Two ranked teams suffered losses Week 10, so the rankings will see a shift this week and the region standings were also impacted. No. 8 Thomas County Central was edged 14-13 by Cairo and now the Yellow Jackets are 2-1 in Region 1 with Cairo and Dougherty and Bainbridge is in the driver’s seat with a 3-0 record. Bainbridge will host Thomas County Central this upcoming Friday with a chance to clinch the top seed and Cairo will take on Dougherty in another matchup that will impact which other team gets a home playoff game in the first round. The other ranked team that lost was Region 4′s Spalding and the Jaguars were topped 27-14 by Baldwin. The win leaves Baldwin at the top of the Region 4 standings at 5-0 and the Braves will close out the season after a bye in a potential region championship game with Perry—whose lone loss came to Spalding.
Elsewhere in the classification, No. 4 Carver-Columbus will take on Hardaway this Friday with a chance to sweep its way to the Region 2 title. Hardaway is 5-1 in region play and so is LaGrange, while Troup is 6-1. Troup will take on LaGrange on Friday in a game that will have significant seeding ramifications.
In Region 5, Riverdale and Luella remain unbeaten in region play and they are two weeks away from a potential region championship matchup on Nov. 5. Marist inched closer to the Region 6 title with a 64-12 win over Stephenson and will close out its season with Miller Grove and Mays. Both programs are now 3-1 in region play after Miller Grove’s 27-20 win over Mays this Friday.
Region 7 did not have any region games this week and in Region 8, North Oconee’s 42-7 win over Cedar Shoals means that the Titans will visit No. 1 ranked Jefferson this Friday for a massive region championship game.
North Oconee’s win over Cedar Shoals was the Titans’ fifth-straight win. Cedar Shoals got on the board in the final moments of the first half to make it a one-possession game, but No. 10-ranked North Oconee responded with 28 unanswered points to close out its fifth region win of the season. Dominic Elder Jr rushed for three touchdowns, including back-to-back scores in the fourth quarter, and quarterback Max Wilson threw touchdown passes to Khalil Barnes (27 yards) and KJ Moon (8 yards). Mack Brice provided the final points of the night for the Titans, who will enter next week’s Week 10 showdown with top-ranked Jefferson on a five-game win streak.
Jefferson also cruised to victory in a 41-7 win over Chestatee. A five-touchdown opening frame put top-ranked Jefferson firmly in control of host Chestatee, and the Dragons improved to a perfect 8-0 on the season and 4-0 in Region 8 play with the victory. Junior Tre Reece was first in the end zone, and following a fumble recovery by Malaki Starks and the Dragons defense and a rushing score by Reese Johnson, Reece ran in his second touchdown—this time from 58 yards out. Jordan Perry and Isaiah Copeland each scored as well before the quarter came to an end, and Kadin Bailey took a toss sweep 28 yards to the end zone early in the second to become the fifth Dragon with a touchdown in the game.
Finally, in Region 3 Benedictine remains one of the top contenders in the state. The Cadets’ latest win was a 70-28 blowout over New Hampstead. No. 3-ranked Benedictine built a commanding 42-7 first-half lead against visiting New Hampstead with the stellar play of some familiar names before coasting to its seventh-straight victory. Justin Thomas finished the half with 122 yards on seven carries and a trio of touchdowns, senior quarterback (and Auburn commit) Holden Geriner went 7-of-9 for 159 yards and connected with Luke Kromenhoek and Za’Quan Bryan, and Bryan added a 24-yard touchdown run as well. The Cadets will close out their season at home next week against Region 3 foe Islands.
WEEK 10 SCHEDULE
REGION 1
*(5-3, 3-0) Bainbridge 40, (2-6, 0-3) Westover 8
*(4-3, 2-1) Cairo 14, #8 (5-3, 2-1) Thomas County Central 13
*(7-1, 2-1) Dougherty 41, (2-6, 0-3) Monroe 14
REGION 2
*#4 (7-1, 6-0) Carver-Columbus 60, (2-6, 2-4) Columbus 6
*(6-2, 5-1) Hardaway at (0-4, 0-2) Jordan (CANCELLED)
*(0-7, 0-5) Kendrick at (0-5, 0-3) Shaw (Saturday)
*(7-1, 5-1) LaGrange (6-2, 5-1) 55, (3-6, 2-5) Spencer 26
(7-2, 6-1) Troup (BYE)
REGION 3
*#3 (7-2, 2-0) Benedictine 70, (7-2, 1-1) New Hampstead 28
*(4-4, 1-1) Jenkins 19, (4-4, 0-2) Islands 18
REGION 4
*#9 6-2, 5-0) Baldwin 27, #6 (5-2, 2-1) Spalding 14
*(3-5, 1-3) Howard 13, (1-7, 0-4) Rutland 0
*#7 (7-1, 3-1) Perry 45, (4-4, 2-2) Westside-Macon 0
(3-5, 1-3) West Laurens (BYE)
REGION 5
*(6-3, 4-1) Fayette County 66, (0-7, 0-4) Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 6
*(6-0-1, 4-0) Riverdale 56, (2-5, 2-3) Hampton 10
(6-2, 4-0) Luella (BYE)
(4-4, 1-3) McDonough (BYE)
(0-8, 0-4) North Clayton (BYE)
REGION 6
*(3-5, 1-2) Hapeville Charter 30, (3-6, 1-4) Arabia Mountain 6
(0-9, 0-1) Druid Hills (BYE)
*#2 (6-1, 3-0) Marist 64, (5-3, 1-3) Stephenson 12
*(6-2, 3-1) Miller Grove 27, (3-5, 3-1) Mays 20
REGION 7
#5 (6-1, 3-0) Cedartown (BYE)
(4-4, 1-2) Central-Carroll (BYE)
(5-2, 2-1) Heritage-Catoosa 31, Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe 0
(5-3, 2-1) Northwest Whitfield 52, (1-8, 0-0) Southeast Whitfield 6
(4-3, 1-2) Pickens (BYE)
(1-7, 0-3) Ridgeland (BYE)
REGION 8
*#10 (6-3, 5-0) North Oconee 42, (2-5, 2-3) Cedar Shoals 7
*#1 (8-0, 4-0) Jefferson 41, (3-5, 1-3) Chestatee 7
(1-7, 0-4) East Hall (BYE)
*(5-3, 2-2) Flowery Branch 32, (4-4, 1-3) Madison County 8
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