Friday wrapup: Two No. 1 teams crush top-10 opponents; one loses
Defending state champions Grayson and North Oconee proved themselves against top-10 opponents while Fellowship Christian, Creekside and Westminster had notable wins in the first Friday night of the high school football season.
Bowdon, a three-time reigning state champion, lost its opener for the third straight year.
Lightning also was newsworthy as at least 10 games were rescheduled for Saturday. The only one involving a ranked team was No. 6 Marist of Class 4A against No. 2 Jefferson of Class 3A. It will be played at 11 a.m. at Jefferson.
In what might’ve been called Friday’s main event, Grayson defeated No. 5 Collins Hill 51-3 in Class 6A, avenging the Rams’ only regular-season loss from last season. The game ended at 12:34 a.m. because of weather delays. Grayson is ranked in the top 10 of four national polls and as high as No. 4.
North Oconee, of Class 4A, beat rival Oconee County, the No. 7 team in Class 3A, 41-0. It was the most lopsided game in the series since 2016.
Another No. 1 team, Bowdon, lost to Fellowship Christian 26-0. Fellowship also defeated Bowdon last season, but it came on a two-point conversion following the final play of the game, the first team to shut out Bowdon since Darlington in 2019.
Fellowship is ranked No. 3 in Class 3A-A Private and was a six-point favorite in the Maxwell Ratings.
Bowdon also lost its opener in 2023, to Manchester, and rallied to win the Class A Division I championship.
Creekside, the No. 3 team from Class 4A, beat a strong unranked Class 5A team, Rome, 48-28 in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic.
The teams were scheduled to meet in the 2024 opener, but the game was canceled days after Rome players were injured in a rollover bus crash. Both teams went on to win region titles and are favored again.
In a game between Buckhead neighbors, Westminster defeated Lovett 14-8. Westminster is an unranked Class 4A school with a new coach, Nelson Stewart, who replaced retired Gerry Romberg. Stewart came from Louisiana, where he was Arch Manning’s high school coach.
There were only two pure upsets Friday, meaning the winning team was lower-ranked and from the same classification or lower.
One was unranked Swainsboro’s 15-14 victory over No. 5 Dublin in Class A Division I. The other was No. 8 Aquinas’ 52-34 victory over No. 8 Athens Academy in Class 3A-A Private.
No. 7 Colquitt County of Class 6A beat Class 4A No. 2 Benedictine 27-24. It was the first meeting between the schools, though Benedictine played old Moultrie High in the 1950s.
No. 5 Lee County of Class 5A beat Class 4A No. 9 Warner Robins 45-7. It was Warner Robins’ worst loss since losing to Rome 38-0 in a 2017 state championship game.
No. 4 Fitzgerald of Class A Division I beat No. 4 Irwin County of Division II 48-0. Both teams had new coaches - Fitzgerald’s Wes Tankersley and Irwin’s Larry Harold. It was Irwin’s worst loss since 2010.
The opening week continues Saturday highlighted by four Corky Kell games in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That includes the prime-time game between No. 3 Douglas County and No. 6 North Gwinnett.
About the Author
Todd Holcomb has been a contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1985. He is currently co-founder and editor of Georgia High School Football Daily.
