Friday recap: North Paulding, Howard, Treutlen beat Top 10 teams

No. 1 Buford won, No. 1 Lincoln County lost, and unranked North Paulding, Howard and Treutlen beat Top 10 opponents on a football Friday night of few upsets.

Buford defeated Grayson 23-13 in Class 7A. Grayson entered 2-2 and unranked but is the only Georgia team that can match the Wolves in high-end talent in a game with 27 players pegged as 3-star prospects or higher on the 247Sports Composite.

Grayson’s outnumbered Buford’s 15-12, but Buford – ranked No. 2 in two national polls - earned another quality victory in its bid to repeat as state and consensus national champion.

Lincoln County of Class A lost to South Carolina’s Strom Thurmond 33-20. Strom Thurmond is its state’s reigning 2A champion and hasn’t lost since Sept. 29, 2025, against Lincoln County.

North Paulding beat No. 10 Marietta 35-28 in Class 7A. The victory is North Paulding’s first over a Top 10 team since defeating No. 10 South Paulding in 2022. Marietta moved into the rankings two weeks ago after beating a Top 10 opponent, McEachern.

Howard of Macon beat No. 9 Baldwin 35-8 in Class 4A. The victory was Howard’s first over a Top 10 team in 11 years and second in history. Howard had been 1-25-1 in Top 10 games, beating only No. 4 Lamar County of Class 2A in 2015.

Treutlen beat No. 8 Montgomery County 21-7 in a Class A game between unbeaten southeast Georgia teams that border each other. This was the latest the rivals have played in a season when both were unbeaten.

Three Top 10 teams won as favorites but against previously unbeaten teams. No.7 Roswell of 6A beat Class 7A Archer 37-21; No. 4 Benedictine beat Statesboro 42-21 in 5A; and No. 7 Cass beat Villa Rica 31-21, also in 5A.