Dacula and Johns Creek clinched region titles Friday with victories against their top challengers, are three other Class AAAAAA teams were crowned region champions on the next-to-last weekend of the high school football regular season.
- Top-ranked Dacula won its fourth consecutive Region 8-AAAAAA championship with a 34-10 victory over No. 5 Lanier in a battle of undefeated teams. Dacula trailed 3-0 at the end of the first quarter but scored three touchdowns in the second, including a 99-yard pass from Jarrett Jenkins to Chris Scott, to take control. The Falcons are 19-0 in the region since its current configuration was established in 2016.
“It means a lot to win four in a row,” Dacula coach Clint Jenkins told Will Hammock of the Gwinnett Daily Post. “There’s only two championships you can win, and this is a big one to set you up going into the playoffs. But to win four in a row and to have gotten to be a part of it all four years means a lot. I’m so happy for our kids and our community.”
Lanier will play at Gainesville next weekend in a game that will decide second and third place in the region. Winder-Barrow clinched the No. 4 spot with a 41-40 victory over Habersham Central.
- Seventh-ranked Johns Creek clinched its third Region 7-AAAAAA title in four years with a 31-16 victory over Alpharetta. Johns Creek quarterback Ben Whitlock threw two touchdown passes to help the Gladiators build a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and scored on a quarterback sneak with 2:05 to play in the first half for a 24-7 lead.
Alpharetta will be the region’s No. 2 seed in the playoffs. North Atlanta and Northview are tied for third place and can clinch their spots with victories next week. Fifth-place Pope remains a live despite its 42-7 loss to Northview, but North Atlanta must lose to Chattahoochee in the regular-season finale for the Greyhounds to make it into the playoffs.
- Evans clinched its second Region 3-AAAAAA championship in three years with a 38-15 victory over Alcovy. The Knights were 2-2 entering region play but have since won four straight and close out the regular season against defending region champion Grovetown, which beat Heritage-Conyers 12-6 for its first victory in region play. Grovetown will be eliminated if it loses next week.
- Mays beat Alexander 40-35 to capture its third Region 5-AAAAAA title in four years. The Raiders lost to Kell 17-12 on Aug. 24 in the Corky Kell Classic but will take an eight-game winning streak into the finale against Northgate next week. South Paulding and defending region Creekside will battle for the No. 2 and No. 3, and the Alexander-Douglas County winner will finish in fourth place.
- Second-ranked Harrison is the 6-AAAAAA champion for the second time in three years after beating Sequoyah 42-7. Sequoyah took a 7-0 lead on its opening possession, but the Hoyas dominated the rest of the way. David Roberts rushed for 184 yards on 16 carries. Allatoona clinched second place with a 17-14 victory over Dalton, dropping the Catamounts into a four-way tie with Creekview, Sequoyah and Sprayberry for the final two playoff spots. Creekview plays Harrison and Sequoyah plays Allatoona next week, so the advantage appears to be in favor of Dalton and Sprayberry.
- In Region 2-AAAAAA, Richmond Hill clinched the title last week and will end the regular season against Effingham County, which was eliminated from the playoff race with a 35-10 loss to second-place Glynn Academy. Glynn’s victory also guaranteed playoff spots for Brunswick and Bradwell Institute.
- Tucker and Stephenson won their games Friday, setting up a winner-take-all showdown for the 4-AAAAAA title. Stephenson is the defending region champion, and Tucker won the previous two. M.L. King has clinched a playoff berth and plays Morrow next week. If Morrow wins, the Mustangs will clinch their first playoff berth since 1998. If Morrow loses, Lovejoy will get the final playoff berth.
- The Region 1-AAAAAA championship will come down to next week’s game between Coffee and two-time defending state champ Lee County. If Lee County wins, it will be the champion. If Coffee wins, there will be a three-way tie for first place including Coffee, Lee and Valdosta. The fourth playoff berth will go to the winner of the game between Houston County and Northside-Warner Robins.
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