GHSA playoffs recap: Big upsets, historic victories highlight first round

It’s hard to beat a good team twice, so the cliché goes, but Walton wasn’t a good team, at least not in the regular season. The Raiders lost their first game by 33 points and finished 5-5, putting them on the brink of their first losing football season in nine years.

Facing that first-game opponent again Friday night, Walton salvaged its season and carried out the upset of first round of the playoffs, slaying undefeated McEachern 24-21.

The Raiders came from 21-9 down in the fourth quarter against the undefeated opponent that crushed them 50-17 in August. Walton quarterback Christion Peacock threw a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter and scored the game-winner on a run in the final two minutes.

Berrien and Washington-Wilkes also beat heavily favored top-10 opponents Friday, and Centennial won as a 36-point underdog, but Walton’s victory resonated loudest around the state, as McEachern, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A, had won nine of its 10 games by 21 points or more, and Walton entered as a 28-point underdog.

Only four top-10 teams lost in the first round, which is not uncommon, and some of the top teams were ruthless. No. 1 Creekside of Class 4A beat Dalton 70-7, and No. 1 Worth County of Class A Division I beat McNair 69-0. No. 2 Thomas County Central of 5A beat Woodstock 73-14.

Lee County, the No. 8 team in Class 5A, beat No. 10 Sprayberry 34-21 in the only matchup between ranked teams. It was Lee County’s 10th straight first-round victory.

The other top-10 teams that lost had to be shocked.

In Class A Division I, Berrien beat No. 6 Lamar County 7-0 as a 32-point underdog. Berrien entered the game with a 3-7 record and sixth-place finish in its own region, albeit the toughest in class with top-10 teams Worth County, Fitzgerald and Thomasville.

The victory was Berrien’s first over a top-10 opponent from the same classification since 1993, against Waycross.

Lamar County entered 10-0 and was the classification’s No. 2 overall seed from the GHSA’s Post Season Rankings math model, which governs classes 3A, 2A, A and 3A-A Private.

In Class A Division II, unranked Washington-Wilkes (5-6) beat No. 9 Seminole County 32-23. Seminole County (8-3) was a 22-point favorite.

The night’s biggest upset, per the Maxwell Ratings, was Centennial’s 28-21 victory over Locust Grove, a 36-point favorite, in a game between unranked teams. Centennial (7-4) was the fourth-place finisher in Region 6-4A while Locust Grove (9-2) had just won its first region title in history.

A few teams got historic victories.

Lithonia won its first playoff game since 1994 with a 27-8 victory over Griffin, a six-point favorite. Another DeKalb County school, Miller Grove, got its first playoff victory in history Thursday with a 20-9 victory over Spencer.

Jackson County won its first playoff game in its 46 seasons with a 50-7 victory over Glynn Academy. Jackson County won Region 8-5A and was heavily favored.

How the top 10 teams did in the first round

Class 6A

• 1. Grayson (11-0) Beat Norcross 44-7
• 2. Buford (11-0) Beat Richmond Hill 45-0
• 3. Carrollton (11-0) Beat North Forsyth 58-17
• 4. McEachern (10-1) Lost to Walton 28-24
• 5. Valdosta (10-1) Beat Dacula 56-28
• 6. Lowndes (10-1) Beat Collins Hill 37-16
• 7. Douglas County (8-3) Beat Lambert 37-14
• 8. North Gwinnett (10-1) Beat South Gwinnett 49-16
• 9. Colquitt County (9-2) Beat Mill Creek 35-17
• 10. Harrison (10-1) Beat Marietta 45-35

Class 5A

• 1. Hughes (11-0) Beat East Paulding 45-28
• 2. Thomas County Central (11-0) Beat Woodstock 73-14
• 3. Roswell (10-1) Beat Chamblee 51-6
• 4. Gainesville (9-2) Beat Dunwoody 48-3
• 5. Houston County (10-1) Beat Creekview 59-14
• 6. Milton (8-3) Beat Shiloh 35-17
• 7. Rome (9-2) Beat Lovejoy 47-16
• 8. Lee County (7-3) Beat Sprayberry 34-21
• 9. Sequoyah (10-1) Beat Coffee 31-14
• 10. Sprayberry (9-2) Lost to Lee County 34-21

Class 4A

• 1. Creekside (11-0) Beat Dalton 70-7
• 2. Cartersville (11-0) Beat Maynard Jackson 53-0
• 3. North Oconee (11-0) Beat Perry 31-15
• 4. Benedictine (8-2) Beat East Forsyth 42-7
• 5. Kell (9-2) Beat Hampton 35-14
• 6. Marist (10-1) Beat Starr’s Mill 30-0
• 7. Central-Carrollton (11-0) Beat Tucker 33-21
• 8. Cambridge (9-2) Beat Ola 24-21
• 9. Blessed Trinity (7-4) Beat Stockbridge 28-27
• 10. Cass (9-2) Beat Mays 21-12

Class 3A

• 1. Sandy Creek (11-0) Beat Cedar Grove 42-9
• 2. Calhoun (9-2) Beat Lumpkin County 35-13
• 3. Jefferson (10-1) Beat Dougherty 55-13
• 4. North Hall (11-0) Beat Mount Zion-Jonesboro 62-26
• 5. Troup (10-1) Beat Westover 45-14
• 6. Jenkins (10-1) Beat Whitewater 50-45
• 7. West Laurens (11-0) Beat Beach 45-6
• 8. LaGrange (8-2) Vs. North Clayton (Saturday)
• 9. Cairo (9-2) Beat Liberty County 36-7
• 10. Peach County (10-1) Beat Cherokee Bluff 53-28

Class 2A

• 1. Carver-Columbus (11-0) Beat Redan 56-0
• 2. Carver-Atlanta (11-0) Beat Butler 69-6
• 3. Morgan County (11-0) Beat Westside-Macon 29-8
• 4. Rockmart (10-1) Beat South Atlanta 50-20
• 5. Sumter County (10-1) Beat KIPP Atlanta Collegiate 42-7
• 6. Callaway (8-3) Beat Franklin County 25-15
• 7. Hapeville Charter (7-4) Beat Columbus 48-0
• 8. Thomson (8-3) Beat Jackson 14-7
• 9. Burke County (9-2) Beat Sonoraville 57-21
• 10. Appling County (8-3) Beat Hart County 31-20

Class A Division I

• 1. Worth County (11-0) Beat McNair 69-0
• 2. Toombs County (10-1) Beat Temple 50-6
• 3. Heard County (11-0) Beat East Laurens 49-0
• 4. Northeast (9-2) Beat Fannin County 41-0
• 5. Thomasville (8-3) Beat Putnam County 38-0
• 6. Lamar County (10-1) Lost to Berrien 7-0
• 7. Swainsboro (9-2) Beat Bacon County 40-21
• 8. Fitzgerald (8-3) Beat ACE Charter 42-9
• 9. Dublin (9-2) Beat Washington County 40-7
• 10. Bleckley County (9-2) Beat Jeff Davis 26-7