Woodward Academy began the season ranked No. 2 in Class AAAA. One reason for the lofty expectations was the return of QB Ryan Glover, who passed for 2,740 yards and 26 touchdowns in Woodward's run to the semifinals last season.
Woodward and Glover haven't been forgotten, but an early-season loss against Grady in which Glover and Woodward's offense struggled has dampened the enthusiasm a little.
Now, it looks like they're picking things up. Woodward has averaged 48.0 points in six wins since the Grady loss, and Glover has thrown for career-high passing yards in each of the past two games. He threw for 344 against North Clayton on Oct. 7 and then went for 451 and six touchdowns last week in a game against Eastside that put Woodward in sole possession of first place in Region 4-AAAA.
Top five
*Central Gwinnett QB Jarren Williams was 30-of-40 passing for 398 yards and four touchdowns in a 55-45 loss to Brookwood. Williams also rushed for 41 yards and two touchdowns.
*Coffee RB Demetrius Davis rushed for 247 yards on 23 carries and scored five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving) in a 42-35 victory over Houston County. Davis had 282 yards from scrimmage.
*Crisp County LB Markaviest "Big Cat" Bryant had three sacks and two other tackles for losses in a 28-14 victory over Monroe.
*Pierce County QB Stetson Bennett was 21-of-29 passing for 388 yards and seven touchdowns in a 49-0 victory over Long County.
*Woodward Academy QB Ryan Glover passed for 451 yards and six touchdowns while completing 23 of 31 passes in a 44-6 victory over Eastside.
Best of the rest
*Arabia Mountain LB Terray Bryant had 22 tackles, caused a fumble, recovered two fumbles and returned a punt 55 yards in a 51-18 victory over Columbia.
*Benedictine RB Tyleek Collins rushed for 220 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries in a 42-13 victory over Toombs County.
*Brookwood RB Matthew Hill rushed for 202 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries in a 55-45 victory over Central Gwinnett.
*Cambridge sophomore DT Kaleb Wenson had 2.5 sacks, 2.5 other tackles for losses and 14 tackles overall in a 28-7 victory over Northview.
*Carrollton RB Mecose Todd rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in a 37-24 victory over Hiram.
*Carver (Atlanta) ATH Quindarious Hale had three receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown, intercepted a pass and had seven solo tackles in a 37-26 victory over Riverwood.
*Cedar Grove RB Grant Walker rushed for 201 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries in a 49-0 victory over Pace Academy.
*Columbus RB Terrance Dixon rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries and returned two punts for 75 yards in a 40-29 victory over Westover.
*Dacula RB/LB Tre McMillian rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and had five tackles in a 25-20 victory over Gainesville.
*Dawson County WR Austin Young, playing only the first half, had seven catches for 222 yards and four touchdowns in a 52-13 victory over Fannin County.
*Drew QB Gary Tyner was 18-of-26 passing for 193 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries in a 49-14 loss to Stephenson.
*Glynn Academy RB Kendall Cross ran for 190 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries in a 35-28 victory over Brunswick.
*Grady QB Caylin Newton rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 263 yards (completing 16 of 26 passes) and two touchdowns in a 55-6 victory over North Springs.
*Jones County RB Drake Bolus rushed for 240 yards and five touchdowns on 17 carries in a 43-16 victory over Union Grove.
*Liberty County QB Jaalon Frazier passed for 190 yards (9-of-17, two TDs) and rushed for 132 on 16 carries in a 26-7 victory over Appling County.
*Loganville RB Darryl Giles rushed for 206 yards on 30 carries in a 42-0 victory over Flowery Branch.
*Lovejoy RB Zion Custis rushed for 254 yards on 22 carries and scored on runs of 72 and 58 yards in a 29-26 loss to Tucker. The effort put Custis over 1,000 yards on the season (1,058).
*Lowndes QB Michael Barrett was 11-of-16 passing for 304 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-24 victory over Tift County. Barrett rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
*Luella DE Kailen Parham had nine solo tackles, five stops for losses, three sacks, two QB hurries and two forced fumbles in a 21-8 victory over North Clayton.
*Mill Creek QB Cameron Turley was 19-of-29 passing for a school-record 349 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-12 victory over Peachtree Ridge. DL Ayoola Ogun-Semore had four sacks in the game.
*Murray County RB Tucker Gregg rushed for 289 yards and three touchdowns and scored a fourth touchdown on a reception in a 38-0 victory over Coahulla Creek.
*Pelham freshman QB Kendrick Patterson passed for 321 yards and five touchdowns in a 50-38 victory over Randolph-Clay. Patterson completed 18 of 30 attempts.
*Pepperell RB/LB Tae Hammond rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and had seven tackles, three for losses, in a 31-10 victory over Rockmart.
*Pope QB Evan Conley was 19-of-22 passing for 254 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries in a 49-8 victory over Dunwoody.
*Riverdale DE Dante Walker had 11.5 tackles, five for losses, and two sacks in a 35-0 victory over Morrow.
*South Forsyth WR Ryan Pontrelli had all six of his team's pass receptions for 108 yards and returned an on-side kick 50 yards for a touchdown in a 35-14 victory over Milton.
*South Paulding WR Jon "Cam" Wyche had 14 receptions for 222 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-28 victory over New Manchester. It was South Paulding's first victory of the season.
*Thomson RB Mike Thomas rushed for 220 yards on 20 carries in a 45-0 victory over Baldwin.
*Tift County QB Griffin Collier threw for 384 yards and a touchdown in a 45-24 loss to Lowndes. Rashod Bateman (7-105-0) and Cameron Cobb (6-108-1) each went over 100 yards receiving.
*Union County WR Sean Dobbins had 162 yards receiving and two touchdowns in a 35-32 victory over North Hall.
*Veterans QB Leyton Pinckney was 14-of-21 passing for 257 yards and two touchdowns in a 33-28 upset of Thomas County Central. WR Jeremy Horton had 10 receptions for 174 yards and two touchdowns and returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.
*Vidalia FB/DL Jaxson McFadden played his first game in almost a year after recovering from a bacterial infection and rushed for 33 yards and a touchdown on five carries, caught a 28-yard pass and had six tackles, one for a loss, in a 42-7 victory over Jeff Davis.
*Warner Robins QB Michael Bradley, making his first start at quarterback, rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and was 10-of-13 passing for 77 yards in a 31-3 victory over Harris County.
*Wilkinson County QB Tylan Grable was 13-of-25 passing for 282 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-10 victory over Mount de Sales. It was Wilkinson County's first victory of the season.
*Woodstock LB Corey Long had 20 tackles (10 solo, 10 assisted), a sack and another tackle for a loss and broke up a pass in a 34-23 victory over then-No. 8 Lassiter.
Lines of distinction
*Coffee's offensive line of LT Hunter Spivey, LG Cade Teston, C Garrett Southerland, RG Eli Waldron and RT J.J. Ellis led the way to 336 rushing yards in a 42-35 victory over Houston County. Benefiting most was RB Demetrius Davis, who had 247 yards rushing.
*Lamar County's offensive line of LT Josh Wall, LG Aderrious Barron, C Michael Tenney, RG Michael King and RT Cedric Dumas allowed no sacks and paved the way for 291 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 37 carries in a 39-7 victory over Jordan. Quay Parks ran for 158 yards.
*Pope's offensive line of LT Jake Brunson, LG Jack Waller, C Story Cummings, RG Chipper Smith, RT River Armour, TE Reece Mullins and TE Paul Bartlett helped the Greyhounds roll up 465 yards in total offense in a 49-8 victory over Dunwoody.
*Tattnall Square's offensive line of LT Charlie Trevitt, LG Coleman Rumney, C Chandler Whittington, RG Mikey Wilson, RT Tyler Bennett, TE Sean Brown and TE Brock Baggerly opened holes for a 373-yard rushing effort in a 34-27 victory over sixth-ranked Twiggs County in a Region 7-A game. Ahmad Barron rushed for 196 yards on 21 carries. Antoine Davis rushed for 109 yards on 14 carries. Tattnall Square is 7-0 and ranked No. 8 in the Class A private-school division.
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