Four Class 3A programs remain unbeaten – No. 1 Cedar Grove (3-0), No. 2 Oconee County (7-0), No. 5 Appling County (6-0) and No. 10 Cherokee Bluff (6-0), and two of those – Cedar Grove and Oconee County -- are off this week. Peach County (5-1, 4-0) and No. 8 Pierce County (5-1, 1-0) also will take a break.

But there are some a few interesting matchups worth monitoring.

There is one game between ranked programs -- No. 6 Greater Atlanta Christian (5-1) travels to No. 9 Sandy Creek (4-2). Sandy Creek is coming off a 12-2 victory against Douglass last week, and GAC is looking to right the ship after a 33-6 loss to Cedar Grove. GAC averages 184 passing and 116 rushing yards per game. Quarterback Deymon Fleming Jr. is 73-of-128 passing for 1,070 yards and 10 touchdowns to lead the Spartans offense.

-- No. 10 Cherokee Bluff (6-0, 2-0), the surprise team of the season, has been flawless through six games and will go against Lumpkin County on Friday. The Bears began playing football in 2018 and went 0-10. Last year, Cherokee Bluff finished 3-7. Bluff is tied with Dawson County at 2-0, behind North Hall (3-0) in Region 7-3A.

-- No. 4 Crisp County (5-1, 2-1) hosts Jackson after its 14-13 loss to No. 3 Peach County last week at home. Crisp unsuccessfully tried to go for the victory in the Peach game after scoring a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

-- No. 5 Appling County (6-0, 1-0) hosts Tattnall County and hopes to move to 2-0 in 6-3A.

-- No. 7 Rockmart (5-1, 4-0) will play host to Murray County as it looks to move to 5-0 in 6-3A. The Yellow Jackets lead Adairsville (3-1), North Murray (3-1) and LaFayette (3-1).

Class 3A Top 10 Schedule for Week 9

1. Cedar Grove (4-0, 3-0) is off this week.

2. Oconee County (7-0, 2-0) is off this week.

3. Peach County (5-1, 4-0) is off this week.

4. Crisp County (5-1, 2-1) hosts Jackson in a 2-3A game.

5. Appling County (6-0, 1-0) hosts Tattnall County in a 1-3A game.

6. Greater Atlanta Christian (5-1, 2-1) travels to No. 10 Sandy Creek in a 5-3A game.

7. Rockmart (5-1, 4-0) hosts Murray County in a 6-3A game.

8. Pierce County (5-1, 1-0) is off this week.

9. Sandy Creek (2-2, 1-0) hosts No. 5 Greater Atlanta Christian in a 5-3A game.

10. Cherokee Bluff (6-0, 2-0) hosts Lumpkin County.

Region Leaders*: Peach County/Central-Macon (4-0, 2-3A), Windsor Forest (2-0, 3-3A), Richmond Academy (3-0, 4-3A), Cedar Grove (3-0, 5-3A), No. 7 Rockmart (4-0, 6-3A), North Hall (3-0, 7-3A)

*other programs in the region might not have a loss, however these programs are currently in the lead for number of wins within the region.

Region records

Region  Reg. Season       Pct.

1-3A       9-19                       0.321

2-3A       9-9                          0.500

3-3A       6-12                       0.333

4-3A       10-14                     0.417

5-3A       8-8                          0.500

6-3A       7-10                       0.412

7-3A       14-13                     0.519

8-3A       20-8                       0.714

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The city of Brookhaven's mayor and City Council last week decided to remove the colored panes of glass from the dome of Brookhaven's new City Centre after residents objected to the brightness of the colors, seen here Friday, June 27, 2025. (Reed Williams/AJC)

Credit: Reed Williams/AJC