The top three teams in the state ranking look pretty solid.
No. 1 Rome whacked No. 4 Carrollton 45-24, No. 2 Buford whipped Clarke Central 45-7, and No. 3 Stockbridge blanked Locust Grove 34-0.
Who’s next?
Rome (5-0) was hard to stop on offense and forced two turnovers against a good Carrollton team. The defending state champion Wolves are 5-0 for the first time since 2004 and has gotten past the most challenging portion of the Region 7 schedule.
Buford (3-1) put pressure on Clarke Central all night and came away with six sacks.
“Proud of the guys,” Buford coach John Ford said. “They came out and battled. They played at a high rate of speed. Lot of young kids, particularly front, played real hard and the coaches did a great job putting a game plan together against a team that’s scored a lot of points.
Stockbridge (5-0) was led by Gabe McKenzie, who completed 6 of 11 passes for 62 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
Mash-burned again by Warner Robins: For the second time this season the Warner Robins kicker has left the opposition "Mash-burned." On Friday night Eli Mashburn booted a 35-yard field goal with six seconds left to give the Demons a 52-49 win over Class AAAAAA No. 3 Coffee.
Mashburn began the season by kicking the Demons to a last-second win over Peach County. On Friday he came through after Coffee burned here timeouts in attempt to ice him. The strategy didn’t exactly work.
“When you kick one with time expiring, the ones when you’re getting iced, it makes it easier,” Mashburn said. “Everything is still. After the third (timeout), I knew he didn’t want me to kick the ball.”
No. 6 Warner Robins (6-0) was led offensively by quarterback Dylan Fromm, who completed 20 of 38 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another score. Jarius Burnette rushed 15 times for 98 yards and one touchdown and Jaeven West carried 11 times for 82 yards and one touchdown. Julius Cobbs had five receptions for 156 yards and two touchdowns and Tyler Fromm caught five passes for 49 yards and one touchdown.
Griffin knocks off No. 7 Starr's Mill: Griffin (5-1) overcame a 15-point deficit to upset off No. 7 Starr's Mill 29-28. The Bears led Griffin with three touchdown receptions, hauling in six catches for 165 yards, and set up the game-winning drive with a 70-yard kickoff return. Starr's Mill (5-1) missed a last-second field goal that would have won the game.
No. 6 Jones County now 6-0: The Greyhounds thumped Hampton 48-7 and have scored 40 points in five of their games. Jones appears to be headed toward an Oct. 27 showdown with Stockbridge to determine the Region 4 championship.
