In Region 1, Hardaway opened the week with a 15-14 win over Westover to improve to 1-1 in the region and No. 7 ranked Bainbridge scored a 42-6 win over Shaw to improve to 2-0 in the region with Cairo—which was off on its bye. In Region 2, No. 3 ranked Perry remains alone at the top of the standings at 7-1 and 4-0 after a 35-0 win over Baldwin and Spalding bounced back from last week’s loss to Howard with a 33-24 win over West Laurens.

In Region 3, No. 5 Benedictine topped Southeast Bulloch 52-7, No. 6 Burke County bounced back from its loss to Benedictine last week with a 63-0 win over Islands and No. 9 Wayne County held off New Hampstead 31-24 in overtime.

All eight teams in Region 8 were off this week and in Region 6, Stephenson maintained its grip on the standings with a 55-20 win over Miller Grove, Holy Innocents’ held off Southwest DeKalb 36-34 and Westminster topped Hapeville Charter 20-7. Region 7 was off this week and in Region 8, Cherokee Bluff suffered another tough loss in a 28-25 defeat to Walnut Grove and No. 2 ranked North Oconee improved to 5-0 in the region with a 48-0 win over East Forsyth.

No. 2 North Oconee clinched back-to-back Region 8 championships and improved to 8-0 with a 44-0 victory over host Walnut Grove. Quarterback Max Wilson threw three touchdown passes and running back Khalil Barnes accounted for a touchdown reception and two rushing scores. The Titans have outscored their six region opponents 311-26.

Preston Lusink threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another score as visiting Lovett shut out Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 44-0. Lusink connected with Kalil Townes and Dylan Mayers, who both accounted for two touchdowns. Townes also ran for a five-yard touchdown and Mayers tossed a scoring strike of his own to Michael Mitchell. The Lions led 14-0 after one quarter, 30-0 at halftime and 37-0 going into the fourth quarter.

No. 4 ranked Troup cruised past host Fayette County 49-21 to improve to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in Region 4—giving the Tigers an opportunity to clinch the program’s first region title since 1987 next week against Trinity Christian. The Tigers jumped out to a 30-0 halftime lead and were led by quarterback Taeo Todd, who finished with two touchdown passes to Qua Moss and three touchdown runs.

No. 1 ranked Cedartown gained just eight yards in the first quarter, but the defense got them on the board with Demarcus Gardner’s 90-yard interception touchdown return in a 48-0 win over Sonoraville. Gardner’s big play sparked Cedartown and the Bulldogs went on to out-gain the Phoenix 494-to-109 in total yards. Quarterback Reece Tanner found Harlem Diamond for a 34-yard passing touchdown and Diamond returned to the endzone with a 27-yard touchdown run. Mikey Esquivel and Juelz Davis also rushed for Cedartown touchdowns in the second half.

CLASS 4A STANDINGS

REGION 1

Cairo 7-2, 3-0

Bainbridge 4-4, 2-0

Shaw 4-5, 1-2

Hardaway 2-7, 1-2

Westover 2-7, 0-3 Friday, Oct. 28

Bainbridge vs. Hardaway

REGION 2

Perry 7-1, 4-0

Spalding 6-3, 4-1

Griffin 3-6, 3-2

Baldwin 3-5, 2-2

Howard 5-3, 1-3

Westside 5-3, 1-3

West Laurens 1-7, 0-4

Thursday, Oct. 27

Howard vs. West Laurens

Friday, Oct. 28

Perry vs. Spalding

Westside-Macon vs. Baldwin

REGION 3

Benedictine 6-2, 3-0

New Hampstead 6-2, 2-1

Wayne County 6-2, 2-1

Burke County 6-1, 1-1

SE Bulloch 2-6, 1-2

Islands 0-9, 0-4

Friday, Oct. 21

Burke County vs. New Hampstead

Islands vs. Benedictine

Southeast Bulloch vs. Wayne County

REGION 4

Troup 8-0, 5-0

Trinity Christian 5-3, 4-1

LaGrange 6-2, 3-2

Starr’s Mill 6-2, 3-2

Whitewater 6-2, 3-2

Riverdale 3-6, 2-4

Fayette County 1-7, 1-4

North Clayton 1-8, 0-6

Thursday, Oct. 27

LaGrange vs. Fayette County

Friday, Oct. 28

Starr’s Mill vs. North Clayton

Troup vs. Trinity Christian

Whitewater vs. Riverdale

REGION 5

Stockbridge 6-2, 5-0

Pace Academy 7-1, 4-1

Lovett 4-4, 4-1

Hampton 6-2, 3-2

Woodland 4-4, 2-3

McDonough 3-5, 1-4

Luella 1-7, 1-4

Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 0-8, 0-5

Thursday, Oct. 27

Mt. Zion-Jonesboro vs. Woodland-Stockbridge

Friday, Oct. 21

Hampton vs. Lovett

McDonough vs. Luella

Pace Academy vs. Stockbridge

REGION 6

Stephenson 5-2, 3-0

Holy Innocents’ 5-3, 2-1

Westminster 5-3, 2-1

Miller Grove 3-5, 1-2

Hapeville Charter 1-7, 1-2

Southwest DeKalb 2-6, 0-3

Druid Hills 4-4, X-X

Stone Mountain 2-6, X-X

Clarkston 1-7, X-X

Thursday, Oct. 27

Clarkston vs. Johnson-Gainesville

Hapeville Charter vs. Miller Grove

Friday, Oct. 28

Druid Hills vs. Lakeside-DeKalb

Holy Innocents’ vs. Stephenson

Stone Mountain vs. Midtown

Westminster vs. Southwest DeKalb

REGION 7

Cedartown 8-0, 3-0

Heritage-Catoosa 7-1, 2-1

Sonoraville 5-3, 2-1

Central-Carroll 5-3, 1-2

NW Whitfield 5-3, 1-2

SE Whitfield 4-4, 0-3

Friday, Oct. 28

Cedartown vs. Southeast Whitfield

Central-Carroll vs. Northwest Whitfield

Heritage-Catoosa vs. Sonoraville

REGION 8

North Oconee 8-0, 6-0

Walnut Grove 6-2, 4-2

Madison County 5-3, 4-2

Cedar Shoals 4-5, 4-3

East Forsyth 5-3, 3-3

North Hall 3-5, 3-3

Cherokee Bluff 3-6, 4-4

Chestatee 1-7, 1-5

East Hall 2-6, 0-6

Johnson-Gainesville 0-8, X-X

Seckinger 0-6, X-X

Thursday, Oct. 27

Johnson-Gainesville vs. Clarkston

Friday, Oct. 21

Chestatee vs. East Forsyth

Madison County vs. Walnut Grove

North hall vs. Cedar Shoals

North Oconee vs. East Hall

Seckinger at Berkmar

About the Author

Featured

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens (right) tours the Vine City neighborhood with his senior advisor Courtney English (left). (Matt Reynolds/AJC 2024)

Credit: Matt Reynolds