Friday recap: Brookwood, North Paulding lead 7 upsets of Top 10 teams
Brookwood and North Paulding defeated ranked opponents in Class 7A on Friday night while LaGrange, Lumpkin County, Social Circle, Schley County and Whitefield Academy joined in scoring Top 10 upsets on the eighth Friday night of the Georgia football season.
Brookwood (7-1, 3-1) beat No. 3 North Gwinnett (6-1, 2-1) 50-24 as a 17-point underdog in the computer Maxwell Ratings after losing the previous week in an upset against unranked Parkview (6-2, 3-1). Region 7 now has five one-loss teams in region play because of another Friday upset, as Norcross (4-3, 2-1) beat previously unbeaten but unranked Peachtree Ridge (6-1, 2-1).
Also in the highest class, North Paulding (5-2, 4-0) beat No. 9 North Cobb 22-19 in overtime, ending a five-game losing streak in the rivalry and moving into first place in Region 5.
The victory was the first ever for North Paulding, an 11-point underdog, against a Top 10 team in the highest class, which the Wolfpack joined in 2014. North Paulding won a region title in 2022.
In Class 5A, LaGrange beat No. 9 Central of Carrollton 28-25. LaGrange (5-2, 3-0), ranked No. 8 in preseason, now leads Region 3.
Lumpkin County beat No. 10 Stephens County 28-21 to scramble Region 8-3A. Lumpkin County spent two weeks in the rankings until losing to Hart County last month, and Stephens stunned Hart, then ranked No. 2, last week to enter the rankings.
Social Circle (6-1, 3-1) beat No. 10 Jasper County 10-7 as a 22-point underdog in 2A, leaving no unbeaten teams in Region 4 play. The victory was Social Circle’s first over a Top 10 team since 2022 (Lamar County). Jasper County fell to 4-3, 3-1.
Schley County (6-1, 3-0) had the most surprising victory, according to Maxwell, by beating 23-point favorite Macon County, 26-20 in overtime to take the lead in Region 6-A. Macon County, ranked No. 3, fell to 5-1, 1-1. The victory was Schley County’s first win over a Top 10 team since its 2023 state semifinal run.
Whitefield Academy beat No. 5 Eagle’s Landing Christian 42-6 in a Class 4A-2A Private game. Both are members of Region 5-2A.
The seven upsets, plus Mitchell County’s 12-10 win over No. 5 Clinch County on Thursday, bring the week’s total to eight for teams in the same ranking classification. That ties the fourth-most in a single week in AJC rankings history, dating back to 1952, although the GHSA had only four classes for much of that history.
Other unranked teams made serious upset runs.
In Class 7A, No. 7 Westlake rallied to beat East Coweta 35-34, and in 5A, No. 4 Benedictine beat Jenkins 37-35.
In a game of note between unranked teams, Rockmart won its 70th straight region game with a 59-22 victory over previously unbeaten Ringgold in Region 7-3A. Rockmart had beaten Ringgold in overtime the past two seasons.
Other ranked teams lost but against bigger schools or higher-ranked opponents.
Duluth, a previously winless Class 7A team, beat No. 9 Hebron Christian, a 4A-2A Private team ranked No. 9, 22-19. Duluth was an 18-point underdog.
No. 6 Stephenson of Class 4A beat Greater Atlanta Christian, ranked No. 4 in 4A-2A Private, 38-35; and No. 3 Holy Innocents beat No. 8 Wesleyan 42-7 in a game between Private schools.