1. United States 8, Georgia 4: A week after going 10-10 against out-of-state competition, GHSA teams won just four of 12 against other states over the weekend. Among the losing teams were North Gwinnett, Grayson and Buford, which lost to teams ranked in the top 100 nationally. GHSA teams are 20-22 against out-of-state teams this season (34-21 in 2017).
2. Irwin County 40, Mount Paran Christian 20: The most surprising score of the weekend was not the final from this game, but rather the halftime score - Irwin County 40, Mount Paran 0. That's the fifth-most points Mount Paran has allowed in a game since the program began in 2008. Irwin was an eight-point favorite, per the computer Maxwell Ratings.
3. Monroe Area 36, Pace Academy 15: Monroe Area announced its presence as a factor in Class AAA with a victory over Pace Academy, which was projected as an 11-point favorite. That's the same Pace Academy that ended Eagle's Landing Christian's 37-game winning streak a week earlier. Monroe Area moved into the rankings at No. 6, its highest since 2013.
4. Stewart County 33, Randolph-Clay 0: It looks like Ashley Hardin has another team on the upswing. The first-year Stewart County coach, who previously helped revive programs at Butler, Jenkins County, Twiggs County and Northeast, has the Royals Knights at 2-0 for the first time since the program began in 2008. Stewart was 8-91 in its first 10 seasons.
5. Lambert 16, Gainesville 15: For the second consecutive week, Gainesville lost a game that it led in the fourth quarter. This time, the Red Elephants led 15-3 after three quarters but gave up two touchdowns by four-point favorite Lambert in the final seven minutes. Gainesville, which lost to North Forsyth 24-21 last week, is 0-3 for the first time since 1995.
Worth noting: Bryan County, a six-point favorite, snapped an 11-game losing streak that was tied for sixth-longest in school history when it beat Long County 28-14. Long County has lost 18 straight, the fifth-longest active streak in the state. ... Denmark, which won its opener against fellow first-year school Cherokee Bluff, got its first win against an established program when the Danes beat 20-point favorite North Springs 39-32. The Danes play AAAAAAA school Forsyth Central (2-0) this week. ... Lithonia is 3-0 for the first time since 1998 after a 43-6 victory over Stone Mountain. The Bulldogs, seeking just their third playoff berth in 16 years, have not won more than six games in a season since the 1994 team went 8-5. ... Perry is 3-0 for the first time since 1998 after a 30-27 victory over Westside (Macon), which was projected as a one-point favorite. Second-year coach Kevin Smith is 8-5 at a school that hasn't had a winning record since going 6-5 in 2012. ... Southeast Whitfield, a 38-point favorite, avoided a huge upset when it got a touchdown pass from Adam Sowder to Zac Cole in overtime for a 9-6 victory over Coahulla Creek, which has the state's longest active losing streak at 26 games.
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