Forgive me if this reads like a preview of Week 11 instead of a recap of Week 10, but we’ve got a big slate of games on deck, and it’d be tough to talk about what happened on this Friday night without digging into how it affects what’s happening on the next one.
Briefly: It was a chalk week. Most of the teams expected to win did, including all of the top-10 teams in action (just the second time this year that’s happened in AA, by the way). Don’t expect the same a week from now. No fewer than four region titles – that’s half of the state – could be decided next week.
Let’s get into it …
Region 1-AA
Brooks County fell out of the top 10 after last week’s 57-29 loss to No. 6 Fitzgerald, but the two-time defending region champs still have a chance to wreak some havoc in 1-AA. The Trojans, who knocked off Early County, 35-7, on Friday, host No. 5 Thomasville next week. It’ll be the regular season finale for Brooks, and a win would likely force a three-way tie between the Trojans, Thomasville and Fitzgerald. Staying out of third place is vitally important in Region 1, because I don’t think anybody wants to play No. 4 Benedictine in round 1.
Speaking of the Cadets …
Looks like Benedictine had some aggression to take out
Coming off last week’s 35-28 loss to No. 2 Vidalia, Benedictine scored with frightening efficiency Friday night. The Cadets, likely 2-AA’s No. 2 seed, led Groves 35-0 at the end of the first quarter and 63-0 at halftime. With reserves finishing out the game, they won, 70-19.
Now, Groves may not be anybody’s idea of a juggernaut, but the Rebels aren’t a bad team. They’re 5-3, and previously had given up 35 points only once in a full game, much less a quarter.
Nine different players scored for Benedictine, and quarterback Stevie Powers was the standout, completing 12 of 15 passes for 217 yards with three TDs, according to the Savannah Morning News. That puts the senior at just over 2,000 passing yards for the season, unofficially.
The Cadets’ only losses this season have come against the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in AA (GAC and Vidalia, respectively), and by a total of 10 points. Expect them to be a tough out for anybody come November and December.
The Game
It’ll be tough for any regular-season game to top Vidalia-Benedictine in terms of importance and caliber of play. If there’s one that can do it, it’ll be next week’s Greater Atlanta Christian-Lovett tilt to decide the 6-AA champion.
The Spartans have been ranked No. 1 from the start in AA and breezed past Holy Innocents’ 38-0 on Friday to do their part. Defending state champion Lovett, on the other hand, got a bit of a scare in a 30-24 win over Wesleyan.
The Lions took a big lead in the first half, but in the fourth quarter, Wesleyan was within six points and inside Lovett territory before its drive stalled. From there, Lovett quarterback Willie Candler put the game away, tossing a 48-yard pass to Jonathan Thomas on a third-down play, then running for a 2-yard score to give the Lions a 30-18 advantage with 2:24 remaining, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Region 5-AA
The region championship looks like it’s coming down to next week’s game between Bremen and Bowdon. Be prepared for points.
Led by running backs Darnell Holland and Tay Sheppard, Bowdon is scoring 49 points per game in region play after Friday night’s 46-20 win over Heard County. Meanwhile, Bremen is scoring 41 per game in its last five contests.
Region 7-AA
It looked at the time like Darlington had cleared its biggest hurdle en route to a region title on Oct. 3 when the Tigers beat Model, 21-14, in overtime. Coosa scuttled that with a 7-0 win over Model last week. Now the Eagles stand alongside Darlington as the last remaining unbeatens in 7-AA headed into next week’s game at Darlington.
No. 8 Darlington defeated Armuchee, 40-6, on Friday, while Coosa beat Dade County, 21-6.
Rabun County one win away
Barring a big upset, the region title in 8-AA is one that won’t be decided next week. That's because frontrunner Rabun County will have the week off before traveling to Greene County on Nov. 7.
Rabun, in search of the second region title in program history and first since 1998, knocked off defending region champ Washington-Wilkes, 22-7, on Friday. The Wildcats amassed 409 total yards, according to the Augusta Chronicle, mostly on the ground against the region's stingiest defense.
For the sake of thoroughness, Rabun County could also clinch the title next week if Greene County were to lose to winless Social Circle.
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