AJC Varsity

Friday recap: No. 1s beat No. 2s in historic games; KIPP, 7 other unranked teams beat Top 10 opponents

Blessed Trinity's Richard Morthland (80) celebrates after kicking the game-winning field goal against Marist during the second half a high school football game between Blessed Trinity and Marist, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Atlanta. (Erik S. Lesser for the AJC)
Blessed Trinity's Richard Morthland (80) celebrates after kicking the game-winning field goal against Marist during the second half a high school football game between Blessed Trinity and Marist, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Atlanta. (Erik S. Lesser for the AJC)
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50 minutes ago

Thomas County Central and Toombs County swept historic No. 1-vs.-No. 2 games, Blessed Trinity and Jeff Davis won their own highly ranked showdowns, and KIPP Atlanta Collegiate was the most outstanding among eight unranked teams that beat Top 10 opponents on the sixth Friday night of the football season.

Joining KIPP – which stunned Lovett 34-0 – in upsetting Top 10 opponents were Jones County, Cedartown, Hephzibah, Morgan County, Fannin County, Putnam County and Telfair County.

For the second time in state history, and the first since 1987, two games on one regular-season night featured the AJC’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the same classification.

The No. 1 teams won both this time.

In Class 6A, Thomas County Central defeated No. 2 Lee County 49-26 and extended its winning streak to 20 games, the longest active run in Georgia. Thomas County Central, the 2025 champion in 5A, has beaten Lee County four of the past five seasons, each when both were ranked.

In Class 3A, Toombs County beat No. 2 Pierce County 28-7. Pierce had won the previous six in the series. This was their first matchup since 2023.

In 1987, the No. 2 teams won the 1-2 matchups. Thomas Central also sang in that duet, beating Thomasville, while Lincoln County beat Louisville.

In the next-highest-rated game Friday, No. 2 Blessed Trinity beat No. 3 Marist 17-14. Marist had won the four previous meetings, including a 2025 second-round playoff game.

Jeff Davis, the No. 7 team in Class 2A, beat No. 2 Fitzgerald 29-20. It was Jeff Davis’ best victory over a Top 10 team from the same class or higher in its history. The Yellow Jackets defeated then-No. 2 Clinch County of Class A earlier this season and beat No. 1 Lyons from a lower class in 1974.

KIPP Atlanta’s victory over Lovett was among the bigger surprises. KIPP Atlanta had been 0-18 against Top 10 teams since playing its first varsity game in 2013. KIPP is 4-1 this season, its only loss against a Class 7A Top 10 team, Valdosta.

KIPP and Lovett are Class 3A teams, but Lovett is ranked No. 5 in 4A-2A Private and was an 11-point favorite in the Maxwell Ratings.

As did KIPP, three other unranked teams beat opponents from the same class but ranked in the 4A-2A Private division. Those were Morgan County (beat No. 6 Hebron Christian 30-26), Putnam County (beat No. 7 Aquinas 56-24) and Fannin County (beat No. 8 Christian Heritage 31-28).

Two of the other upsets came in Class 5A, as Jones County beat No. 9 Ola 17-14, and Cedartown beat No. 10 Dalton 42-41 in overtime.

In the others, Hephzibah beat No. 9 Burke County 21-20 in Class 3A, and Telfair County beat No. 7 Treutlen 39-23 in Class A.

Three other Top 10 teams avoided upsets against undefeated opponents. In 5A, No. 4 Benedictine beat Richmond Academy 52-49. In 2A, No. 4 Thomasville beat Berrien 56-21, and No. 6 Bremen beat Model 49-24.

Other Top 10 teams lost when facing other ranked teams.