Six of the Class AAAAAAA’s top 10 teams are playing other top-10 teams Friday, so get ready for a shuffle in the rankings.
There are two games between top-10 teams in the high class. Those are No. 1 Grayson at No. 5 Colquitt County and No. 8 Milton at No. 7 Milton.
There are two others between ranked teams in the high class and No. 1-ranked teams from lower classes. Those are No. 10 Archer at No. 1 Buford of AAAAA and No. 2 Lowndes at home against No. 1 Valdosta of AAAAAA.
No. 9 North Gwinnett opens region play against Discovery. North has won 14 straight Region 6 games and is favored to finish first there again.
No. 6 Hillgrove plays at South Forsyth. This one will be interesting because Hillgrove looked vulnerable in a 27-24 victory over Etowah last week. The game went to overtime. South Forsyth (3-1) lost to AAAA champion Blessed Trinity 34-31 last month and beat Etowah 32-31 this month.
At least two top-10 teams will lose Friday, and as many five are in harm’s way.
No. 3 McEachern and No. 4 Marietta are off.
Below is a closer look at the top four games. First, here are the projected margins of victory from the computer Maxwell Ratings, with the favored team on the left.
Brookwood vs. Berkmar -40
Colquitt Co. vs. Grayson -4
Fellowship Christ. vs. Mount Paran -2
Flowery Branch vs. Gainesville -18
Forsyth Central vs. Clarkston -41
Hillgrove at South Forsyth -8
Lowndes vs. Valdosta -6
Meadowcreek vs. Lakeside, Atl. -26
Mill Creek vs. Duluth -41
Milton vs. Parkview -2
Mtn. View vs. Peachtree Ridge -24
Norcross at Central Gwinnett -13
North Forsyth vs. Woodstock -11
North Gwinnett at Discovery -40
Roswell vs. Wheeler -28
Shiloh vs. Lithonia -24
South Gwinnett at Heritage, Con. -17
Walton at Newnan -16
Archer at Buford: This is the GPB game of the week. Archer won 48-24 last season, but it was competitive going into the fourth quarter. Archer trailed 24-20 but scored the final four touchdowns, the first a 54-yard run by QB Carter Peevy with 4:14 left in the third quarter. Peevy was 15-of-16 passing for 217 yards and rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns on four carries. Peevy, a Lenoir-Rhyne commit, is back and remains efficient. He's 38-of-60 passing for 528 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. Renoldo Spivey has 174 yards rushing, 112 receiving. Ethan Lane, a center, is committed to N.C. State. Archer's loss came to Mill Creek 10-7 in a weather-shortened game that Archer was unable to make up. Under new coach Bryant Appling, Buford has been more balanced offensively. Jarvis Evans has thrown for 523 yards and nine touchdowns. Elijah Turner has rushed for 260 yards. Gabe Ervin has run for 258. Buford has one victory this season over a AAAAAAA team, defending state champion Milton, as the Wolves won that Sept. 6 game 26-23.
Grayson at Colquitt County: These programs rank 1-2 among Class AAAAAAA schools in victories this decade, as Colquitt is 107-27 and Grayson is 100-21. Both have two state titles in that time. In the 2018 game, Colquitt overcame a 14-3 second-quarter deficit starting with a 98-yard kickoff return and put the Rams on ice with defense and a strong running game and won 26-14. A lot has changed as both programs made head-coaching changes in the offseason. Adam Carter, formerly of Creekview, replaced Christian Hunnicutt at Grayson, while Justin Rogers, formerly of Jones County, replaced Rush Propst at Colquitt. Colquitt is more similar to its 2018 team than Grayson as the Packers returned quarterback Jaycee Harden (3,803 career passing yards with 37 touchdowns) and running back Daijun Edwards (3,771 career rushing yards with 57 touchdowns). Grayson graduated a state-record 12 major Division I recruits but bolted to the No. 1 ranking this month after beating high-powered and nationally ranked Marietta 28-14 on Sept. 13. Lafayette Gurvin has rushed for 539 yards and eight touchdowns while C.J. Dixon, an Illinois commit, has thrown for 549 yards and eight touchdowns.
Parkview at Milton: In the 2018 game, Parkview led 37-13 in the third quarter, then had to stop Milton's two-point conversion attempt with 1:38 left to stave off overtime and won 37-35. Parkview's Cody Brown rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns. The four-star recruit is back, and he's run for 350 yards in three games. Jordan Williams has thrown for 512 yards in a balanced offense. Milton was written off by many after losing to Parkview last season. That was the Eagles' second loss, but the team rallied to win its first state title. This year's team is more run-heavy and line-dominant. Left tackle Paul Tchio is a Clemson commit and AJC Super 11 pick. Ahmad Junearick has rushed for 383 yards and six touchdowns. Devin Farrell (13-for-22 passing for 141 yards; 199 yards rushing) and Jackson Weaver (20-for-40 passing for 236 yards; 38 rushing) share the QB role. Milton has lost to No. 1 Buford of AAAAA and JSerra Catholic in a California game. Parkview was routed by No. 2 Lowndes.
Valdosta at Lowndes: Lowndes won 71-35. The 71 points were the most scored by either team in the history of the Winnersville Classic. The victory was Lowndes' second straight against Valdosta and the 11th in the past 15 games in the series. Travis Tisdale, now at Kentucky, ran for 413 yards and six touchdowns, including three of 70 yards or more. Valdosta QB Tate Rodemaker passed for 524 yards and five TDs. Rodemaker is the leading passer in Region 1-AAAAAA this season. He is 70-for-99 for 1,163 yards and 18 touchdowns. Javonte Sherman is the region's leading receiver with 18 catches for 318 yards and six TDs. T.J. Dailey has rushed for 205 yards and five scores. Lowndes QB Jacurri Brown is the leading rusher in 1-AAAAAAA with 616 yards and nine touchdowns on 64 carries. Israel Mitchell (48 carries, 305 yards, three TDs), Gary Osby (40-216-7) and Justin Lee (26-210-3) also contribute heavily to a running game averaging 292.2 yards per game. Lowndes attempts about eight passes per game. Brown is 21-for-37 for 287 yards and three TDs.
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