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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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. (center) is flanked by GOP whip Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. (left) and Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, as Thune speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate passed the budget reconciliation package of President Donald Trump's signature bill of big tax breaks and spending cuts. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

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