Lowndes, McEachern, Parkview and Grayson clinched region titles in Class AAAAAAA on Friday while Westlake will have to wait another week after a stunning upset. And Roswell is suddenly looking good in Region 4. So is Milton in Region 5. And North Gwinnett had clinched Region 6 last month.
Most surprising Friday was that Westlake (5-4, 3-1) saw its 23-game winning streak in region play end when beaten 18-13 by Wheeler (4-5, 2-2).
Westlake gets another chance to clinch 2-AAAAAAA next week against Campbell (0-9, 0-4). Westlake has won five straight region titles.
Of course, the biggest game Friday was No. 1-ranked Lowndes vs. No. 3 Colquitt County. Lowndes took the lead for good late in the third quarter and won 28-17 to claim Region 1 for the second time in three seasons.
Colquitt had won the titles four of the previous five seasons and beaten Lowndes 40-6 in 2018, so the win was satisfying for the Vikings, who finished the regular season 10-0. Lowndes gets a week off before launching its bid for its first state title since 2007.
High School Sports
Meanwhile, the most suspenseful region race is taking place in Region 4. That’s where four teams – Walton, Etowah, Cherokee and Roswell – entered Friday night with 2-1 region records. Walton beat Cherokee 25-21, which made Roswell happy and Etowah not so good.
Roswell (6-2, 3-1) now can clinch the region title, successfully defending it as it were, by defeating Etowah (5-4, 3-1) next week.
If Etowah wins, then Walton (5-4, 3-1) is the likely champion because the Raiders beat Etowah last month. That’s if Walton can beat Woodstock (2-7, 1-3) in the regular-season finale.
Another region up for grabs is Region 5. West Forsyth (4-4, 3-1) knocked North Forsyth (6-3, 3-1) out of first place by beating the Raiders 22-21 Friday. Milton (6-3, 4-0) now has the lead and can clinch the title with a victory over North next week. A win by North could create a three-way tie.
And finally, No. 7 Marietta beat No. 6 Hillgrove 37-17. That probably determines the No. 2-3 seeds in Region 3. That’s big because No. 2 (Marietta) gets a home game vs. Camden County in the first round of the playoffs (barring upsets next week) while Hillgrove can expect to travel to Colquitt County in round one.
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