Mays (Region 5) and Harrison (Region 6) captured region titles, the lone remaining unbeaten team in Class AAAAAA suffered its first loss of the season, and Drew’s stock rose dramatically during Week 11 of the high school football season.
Here are five games from Friday night that made the biggest impact on the playoff and region-title chases in Class AAAAAA:
*Coffee 37, Valdosta 14: Coffee remained alone in first place in Region 1 and ended Valdosta's hopes of repeating as region champion. The victory also sets up a region-championship showdown next weekend when Coffee takes on Lee County. Valdosta, which could have won the region title with victories in its final two games, will now be playing for its life in the regular-season finale against Houston County. The winner of that game will be the region's No. 4 seed, and the loser will be done. Valdosta (3-6) hasn't missed the playoffs since 2008 but has never reached the playoffs during a year in which it had a losing record in the regular season.
*Northside-Warner Robins 17, Houston County 14: Northside secured a berth in the playoffs for the 26th consecutive season, but the Eagles certainly flirted with disaster. Cory Munson kicked a 28-yard field goal with less than a minute to play to give Northside the victory and a 2-2 record in Region 1. A loss to Houston County, combined with a Valdosta victory over Houston County next week, would have left Northside tied with the Bears for fourth place in the region and on the wrong side of the tiebreaker. The No. 3 seed will be the Eagles' lowest since 2004.
*Brunswick 56, Richmond Hill 34: Richmond Hill had a chance to clinch Region 2, but the Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season and watched Brunswick climb into first place, at least temporarily. Brunswick has completed the region portion of its schedule with a 3-1 record and closes out the regular season with a non-region game against Osborne next week. Richmond Hill and Glynn Academy are both 2-1 and complete region play next week (Richmond Hill hosts Effingham County, and Glynn Academy plays at Bradwell Institute). If Glynn Academy loses, Brunswick will be the region champion. If Richmond Hill loses and Glynn Academy wins, Glynn will win the title. If both teams win, there will be a three-way tie for first that will be broken by point differential.
*Lovejoy 34, Jonesboro 28: Lovejoy clinched the No. 3 playoff berth behind Tucker and Stephenson in Region 4 and dropped Jonesboro into a three-way tie for fourth place with Drew and M.L. King. The fourth playoff spot will go to Drew if it beats Jonesboro next week, regardless of what happens in M.L. King's game against Mount Zion-Jonesboro because Drew beat M.L. King 19-12 on Sept. 29. M.L. King gets the berth if it wins and Drew loses. Jonesboro's only hope is to win and hope for an upset by Mount Zion.
*Harrison 31, Sequoyah 24: Harrison clinched its first region championship since 2005, and the Hoyas did it in the first start for sophomore quarterback Gavin Hall, who took over the position after a season-ending injury to Justin Fields, the nation's top-rated senior prospect. According to the Marietta Daily Journal, Hall was 10-of-15 passing for 143 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. Sequoyah fell into a tie for fourth place with Creekview but holds the tiebreaker advantage because of its 49-13 victory over the Grizzlies on Sept. 15. The only way Sequoyah doesn't make the playoffs is if it loses to Sprayberry and Creekview upsets Harrison next weekend.
*Scoreboard: Here are all the scores from Class AAAAAA on Friday:
Region 1
Coffee 37, Valdosta 14
Northside-Warner Robins 17, Houston Co. 14
Region 2
Brunswick 56, Richmond Hill 34
Effingham Co. 38, Bradwell Institute 13
Region 3
Evans 42, Lakeside-Evans 0
Grovetown 49, Greenbrier 14
Heritage-Conyers 40, Alcovy 35
Region 4
Drew 41, Mundy’s Mill 18
Lovejoy 34, Jonesboro 28
Stephenson 26, M.L. King 0
Tucker 62, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 0
Region 5
Douglas Co. 49, Creekside 7
Mays 34, Alexander 24
Northgate 21, Hughes 20
Tri-Cities 48, South Paulding 14
Region 6
Allatoona 23, River Ridge 7
Creekview 35, Sprayberry 21
Dalton 38, South Cobb 0
Harrison 31, Sequoyah 24
Region 7
Alpharetta 41, Dunwoody 0
Centennial 45, Pope 17
Chattahoochee 50, Northview 28
Johns Creek 31, North Atlanta 20
Region 8
Dacula 41, Lanier 7
Gainesville 35, Apalachee 12
Winder-Barrow 40, Habersham Central 28
About the Author
