1. LaGrange 24, Heard County 9: LaGrange, a 2-8 team in 2018, kicked off the season with an upset of the defending Class AA champion. LaGrange was a 32-point underdog, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings. The loss ended Heard County's school-record 12-game winning streak. Heard beat the Grangers 10-3 in the opener last season.
2. Gainesville 27, Mary Persons 21: Although Gainesville made the playoffs last season, its 2-9 record was the school's worst since the 1997 team went 1-9. However, the Red Elephants appear ready to put that behind them after knocking off the No. 7 team in Class AAAA. Mary Persons, which was projected as a 27-point favorite, beat Gainesville 42-0 last year.
3. Ola 58, Eastside 21: Ola scored a school-record 58 points and knocked off the team that was ranked No. 9 in Class AAAA last week. Eastside, which went 12-1 last year and reached the state semifinals, was projected as a 21-point favorite. Ola lost to Eastside 42-17 in the 2018 opener and finished 1-9, the worst record in the program's 13-year history.
4. Lamar County 27, Mount Zion (Carroll) 6: Mount Zion, coming into the year off of the first two 10-win seasons in program history, was tripped up by a Lamar County team that was projected as a 22-point underdog. Lamar County lost to the Eagles 34-0 in 2018 and went on to a 4-6 season. Mount Zion reached the Class A public-school quarterfinals.
5. Villa Rica 44, Campbell 7: Villa Rica coach Christian Hunnicutt, who compiled a 20-5 record the past two seasons at Grayson, made a splash in his debut with the Wildcats, leading them to a 37-point win in a game in which they were five-point favorites. Villa Rica was 5-5 last year, losing to Campbell 34-20 in the opener in what was the Spartans' only victory.
Worth noting: Chattahoochee County reached the second round of the playoffs for the second time in program history last year , but the Panthers stumbled in the 2019 opener, losing 12-6 to a Terrell County team that came in as a 16-point underdog. ... East Jackson, in its first season under head coach Cameron Pettus, picked up its first season-opening victory since 2013 when it beat Lumpkin County 25-22. East Jackson, which went 1-9 last season, was projected as a 19-point underdog. ... Murray County ended a 12-game losing streak with a 30-12 victory over Armuchee. It was the first win for the Indians, who came in as one-point favorites, since beating Coahulla Creek 49-19 on Oct. 13, 2017. Armuchee was 2-8 in 2018. ... Hart County was only a seven-point underdog to Elbert County but in 2018 suffered its most lopsided defeat to the Blue Devils in more than 60 years in a 35-7 rout at the Granite Bowl. Hart turned the tables this season with a 39-7 win for a 60-point swing. ... Towers beat eight-point favorite McNair 33-21 to end a 12-game losing streak that was the longest in school history. Towers lost to McNair 20-0 last year. The victory was the Titans' first since beating Redan 20-6 on Oct. 20, 2017.
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