Region 1′s Fitzgerald and Thomasville each pulled off impressive wins over ranked opponents to headline a strong showing from a number of top 10 teams.

The No. 3 Fitzgerald Purple Hurricane beat the No. 8 Dodge County Indians 15-6 in a region crossover game, moving to 3-0 and dropping the Indians to 3-1.

The Thomasville Bulldogs, ranked No. 4, beat 4A’s No. 8 Bainbridge 28-10. Tim Mores covered the game for the Thomasville Times-Enterprise.

For the second year in a row, the Bleckley County Royals have put the Vidalia Indians in an 0-2 hole to start the season, this time winning 26-13. Dave Whitaker has details for The Bleckley Progress. The Royals are ranked No. 7.

The No. 2 Rabun County Wildcats cancelled their game last week with Covid, and their originally-scheduled opponent for this week, Walhalla (S.C.), Covid-cancelled on them. As a replacement for Walhalla, they found North Carolina’s defending Class 1A state champions Murphy, made the 1-hour commute and came away with a 59-14 win. Blitz has details.

In addition to the Indians, the No. 5 Northeast Raiders and No. 10 Heard County Braves lost.

The Dougherty Trojans of 4A edged the Raiders 10-7. They’re unranked, but moved to 3-0 with the win and their defense has allowed just seven points a game. The Raiders fall to 2-1.

The No. 10 spot might be temporarily cursed after a team debuting there has lost for the second week in a row. Last week it was Vidalia, and this time the Braves lost 20-7 to 1A Private’s Darlington. Jay Hawkins has a game story for The Rome News-Tribune. The Braves are 3-1.

Here’s how the rest of the top 10 fared:

  • Top-ranked Callaway beat 3A’s Douglass 48-6. The Cavaliers are rolling at 4-0 heading into a bye. Daniel Evans has the story for The LaGrange Daily News.
  • The No. 6 Lovett Lions earned a 37-0 shutout of Therrell in Region 6 play. They’re 3-1, 2-0. The Bulldogs drop to 0-3, 0-1.
  • The No. 9 Jeff Davis Yellow Jackets beat 3A’s Tattnall County 14-7. The Jackets are off to a 4-0 start for the fourth year in a row — a streak that began when coach Lance Helton took over the program in 2017.

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Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com