Valdosta loses region opener; big wins for Mays, Brunswick
Region play is in full swing in Class AAAAAA now that Regions 2 and 8 got in on the act this weekend.
Coffee (1-AAAAAA) and Richmond Hill (2-AAAAAA) are the only teams in the classification that have not played a region game. Both were off on Friday and begin league play next week, Coffee at Houston County and Richmond Hill at Bradwell Institute.
Here’s a look around the regions at how Friday’s games impacted the playoff and region title chases:
*Region 1: Defending state champion Valdosta, which went 4-0 in region play last season, got off to an 0-1 start with a 16-7 loss to Northside-Warner Robins. Neither team scored on offensive touchdown – Northside recovered a fumble in the end zone, and Valdosta returned an interception. The victory put Northside in a tie for first place with No. 2 Lee County, and the two will meet next weekend.
*Region 2: Brunswick, the only team from the five-team region that didn't advance to the playoffs last year, made a statement with a 64-21 victory over previously unbeaten Bradwell Institute in the teams' region opener. Jamarius Stevens threw a 65-yard TD pass to D.J. Whitfield on the first play of the game. Brunswick is tied for first place with Glynn Academy, which it will face next weekend.
*Region 3: Grovetown is alone in first place at 2-0 after its 42-39 win over defending region champ Heritage-Conyers. Grovetown, which began its program in 2009 and made the playoffs for the first time last year, is seeking its first region championship. Evans and Lakeside-Evans won their region openers Friday night and trail the Warriors by a half-game. Grovetown host Evans next weekend.
*Region 4: Most of the region had the week off, but Mundy's Mill picked up its first victory of the season and ended a nine-game losing streak when it beat Osborne 55-6 in a non-region game. The region returns to a full schedule next weekend, with Tucker vs. Lovejoy highlighting the schedule. Tucker is tied with Stephenson for first place, with third-place Lovejoy a half-game behind them.
*Region 5: Mays ended Douglas County's hopes for an unbeaten season with a 35-3 victory in a game between top-10 teams that were both undefeated in region play. Douglas County, which was trying to get to 7-0 for the first time since the 2002 team went 10-0 in the regular season, fell into third place. The win leaves Mays in a first-place tie with Alexander, which got past Tri-Cities 28-21.
*Region 6: Harrison QB Justin Fields capped off a banner day in which he committed to Georgia by passing for five touchdowns and running for two more in a 63-41 victory over Sprayberry. Harrison, Sequoyah and defending region champ Dalton are tied for first place with 3-0 region records. Fourth-place Allatoona is 2-1. Barring a major upset, those will be the region's four playoff teams.
*Region 7: Alpharetta (beat Pope 37-14), Chattahoochee (beat Johns Creek 38-31) and Centennial (beat Northview) are beginning to pull away from the pack. Alpharetta is 4-0 in the region, and Chattahoochee and Centennial are both 4-1. Fourth-place Pope is 2-2 and has a slight lead over a group of four three-loss teams. One of those teams is John's Creek, the defending region champion.
*Region 8: Winder-Barrow is one of the three remaining unbeaten teams in AAAAAA (Lee County and Richmond Hill are the others) and 2-0 in region play after holding on for a 24-21 win over Lanier. The Bulldoggs led 24-14 with 1:03 remaining but needed a blocked field-goal attempt on the final play of the game to preserve the victory. Dacula and Gainesville won region openers Friday.
*Standings: Here's a look at the region standings after Week 8:
| Region 1-AAAAAA | ||||
| Lee County | 1-0 | 7-0 | Did not play | vs. Northside, W. Robins |
| Northside (W.R.) | 1-0 | 6-1 | d. Valdosta 16-7 | at Lee Co. |
| Coffee | 0-0 | 3-2 | Did not play | at Houston Co. (FF) |
| Houston County | 0-1 | 2-5 | Did not play | vs. Coffee (FF) |
| Valdosta | 0-1 | 2-5 | l. to Northside, W.R. 16-7 | Does not play |
| Region 2-AAAAAA | ||||
| Brunswick | 1-0 | 4-1 | d. Bradwell Institute 64-21 | at Glynn Academy (GL) |
| Glynn Academy | 1-0 | 3-2 | d. Effingham Co. 48-27 | vs. Brunswick (GL) |
| Richmond Hill | 0-0 | 5-0 | Did not play | at Bradwell Institute |
| Bradwell Institute | 0-1 | 6-1 | l. to Brunswick 64-21 | vs. Richmond Hill |
| Effingham County | 0-1 | 3-4 | l. to Glynn Academy 48-27 | Does not play |
| Region 3-AAAAAA | ||||
| Grovetown | 2-0 | 4-3 | d. Heritage, Con. 42-39 | vs. Evans |
| Evans | 1-0 | 4-2 | d. Alcovy 43-10 | at Grovetown |
| Lakeside (Evans) | 1-0 | 1-5 | d. Greenbrier 20-19 | vs. Alcovy |
| Greenbrier | 0-1 | 5-1 | l. to Lakeside, Evans 20-19 | at Heritage, Conyers |
| Heritage (Conyers) | 0-1 | 3-3 | l. to Grovetown 42-39 | vs. Greenbrier |
| Alcovy | 0-2 | 3-4 | l. to Evans 43-10 | at Lakeside, Evans |
| Region 4-AAAAAA | ||||
| Tucker | 3-0 | 5-1 | Did not play | at Lovejoy (TO) |
| Stephenson | 3-0 | 4-2 | Did not play | vs. Drew (HS) |
| Lovejoy | 3-1 | 4-3 | Did not play | vs. Tucker (TO) |
| Drew | 1-2 | 2-4 | Did not play | at Stephenson (HS) |
| Jonesboro | 1-2 | 2-4 | Did not play | at M.L. King (Sat., GO) |
| M.L. King | 1-2 | 2-4 | Did not play | vs. Jonesboro (Sat., GO) |
| Mt. Zion (Jonesboro) | 1-2 | 1-5 | l. to Lowndes 68-7 | at Mundy's Mill (Thu., TO) |
| Mundy's Mill | 0-4 | 1-6 | d. Osborne 55-6 | vs. Mt. Zion (Thu., TO) |
| *Forest Park | 0-8 | l. to Douglass 41-16 | Does not play | |
| Region 5-AAAAAA | ||||
| Alexander | 4-0 | 5-1 | d. Tri-Cities 28-21 | vs. Hughes |
| Mays | 4-0 | 5-1 | d. Douglas Co. 35-3 | at Creekside |
| Douglas County | 4-1 | 6-1 | l. to Mays 35-3 | at Tri-Cities |
| Hughes | 3-2 | 5-2 | d. South Paulding 40-7 | at Alexander |
| Northgate | 3-2 | 4-3 | d. New Manchester 27-26 | Does not play |
| Tri-Cities | 1-3 | 1-5 | l. to Alexander 28-21 | vs. Douglas Co. |
| New Manchester | 1-4 | 2-5 | l. to Northgate 27-26 | at South Paulding |
| Creekside | 0-4 | 0-6 | Did not play | vs. Mays |
| South Paulding | 0-4 | 0-6 | l. to Hughes 40-7 | vs. New Manchester |
| Region 6-AAAAAA | ||||
| Dalton | 3-0 | 5-1 | d. River Ridge 25-0 | vs. Sequoyah |
| Sequoyah | 3-0 | 5-1 | d. South Cobb 47-20 | at Dalton |
| Harrison | 3-0 | 4-2 | d. Sprayberry 63-41 | at South Cobb |
| Allatoona | 2-1 | 3-3 | d. Creekview 24-0 | vs. Sprayberry |
| South Cobb | 1-2 | 2-4 | l. to Sequoyah 47-20 | vs. Harrison |
| River Ridge | 0-3 | 3-3 | l. to Dalton 25-0 | vs. Creekview |
| Creekview | 0-3 | 2-4 | l. to Allatoona 24-0 | at River Ridge |
| Sprayberry | 0-3 | 1-5 | l. to Harrison 63-41 | at Allatoona |
| *Osborne | 0-7 | l. to Mundy's Mill 55-6 | Does not play | |
| Region 7-AAAAAA | ||||
| Alpharetta | 4-0 | 5-1 | d. Pope 37-14 | vs. Johns Creek |
| Chattahoochee | 4-1 | 5-2 | d. Johns Creek 38-31 | Does not play |
| Centennial | 4-1 | 4-3 | d. Northview 48-17 | vs. North Atlanta |
| Pope | 2-2 | 2-4 | l. to Alpharetta 37-14 | at Dunwoody (ND) |
| Cambridge | 2-3 | 2-5 | d. Dunwoody 38-16 | at Northview |
| Johns Creek | 2-3 | 2-5 | l. to Chattahoochee 38-31 | at Alpharetta |
| North Atlanta | 1-3 | 3-3 | Did not play | at Centennial |
| Northview | 1-3 | 1-5 | l. to Centennial 48-17 | vs. Cambridge |
| Dunwoody | 0-4 | 2-4 | l. to Cambridge 38-16 | vs. Pope (ND) |
| Region 8-AAAAAA | ||||
| Winder-Barrow | 2-0 | 7-0 | d. Lanier 24-21 | Does not play |
| Dacula | 1-0 | 2-4 | d. Apalachee 49-13 | vs. Gainesville |
| Gainesville | 1-0 | 2-4 | d. Habersham Cent. 30-27 | at Dacula |
| Lanier | 0-1 | 3-3 | l. to Winder-Barrow 24-21 | at Habersham Central |
| Habersham Central | 0-1 | 1-5 | l. to Gainesville 30-27 | vs. Lanier |
| Apalachee | 0-2 | 1-6 | l. to Dacula 49-13 | Does not play |
