A week after beating a top-five national team in its opener, Buford looked vulnerable in week two, and Walton, the team that eliminated Buford last season, looked better than ever at this stage of the season.
And there might be less to learn this week as none of the top-10 teams in Class 7A face each other.
The top games are out-of-class matchups between No. 5 Carrolton and No. 7 Rome of 6A, No. 7 Westlake and No. 1 Cedar Grove of 3A and No. 10 Grayson and a top South Carolina team, Fort Dorchester.
In week two, Buford beat Mallard Creek, in recent years North Carolina’s best team, but the score was only 10-7, and it required a second-half comeback. Buford beat Mallard Creek 56-7 last season.
Buford’s defense remains stout. The Wolves shut out St. Frances of Maryland 18-0 in the opener and allowed one bad play, an 80-yard pass, against Mallard Creek. Buford has scored three touchdowns, all passes by quarterback Dylan Raiola. Buford plays at North Cobb (0-1) this week.
Walton, meanwhile, beat then-No. 10 Brookwood 63-15 in week two. That’s after the Raiders defeated Grayson 49-27 in the opener.
That means Walton has beaten top-10 teams in its first two games for the first time in history, and neither was close. Jeremy Hecklinski, an underrated quarterback committed to Wake Forest, was 22-of-27 passing for 266 yards and three touchdowns in the latest rout.
Walton is off this week before traveling to Pope.
No. 2 Colquitt County is playing as advertised. The Packers beat Stockbridge 47-27 last week. AJC Super 11 WR Ny Carr, who had 11 receptions for 152 yards. Colquitt should roll this week at Tift County, then face a test at home against Lee County, the No. 4 Class 6A team.
Defending champion Mill Creek beat No. 9 Norcross 27-13 last week. Cam Robinson rushed for 201 yards. The Hawks play Archer (1-1) this week.
No. 8 Milton had a tough loss last week against Western of Florida. Milton had a 19-yard TD run called back for holding midway in the fourth quarter and ended up turning the ball over on downs. Milton led 271-170 in total yards.
Here are this week’s games involving Class 7A teams and the Maxwell Ratings’ projected margins.
Brookwood vs Collins Hill -1
Buford at North Cobb -13
Camden County at Glynn Academy -3
Campbell at Meadowcreek -3
Carrollton at Rome -2
Central Gwinnett at Jackson County -4
Cherokee at Woodstock -26
Colquitt County at Tift County -27
Discovery vs Stone Mountain -14
Druid Hills vs Berkmar -12
East Coweta vs Hillgrove -20
Etowah at Forsyth Central -14
Harrison vs Paulding County -29
Lambert at Mountain View -1
McEachern vs Douglas County -1
Mill Creek vs Archer -34
Newton vs Eastside -22
North Oconee at South Forsyth -13
North Paulding at Kennesaw Mountain -15
Peachtree Ridge at Loganville 0
Pebblebrook vs Hapeville Charter -3
Richmond Hill vs Jenkins -17
Roswell vs Marietta -16
South Gwinnett at Dacula -12
Valdosta vs Banneker -28
West Forsyth vs North Forsyth -10
Westlake vs Cedar Grove -13
Wheeler vs South Cobb -28
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