Class AAAAAA
No. 4 Colquitt County defeated No. 2 Lovejoy on Friday in the best game of the young Class AAAAAA season.
Colquitt defended a fourth-and-goal pass from its 5-yard line in the final minute to win 17-13 in Moultrie. It meant that the highest-ranked team has lost three weeks in a row in AAAAAA — Norcross, Colquitt County and now Lovejoy. No. 1 North Gwinnett was off this weekend, but plays preseason No. 1 Norcross next.
More things we learned Friday:
Lowndes knows trouble: Newton, a 5-6 team last season that lost its opener to Class AAAA Eastside, defeated seventh-ranked Lowndes 15-14 on a touchdown pass on the final play of regulation. An extra point won it. Lowndes has lost three of its past four games, dating to last season, all at home.
Norcross hasn't gone to pieces: The defending state champion Blue Devils came back from a 55-0 loss to Miami's Booker T. Washington to defeat Parkview 21-7. Norcross can redeem itself in full next week in its game against No. 1 North Gwinnett.
Mill Creek is no joke: The Hawks were unranked in preseason despite a surprise quarterfinal run last season (9-4 record), but they've made believers of Brookwood. Mill Creek beat Brookwood 44-10 on Friday. It was 34-3 at halftime. That's after beating the Broncos 56-21 in the playoffs last year.
Class AAAAA
Buford gains revenge: Gainesville was no match for Buford's running game and defense in a matchup of defending state champions. The Wolves ran for 344 yards and limited Gainesville's record-setting quarterback, Deshaun Watson, to less than 200 yards passing in 38-14 rout. Buford's 19-15 loss to Gainesville last season was the only blemish (excluding two forfeits) in what would become its eighth state championship season in 12 years.
The losing streak is over: North Springs entered play with the longest losing streak in AAAAA, a drought of 34 games that would have been 40 if not for a forfeit victory against Stone Mountain 2009. But the Spartans' slump ended with a 35-34 victory against AA Hapeville Charter.
Region 6 goes according to plan: This marked the first week of region play in 6-AAAAA, and the top three teams had no trouble, as expected. No. 2 Tucker got touchdowns from seven players in a 75-0 rout of North Atlanta. No. 3 Stephenson cruised past an Arabia Mountain team that played the Jaguars close last year. No. 5 M.L. King beat Southwest DeKalb 48-10, dropping the Panthers to 0-2 for the first time since 2005.
Fame can be fleeting: North Paulding was the talk of 5-AAAAA after knocking off defending region champion East Paulding 27-13 in the teams' opener last week. But the Wolfpack didn't stay at the top very long, losing to third-year program New Manchester 41-30. Critics who scoffed at New Manchester's 2-0 start in 2012 were justified, as the Jaguars finished 2-8. Now New Manchester is alone in first place in the region at 3-0.
TCC still has Marist's number: Thomas County Central's 28-21 victory over AAAA Marist was the Yellow Jackets' seventh win in eight all-time meetings. Only two of the games — Marist's 35-21 victory in 2003 and Thomas County Central's 34-16 win in 1997 — were decided by more than a touchdown. Thomas County Central quarterback Adam Choice had 145 yards and two touchdowns
Class AAAA
Showstopper: No. 3 Burke County compiled 405 yards of offense in the first half en route to a 55-0 victory against Hephzibah. Bears quarterback Donquell Green accounted for five touchdowns, all coming in the first half.
Efficient: Monroe Area quarterback Stanton Truitt attempted only three passes, but two went for touchdowns in the sixth-ranked Purple Hurricanes' 40-14 victory against Winder-Barrow. Running back Kwan Brooks rushed for 120 yards and scored four touchdowns.
A first: Harris County rallied from behind, scoring 28 points in the fourth quarter to beat LaGrange for the first time. The Grangers had won the previous seven meetings.
Chubb watch: Cedartown running back Nick Chubb, who committed to Georgia, rushed for 119 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries in the Bulldogs' 33-6 victory against Pepperell.
Turnaround: The Howard Huskies entered the season on a 24-game losing streak, but are 2-0 after defeating Southwest-Macon 12-6.
Rolling again: No. 1 Sandy Creek got right back on the winning track with a 55-28 victory against Newnan. The defending champion Patriots had their 15-game winning streak snapped last week in a 27-27 tie with Florida power Plant High School. Sandy Creek's running back tandem of Eric Sweeney and Delvin Weems combined for five rushing touchdowns.
Setting the stage: No. 2 Carrollton overwhelmed Chapel Hill 63-0 to improve to 2-0 and set up a big game next week against AA's No. 1 team, perennial power Calhoun.
War Eagles fall: No. 4 Marist mounted a late rally, forcing a turnover and scoring on a Matt Perez touchdown run with less than a minute to play, but couldn't come up with an onside kick and lost 28-21 at Thomas County Central. The War Eagles are 1-7 against the Yellow Jackets.
Class AAA
Turnovers doom Thomson: The No. 10 Bulldogs had five turnovers — losing three fumbles and throwing two interceptions — in a 23-14 loss to Lakeside-Evans. Thomson was penalized for 103 yards. The mistakes allowed Lakeside to overcome a 14-0 deficit.
St. Pius can win on the road: The No. 2 Golden Lions went to Bogart and defeated North Oconee 28-23. It's the second consecutive week St. Pius has had to hang on in the fourth quarter.
North Hall can score: The Trojans used 13 different runners to amass 355 yards. Andrew Smith carried 10 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Zac Little rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Up next: reigning Class AA champion Jefferson.
Peach County needs more seasoning: Coach Chad Campbell has warned that his Peach County team is young. Baldwin exposed the youth and inexperience. Kentavious Thomas ran for 252 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-21 victory. Peach County had beaten Baldwin four consecutive times.
Class AA
- There may be other teams worthy of the No. 1 ranking — such as defending state champion Jefferson, Lamar County or Greater Atlanta Christian — but the current top team, the Calhoun Yellow Jackets, has made a strong argument to stay there. For the second consecutive week, the Jackets (2-0) have dominated a North Georgia rival, this time the Dalton Catamounts, 17-2. The Jackets have outscored their opponents 52-2 thus season.
- Speaking of those other contenders, Jefferson, Lamar County and GAC had convincing victories. With their 49-0 victory against Jackson County, the Dragons have not allowed a point this season, outscoring their competition 89-0. The Trojans marched to a 28-7 victory against Eagle's Landing, and the Spartans defeated Apalachee 56-14.
- There could be a new No. 5 next week after Brooks County lost 50-20 at Valdosta. Brooks County could drop behind the remaining four top 10 teams, none of whom lost. Lovett enjoyed a bye, while Vidalia topped McIntosh County Academy 35-7; Fitzgerald tied Irwin County at 20; Washington-Wilkes came from behind to top Class A's No. 3 Lincoln County 28-14, and Benedictine won 49-0 against Long County.
Class A
Clinch is better, but ELCA is still ELCA: While Eagle's Landing Christian's 30-0 victory at Clinch County was a better game than last season's 47-20 win, 30-0 is still 30-0. The No. 1 Chargers led 16-0 at halftime and continued to wear down the Panthers, who appear to be much better than last year's team that went 4-6, missed the postseason and had the worst record for a Clinch County team since a 4-7 season in 1985. Friday, ELCA, the defending Class A private school champion, was led by a defense that stopped Clinch County on four downs at the ELCA 1-yard line in the second quarter. Senior quarterback Dalton Etheridge threw two touchdown passes to Davis Carrandi and ran for another.
Pace is in the football business now: Pace steamrolled one of the most successful programs in Class A, Athens Academy, 42-9, essentially reversing last season's score – a 42-7 victory for Athens Academy. The Knights led 21-6 at the half and were bigger, stronger, faster, and clearly better than the sixth-ranked Spartans team. Athens Academy lost 13 seniors off of last year's team that went undefeated through the regular season and finished 11-1.
Tide turning in Highway 378 War: No. 3 Lincoln County lost to Washington-Wilkes (2-0), No. 9 in AA, 28-14. It was the 76th time the teams have met in the regular season. Lincoln County, which had won eight of the last 10 meetings, leads the series 37-33-6. But Washington-Wilkes, which won last season's matchup, 21-6, has won two consecutive games in the series for the first time since 2001-2002.
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