The Class AAA top-10 rankings took a beating Friday night, when five of the top seven teams lost. But the big question: How much with it cost them?
No. 1 Calhoun, No. 4 Cedar Grove, No. 5 Peach County, No. 6 Westside-Macon and No. 7 Westminster were victims. Most were playing up in class in preparations for upcoming region competition.
The shocker came in Macon, where Westside lost to another Bibb County school for the first time since its inception in 1997. The other losses were a bit more understandable.
The Class AAA top-10 survivors included No. 2 Pace Academy, which defeated Class AAAAAAA West Forsyth 20-10; No. 3 Greater Atlanta Christian, which defeated No. 7 Westminster 19-16; No. 8 Liberty County, which defeated Bradwell Institute 53-13; No. 9 Pierce County which defeated Bacon County 53-13, and No. 10 Lovett which beat No. 4 Marist (AAAA) 29-28 in overtime.
Here's how things went for the losers:
-- Top-ranked Calhoun traveled to Class AAAAAA rival Dalton and lost 28-13. Dalton was led by J.P. Tighe, who completed two touchdown passes to Zek Cobb. Nasir Love Porter added an interception.
-- No. 4 Cedar Grove lost 21-20 to Class AAAAA Southwest DeKalb after leading for most of the game. Southwest DeKalb put together a touchdown drive late in the game to take a lead. Cedar Grove had a chance to win on the final drive of the game, but a field-goal attempt came up short.
-- No. 5 Peach County led Class AAAAAA No. 1-ranked Houston County 14-0 before Bears' quarterback Jake Fromm and the Houston offense got on track and began completing touchdown passes all over the field. Fromm, a UGA commitment, passed for 444 yards and four touchdowns on 27 completions as the Bears scored on every possession in the second half.
-- No. 7 Westminster lost to No. 3 Greater Atlanta Christian in overtime. GAC kicker Brooks Buce tied the game in the third quarter with a 20-yard field goal. Both teams were scoreless in the fourth quarter. Westminster got the ball first in OT and settled for a 28-yard field goal by Jack Schiafly, before GAC's Kyler McMichael scored the game-winner on a 12-yard run.
-- No. 7 Westside-Macon played down in class and lost to crosstown rival Southwest (AA) 8-3. The Seminoles had won 33 consecutive games against Bibb County schools since their inception in 1997. Westside was penalized 12 times for 100 yards.
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