Friday recap: Newton, Lee County, Gainesville, Macon County win Top 10 matchups

Newton, Lee County, Gainesville and Macon County won Top 10 showdowns Friday night while Parkview, Berrien and Mount Vernon beat Top 10 opponents as unranked teams. Fayette County ended the state’s second-longest losing streak.

Newton, ranked No. 4 in Class 7A, beat No. 8 Westlake 40-38, taking the final lead in the final minute on sophomore quarterback Josiah Taylor’s pass from midfield to the end zone to Kevin Hartsfield, a 5-star running back who was double-covered. Westlake had taken a 38-34 lead with 1:03 left on Christian Womack’s 5-yard run.

Newton (6-0) has beaten four ranked teams, the most in a season in school history. The others were Douglas County, Roswell and Thomson. Newton’s No. 4 ranking is its highest in school history.

In Class 6A, No. 4 Lee County beat No. 3 Coffee 15-6. Lee County has beaten Coffee eight straight times. Lee County was ranked No. 2 until losing to No. 1 Thomas County Central 49-26 last week. Coffee entered 5-0.

Also in 6A, No. 6 Gainesville beat No. 7 Roswell 34-5. Gainesville reached the Class 5A final last season despite losing to semifinalist Roswell 37-35 in Gainesville’s final regular-season game. Gainesville has lost only to top-50 nationally ranked teams Buford and East St. Louis of Illinois.

No. 5 Macon County beat No. 3 Taylor County 21-20 in Class A. Macon County has beaten Taylor County 11 straight times in the Middle Georgia rivalry, including a two-point victory in 2025.

In one of metro Atlanta’s best rivalries, Parkview upset No. 7 Brookwood 34-24. Brookwood was a 16-point favorite. It was Parkview’s first victory over Brookwood when its archrival was ranked since 2004.

Mount Vernon beat No. 9 Fellowship Christian 28-14 in a game between 4A-2A Private teams from north Fulton County. Fellowship was a 1-point favorite.

The victory was Mount Vernon’s second over a ranked team this season. Whitefield Academy was the first. Mount Vernon had been 0-37 all-time against Top 10 teams until that Aug. 28 victory.

Berrien beat No. 8 Cook, a 9-point favorite, 17-7 in 2A. Berrien had lost 38 straight games against Top 10 teams until beating Lamar County in the 2025 Class A Division I first round.

Berrien has beaten three Top 10 teams this season. Class A teams Early County and Charlton County are the others.

Ringgold beat LaFayette 43-36 in a Class 3A game between unranked undefeated northwest Georgia teams. Ringgold is 6-0 for the first time since 2021.

Fayette County ended a 23-game losing streak with a 22-14 victory over Luella. The losing streak was the second-longest active one in Georgia behind Discovery’s 32-game skid.