No. 2 ranked North Oconee opened its Region 8 slate with an impressive 38-0 win over Madison County. The Titans led 14-0 after the first quarter and 28-0 at the half to overwhelm the Red Raiders and were fueled by Landon Roldan’s trio of touchdowns in the victory. Top-ranked Benedictine improved to 5-0 with a 35-10 win over Class 3A Hebron Christian. The classification also saw several other successful results outside of 4A. Burke County exploded for a 49-17 win over Oconee County—leading 28-10 before an explosive final frame. Westminster defeated Class 6A Centennial 31-22. Michael Buhay completed 10 of 14 passes for 117 yards and threw both of his touchdown strikes to Brand Morgan as visiting Westminster defeated Centennial. The Wildcats also got a touchdown run by Wade Penn and a scoop and score off of a fumbled lateral by Lawton Sodemann. Centennial battled back to make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter thanks in part to touchdowns by Sean Siracusa and Palmer Sperier, but Will Simpson’s 49-yard field goal with a little more than two minutes remaining iced it for Westminster.

In Region action, Starr’s Mill pulled away for a major 21-7 win over LaGrange. The Panthers missed the playoffs despite a 7-3 overall record last season and so Friday’s win over LaGrange was significant. Taylor Ratinaud broke a 7-7 tie with an 80-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter as Starr’s Mill battled past visiting LaGrange. Ratinaud also intercepted a pass late in the fourth quarter to put away any chance LaGrange had of mounting a comeback. The Panthers got touchdown runs by Dorsey Benefield and Logan Inagawa. LaGrange’s lone score came just prior to halftime on a 63-yard pass from Malik Kemp to Denorayon Reid that tied things up at 7-7.

Pace Academy blanked Woodland-Stockbridge 37-0 on Thursday. Maddox Crawford scored twice on the ground and Terrence Kiel Jr. returned a punt for a touchdown. … Holy Innocents’ led 28-0 at halftime and coasted to a 38-14 victory over Douglass. The Golden Bears got two touchdowns from Nemo High and one each by Nick Morgan, Jamie Savula and Zach Jackson. … Cedar Shoals won a defensive struggle with Walnut Grove 14-6. The Jaguars trailed 6-0 midway through the second quarter, but Anthony Hubbard scored on a 20-yard run to give them a 7-6 lead at halftime and Taiwan Green provided the clincher from three yards out with two minutes left in the game. … Cairo had too much firepower in all three phases for Pelham in a 43-27 victory. The Syrupmakers faced deficits of 7-0 and 14-7 before taking control thanks in part to special teams and defense. Bryian Duncan returned an interception for a score and Keshen Spence returned a kickoff for a touchdown and also recovered a blocked punt for a TD. … Southeast Bulloch shut out Tattnall County 17-0. A dominant defensive effort saw Kyle O’Brien score on an interception return. Quentin Reed added a touchdown run and Cole Snyder kicked a 40-yard field goal for the Yellow Jackets. ….Additionally, Northwest Whitfield defeated Darlington to improve to 4-1 and Central-Carroll defeated Northgate to improve to 5-0—setting the stage for what is going to be a dramatic playoff battle in Region 7 this season.

Class 4A Week 5 Standings and Results

Region 1

Cairo 0-0, 4-1

Westover 0-0, 3-2

Bainbridge 0-0, 2-2

Shaw 0-0, 2-3

Hardaway 0-0, 0-5

Friday, Sept. 15

Cairo 43, Pelham 27

Harris County 40, Hardaway 13

Shaw 28, Columbus 15

Westover 40, Turner County 27

Region 2

Spalding 0-0, 4-0

Westside-Macon 0-0, 4-0

Baldwin 0-0, 3-1

Howard 0-0, 2-1

Perry 0-0, 2-1

West Laurens 0-0, 2-2

Griffin 0-0, 0-4

Friday, Sept. 15

Howard 49, Pike County 0

Perry 42, Peach County 21

West Laurens 33, Bleckley County 27

Region 3

Benedictine 0-0, 5-0

Burke County 0-0, 4-0

Southeast Bulloch 0-0, 3-1

Wayne County 0-0, 3-1

New Hampstead 0-0, 2-2

Islands 0-0, 0-5

Friday, Sept. 15

Benedictine 35, Hebron Christian 10

Burke County 49, Oconee County 17 Brunswick 63, Islands 0

Richmond Hill 28, New Hampstead 26

Southeast Bulloch 17, Tattnall County 0

Wayne County 31, Statesboro 13

Region 4

North Clayton 2-0, 4-1

Troup 1-0, 4-0

Trinity Christian 1-0, 2-2

Starr’s Mill 1-0, 2-2

LaGrange 0-1, 2-2

Whitewater 0-1, 2-2

Fayette County 0-1, 0-4

Riverdale 0-2, 0-5

Friday, Sept. 15

* North Clayton 36, Fayette County 17

*Starr’s Mill 21, LaGrange 7

*Trinity Christian 56, Riverdale 18

* Troup 56, Whitewater 7

Region 5

Stockbridge 2-0, 3-2

Lovett 2-0, 2-2

McDonough 1-1, 3-1

Hampton 1-1, 2-3

Pace Academy 1-1, 2-3

Luella 1-1, 1-4

Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 0-2, 0-4

Woodland-Stockbridge 0-2, 0-5

Thursday, Sept. 14

*Pace Academy 37, Woodland-Stockbridge 0

Friday, Sept. 15

*Stockbridge 41, Hampton 20

*Luella 38, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 3

* Lovett 38, McDonough 20

Region 6

Holy Innocents’ 0-0, 5-0

Miller Grove 0-0, 4-1

Stephenson 0-0, 3-1 Westminster 0-0, 2-2

Southwest DeKalb 0-0, 2-3

Hapeville Charter 0-0, 1-3

+Druid Hills 0-0, 2-1-1

+Clarkston 0-0, 1-3

+Stone Mountain 0-0, 0-4

Friday, Sept. 15

Osborne 37, Clarkston 6

Holy Innocents’ 38, Douglass 14

Miller Grove 32, Central Gwinnett 21

Southwest DeKalb 22, Redan 18

Westminster 32, Centennial 21

Region 7

Central-Carroll 0-0, 5-0 Northwest Whitfield 0-0, 4-1

Heritage-Catoosa 0-0, 3-1

Sonoraville 0-0, 2-3

Southeast Whitfield 0-0, 1-3

Cedartown 0-0, 1-3

Friday, Sept. 15

Central-Carroll 21, Northgate 17

Northwest Whitfield 21, Darlington 17

Calhoun 52, Sonoraville 16

Armuchee 53, Southeast Whitfield 10

Region 8

North Hall 2-0, 4-0

East Forsyth 1-0, 3-0

North Oconee 1-0, 3-0

Madison County 1-1, 3-1

East Hall 1-1, 2-2

Cedar Shoals 1-1, 1-3

Cherokee Bluff 1-1, 1-3

Walnut Grove 0-2, 1-3

Chestatee 0-2, 0-4

+Johnson-Gainesville 0-0, 1-3

+Seckinger 0-0, 0-4

Friday, Sept. 15

*Cedar Shoals 14, Walnut Grove 6

* Cherokee Bluff 48, Chestatee 0

East Forsyth 49, Johnson-Gainesville 0

* North Oconee 38, Madison County 0

*North Hall 49, East Hall 14

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