1. Riverside Military 20, Commerce 19: Riverside Military's victory against Class A public No. 3 Commerce was its first ever against a top-10 opponent in the Georgia High School Association. The Eagles had been 0-22 in such games. Commerce, projected as a 33-point favorite by the computer Maxwell Ratings, finished in a three-way tie with Riverside and Hebron Christian for first place in Region 8-A North but won the tiebreaker and will play Athens Academy for the region title this week.
2. Berkmar 17, Lakeside (Atlanta) 13: Berkmar picked up its first region victory since beating Shiloh 29-14 on Sept. 13, 2013, ending a 40-game losing streak in region games. Lakeside was projected as a 36-point favorite despite coming in with a 1-7 record. Earlier this season, Berkmar snapped a 47-game overall losing streak, fifth-longest in state history.
3. Forsyth Central 26, South Forsyth 21: Forsyth Central of 5-AAAAAAA clinched its first playoff berth since 2001 with a win over the defending region champion, which was a 21-point favorite. Forsyth Central had lost 11 consecutive games in the series. The Bulldogs can reach seven wins for the first time since 2001 by beating last-place Lambert this week.
4. Hancock Central 38, Lincoln County 21: Hancock Central beat Lincoln County for the first time in school history, ending a 21-game losing streak in a series that began in 1978. Lincoln County had won by less than 13 points only once in the previous 21 meetings (7-6 in 2015). Lincoln County is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 1973.
5. North Cobb Christian 35, Darlington 21: North Cobb Christian's victory against Darlington (No. 9 in Class A private last week) was its second against a top-10 team this season. Trion was the other, on Sept. 14. The Eagles had never beaten a ranked opponent until this season. North Cobb Christian will make the playoffs for the first time in the program's 12-year history.
Worth noting: Athens Academy, a 25-point favorite, avoided an upset when it beat Hebron Christian 22-20. It was Hebron's third loss this season by a total of 12 points to teams ranked in the top three at the time (24-17 vs. Clinch County, 21-18 vs. Commerce). ... Butler ended a 12-game losing streak against Laney, beating the Wildcats 8-6 for its first victory in the series since 1987. Butler (5-4) has been eliminated from the playoff race but has its most wins in a season since going 8-3 in 2011. ... Lakeview Academy ended a 14-game losing streak, the longest in the program's 12-year history, with a 21-20 victory over eight-point favorite Towns County. It was Lakeview's first win since beating Providence Christian on Sept. 22 last year. ... Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe is 7-2 for the first time since 2004 after beating five-point favorite North Murray 19-9. The Warriors have clinched their first playoff berth since 2009 and can win their first region title since 2004 if they upset top-ranked Calhoun this week. ... Providence Christian has tripled the program's overall win total this season, beating Athens Christian 17-7 Friday to improve to 4-5. Providence began playing football in 2012 and was 2-41 in the first six years, including 1-9 in each of the past two seasons.
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
About the Author