Harrison hasn’t won a region title since 2005, but it’s going to make a run at one this year.
The seventh-ranked Hoyas emerged as perhaps the team to beat in Region 6-AAAAAA with a 43-19 victory Friday over Allatoona in the first football meeting ever between the west Cobb County rivals. The win put Harrison (5-0, 2-0) in sole possession of first place in the region, a half-game ahead of Dalton and Sequoyah, which both had the week off.
Allatoona, the 2015 Class AAAAA state champion, fell to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in the region. The Buccaneers started the season 0-3, but those losses came against three ranked teams – Cartersville, Alexander and Sandy Creek – that are a combined 12-0 against Georgia teams. And Allatoona was competitive in all of them.
But Harrison dominated the Buccaneers, taking a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter and pulling away with three second-half touchdowns.
Junior quarterback Justin Fields passed for 241 yards, rushed for 107 yards and had a hand in four touchdowns. Steven Peterson had six receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown.
“They’re like that dynamic duo, a super-hero tandem,” Harrison coach Matt Dickmann said.
The region championship is likely to be decided on Oct. 21, when the Hoyas travel to sixth-ranked Dalton.
Here are some of the other big stories in Class AAAAAA from Week 6:
*Region leaders emerge: Harrison wasn't the only team moving to the top of the standings among the regions that are well into region play. Also taking sole possession of first place with victories on Friday were Region 4's Lovejoy (a half-game ahead of Tucker), Region 5's Northgate (a half-game ahead of Alexander and Mays) and Region 7's Johns Creek (one game ahead of three teams). The biggest shakeup in Week 7 could come in Region 5, where No. 10 Alexander travels to No. 5 Northgate.
*Fromm watch: Top-ranked Houston County had its closest game of the season and didn't light up the scoreboard like it has in recent weeks, rallying from an early 17-0 deficit to beat Spalding 28-24. But Jake Fromm, the state's runaway leader in passing yardage, still made his mark. He threw touchdown passes of 53 and 11 yards and scored on runs of 10 and 7 yards, according to the Griffin Daily News, as the Bears improved to 6-0. Houston County will have next weekend off before opening Region 1 play at No. 4 Lee County.
*Losses for Region 1: Houston County survived against Spalding and Northside-Warner Robins had the week off, but otherwise it was a rare tough weekend for Region 1, which had suffered just one loss in the season's first five weeks. Third-ranked Valdosta (5-1) lost 45-24 to Class AAAAAAA No. 10 Colquitt County, and Coffee (3-2) lost 31-20 AAAAAAA Tift County. Lee County had a surprisingly easy time in a 37-7 victory over Thomas County Central. Region 1 teams now have a combined record of 24-3.
