaine McAllister passed for three touchdowns to three different receivers and added a rushing touchdown. McAllister, a 6-foot-3, 201-pound Princeton-commitment, had touchdown passes to Logan Givens, Henry Beery and Andrew Pinkston. His rushing touchdown with 8:19 left in the game gave Lovett a 29-21 lead. Mary Persons scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter to cut into the lead, but missed a field goal later in the quarter. McAllister has accounted for seven touchdowns this season, two rushing.
-- Hart County moved to 4-0, its best start since 2014, after a 32-9 road victory against Class AAAA Madison County. Luke Lee passed for two touchdowns, and the Bulldogs rushed for three scores. Malachi Thomas had a 30-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and added a short TD run in the third. He also caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Lee with seven minutes left in the game. Lee also passed to Notre Dame-commitment Cane Berrong for a short touchdown pass in the first quarter, and J'Len Lackey scored on a short run early in the second quarter. Madison County's touchdown came on a 59-yard pass from Colby Smith to Tay Cooper.
-- No. 7-ranked Appling County played down in class and defeated No. 10-ranked Dodge County, a Class AA program, 42-7 on Friday. The Pirates got rushing touchdowns from four different players – Jeremiah Holmes, RJ Conway, Sharode Roberts and Justice Huntley. Keon Williams caught a pass for a touchdown in the victory.
Class AAA updated rankings
1. Peach County (2-1)
2. Cedar Grove (2-2)
3. Calhoun (3-0)
4. Pierce County (3-0)
5. Greater Atlanta Christian (2-1)
6. Hart County (4-0)
7. Appling County (3-0)
8. Lovett (3-1)
9. Crisp County (2-2)
10. Liberty County (1-0)
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