Houston County trailed by 14 points early, but quarterback Jake Fromm led the Bears to touchdowns on their first five possessions of the second half in a 49-31 victory over Peach County on Friday.
It was Houston County’s first game as the No. 1-ranked team in Class AAAAAA, a position they reached after preseason No. 1 Allatoona lost to Cartersville on opening weekend.
Fromm (committed to Georgia) was 27-for-38 for 444 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 858 yards and eight touchdowns in two games, according to the Macon Telegraph.
Houston County’s victory was part of another perfect weekend for Region 1 as all five teams improved to 2-0. Coffee had the closest call, rallying for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to beat Brunswick 21-20. The others had an easier time. Lee County beat Bainbridge 29-12, Valdosta cruised past Woodland-Stockbridge 51-12, and Northside-Warner Robins routed Henry County 49-0.
Here’s a recap of some of the other big stories in Class AAAAAA from Week 2:
*Harrison holds on: Harrison has served notice that it will be a factor after dropping from the highest classification, improving to 2-0 with a 22-20 victory over AAAAA No. 6 Rome. The Hoyas forced four fumbles, including one when Rome had the ball at the Harrison 2-yard line trailing by two points with less than four minutes remaining. A victory next weekend against Class AAAAAAA North Cobb would give Harrison its first 3-0 start since 2008, which was also the last year the Hoyas won a playoff game. Harrison opened the season with a 45-14 victory over East Paulding.
*Alpharetta rides out storm: Another team dropping from the highest class that posted a big win this week was Alpharetta, which bounced back from a season-opening 14-12 loss to Class AAAAAAA Milton to beat Gainesville 28-7. The game was delayed by about an hour because of lightning and heavy rain. Alpharetta held Gainesville to one first down and 13 total yards in the second half, according to the Gainesville Times. Alpharetta quarterback Matthew Downing was 23-for-32 passing for 278 yards and three touchdowns. The Raiders won region titles in the highest class in 2011, 2013 and 2014 before slumping to 5-5 last season.
*Losing streak snapped: Dalton ended a seven-game losing streak against northwest Georgia rival Calhoun with a 28-13 victory. Dalton leads the series 35-10-1 despite losing eight of the past nine meetings. Ahmaad Tanner rushed for two second-half touchdowns after Calhoun had cut the lead to 14-10. The loss was the first for Calhoun in the regular season since 2013 (42-7 against Carrollton) and just the second since 2008.
*Unfamiliar territory: Smaller regions this year have created opportunities for teams to play a challenging non-region schedule, and it has taken a toll on teams that we're not used to seeing with 0-2 records. Among those are Allatoona, the reigning AAAAA champion (lost to Cartersville and Alexander); Stephenson, which has had a winning record for 16 consecutive seasons and likely will against this year (lost to Cedar Grove and Mill Creek); and Jonesboro, which reached the AAAA quarterfinals last season (lost to Mount Zion-Jonesboro and Eagle's Landing Christian.
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