Cairo kicked off the Week 7 slate Wednesday with a 34-0 win over Shaw—just five days after last Friday’s 62-0 win over Salem. The rest of Region 1 was off this week and Cairo’s win over the Raiders was the first region contest of the season for Region 1. … Baldwin picked up a 45-0 win over Howard in Region 2 and Friday will stage region battles between Perry vs. Westside-Macon and rivals Griffin at Spalding. …Southeast Bulloch picked up a 34-7 win over Islands on Wednesday and the rest of Region 3 will return to the gridiron Friday night with region contests between New Hampstead and No. 6 Benedictine and a top 10 showdown between No. 10 Wayne County and No. 5 Burke County. …Region 4 saw No. 8 Whitewater top Fayette County 50-13 and LaGrange pull out a much-needed 28-14 win over Riverdale after previously dropping region games to Starr’s Mill and Whitewater. No. 4 Troup dominated North Clayton 63-0 and Trinity Christian will face No. 7 Starr’s Mill on Friday for another big region battle. … In Region 5, Pace Academy served Hampton a 33-7 loss and Lovett defeated Luella 15-2. …Hapeville Charter dropped to 0-6 in a 13-12 loss to Stephenson in Region 6, Westminster edged Holy Innocents’ 15-14 and Miller Grove edged Southwest DeKalb 26-21—all of which were region openers. …Region 7 saw Heritage-Catoosa open its region slate with a 56-12 win over Southeast Whitfield to improve to 6-0 and Friday will see No. 1 ranked Cedartown host Central-Carroll and Sonoraville host Northwest Whitfield in their region opener. In Region 8, No. 2 ranked North Oconee exploded for a 70-7 win over North Hall and Cedar Shoals picked up its third-straight win in a 21-19 victory over Cherokee Bluff. East Forsyth added a huge 45-0 win over East Hall to improve to 4-1 and 2-1 in region play and Madison County earned a 39-8 win over Chestatee.
Here’s a closer look into some of the biggest results.
Terrence Kiel scored three touchdowns to lead Pace Academy past visiting Hampton 33-7. Kiel found the end zone twice on the ground and also hauled in a 29-yard scoring strike from Conner Phelan. The Knights also got a 35-yard touchdown run by Maddox Crawford and a 34-yard field goal by Andrew Swann. For Hampton, Jeray Greene put points on the board with a one-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.
East Hall opened up a 28-0 halftime lead of its 45-0 win over East Hall with two rushing scores apiece from Brandon Peoples and Will Moffitt. The Broncos grew the lead to 42-0 in the third quarter to force a running clock in the final frame. Moffitt ran in his third score and quarterback Kovi Edgil connected with Jackson Norman for a touchdown. Daniel Nerey’s 27-yard field goal marked the final tally and improved East Forsyth’s record to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in Region 8.
No. 4 ranked Troup opened up a 36-0 first quarter-lead and closed out the visiting North Clayton Eagles 63-0 to improve to 3-0 in Region 4 and 6-0 overall. Quarterback Taeo Todd got the Tigers on the board with a 61-yard touchdown pass and Troup kept it on the ground for the rest of their offensive scores. Following a safety, Jay Young ran in a 25-yard touchdown, Tyreon Smith scored on an 18-yard handoff, Cam Cameron cashed in a 3-yard touchdown and Turner Vines’ 9-yard score gave Troup its 36-0 lead. Logan Singfield found the end zone on a 6-yard run in the second quarter to make it a 43-0 lead at the break and then the second half saw an Ashton Williams 1-yard touchdown run, an Amar Cortes 20-yard touchdown return on a blocked punt and Cameron’s second rushing score in the fourth quarter on a 65-yard burst.
Westminster went for a two-point conversion and the 15-14 win over Holy Innocents’ after scoring a touchdown with one minute remaining against visiting Holy Innocents’. It paid off, as John Collier found Armstrong Jones in the end zone for a successful try and one-point victory. Holy Innocents’ had taken the lead with four minutes left, converting a Wildcat fumble into a touchdown on a 14-yard run by Jacobi Murray. The Golden Bears also got a 25-yard touchdown run by William Wright for an early 6-0 lead in the second quarter, while the Wildcats got on the scoreboard for the first time on a 34-yard touchdown scamper by Fain Barton in the third quarter. Westminster’s go-ahead drive was headlined by a 57-yard halfback pass to the 1-yard line from Barton to Jones.
LaGrange built a 21-7 lead and closed out visiting Riverdale 28-14 to pick up a much-needed Region 4 victory after an 0-2 start in the region. The Grangers scored on a 7-yard AJ Tucker rushing touchdown and a pair of touchdown passes from Jaylan Brown to Magic Johnson (27, 68 yards) in the first half. Riverdale cut the deficit to 21-14, but LaGrange answered with a 1-yard Brown touchdown to push the lead to 28-14 heading into the fourth. Denorayon Reid came up with a huge interception at the Grangers’ 15-yard line with 6:29 left in the game and LaGrange closed out the victory with a turnover on downs with 3:45 left.
No. 8-ranked Whitewater pulled away from a 9-7 game early in the second quarter with five touchdowns to lead 43-7 at the break en route to a 50-13 final over Fayette County. The visiting Wildcats were first on the board with a 39-yard field goal from TJ Hartley and a touchdown run by Xavier Clay-Turner before Javon Graham answered for Fayette County with a 67-yard trip to the end zone. Quarterback Ty Ellington scored on a QB sneak early in the second, then added a 47-yard touchdown completion to Kelton Smith on the following Whitewater drive. Less than two minutes later, Markel Aguirre blocked a Tiger punt and returned it for a touchdown, and Ellington threw a scoring strike to Colin O’Brien and also ran the ball in himself from 42-yards out before halftime.
Sonoraville improved to 4-2 on the season with an emphatic 42-20 come-from-behind victory in its Region 7 opener against visiting Northwest Whitfield. The Bruins were first on the board with an 85-yard completion from Owen Brooker to Hudson Gray before the first of Zach Lyles’ three touchdowns and a two-point run from Phoenix quarterback Jaxon Pate put Sonoraville out front. Brooker then added touchdown runs of 70 and 91 yards in the second quarter for a 20-8 Northwest Whitfield advantage, but the Phoenix closed the game with five straight scores. Pate connected with Bryant (68 yards) and Ty Brown (5 yards) in the second quarter and Bryant again (15 yards) in the third, and Lyles added a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal the win.
Host Trinity Christian (4-2, 3-0) won its fourth-straight game in a 3-0 shutout victory over No. 7 ranked Starr’s Mill to improve to 3-0 in Region 4-4A. As a result, Trinity Christian sits at the top of the standings with No. 4 ranked Troup—which also improved to 3-0 in the region after its 63-0 win over North Clayton Thursday. The Lions’ game-clinching points came on a 24-yard field goal with 11:54 left in the fourth quarter and they will go on the road next week to take on Whitewater (5-1, 2-1). Starr’s Mill has lost two-straight after a 4-0 start and will host Fayette County next Friday.
No. 1 ranked Cedartown scored touchdowns in all three of its first half possessions and its first five scores of the game and took a 33-7 lead into the fourth quarter of its 39-7 win over Central-Carroll. Patrick Gardner ran in three of the Bulldogs’ touchdowns, Khamarion Davis ran for a 23-yard touchdown and Harlem Diamond scored on a 19-yard handoff. Cedartown’s final points came on a 42-yard Tae Harris rushing score with 4:11 left. Central-Carroll’s lone points came on a quarterback sneak early in the second quarter and the Lions fall to 4-2 and 0-1 in Region 7. Cedartown joins Heritage-Catoosa at 6-0 and 1-0 in the region and will square off next Friday. Cedartown has now outscored its first six opponents 212-44 giving them a 28-point average margin of victory. Meanwhile, Heritage-Catoosa has a 240-to-59 scoring edge through six games with a 30.17 average margin of victory heading into Friday’s home game.
Spalding snapped six-straight losses to Griffin and improved to 2-13 all-time against the Bears in a 32-0 shutout victory that improved its Region 2 record to 2-0. Curt Clark’s 20-yard touchdown run put the Jaguars up 12-0 at the half and he tacked on a 40-yard rushing score to open the second half. Robert Henderson’s 4-yard touchdown run put Spalding up 24-0 and Ronald Moore Jr. iced the game with an interception he returned for a 40-yard touchdown with two minutes left for the final tally.
WEEK 7 RESULTS AND STANDINGS
REGION 1
Cairo 5-2, 1-0
Bainbridge 2-4, 0-0
Westover 2-4, 0-0
Hardaway 1-5, 0-0
Shaw 3-4, 0-1
Wednesday, Sept. 28
Cairo 34, Shaw 0
REGION 2
Perry 5-1, 2-0
Spalding 4-2, 2-0
Griffin 1-5, 1-1
Baldwin 2-4, 1-1
Westside-Macon 4-1, 0-1
Howard 4-2, 0-2
West Laurens 1-4, 0-1
Thursday, Sept. 29
Baldwin 45, Howard 0
Friday, Sept. 30
Perry 39, Westside-Macon 7
Spalding 32, Griffin 0
REGION 3
Burke County 5-0, 0-0
New Hampstead 4-1, 0-0
Wayne County 4-1, 0-0
Benedictine 3-2, 0-0
SE Bulloch 2-4, 1-0
Islands 0-6, 0-1
Wednesday, Sept. 28
Southeast Bulloch 34, Islands 7
Friday, Sept. 30
New Hampstead vs. Benedictine (POSTPONED)
Wayne County vs. Burke County (POSTPONED)
REGION 4
Troup 6-0, 3-0
Trinity Christian 4-2, 3-0
Whitewater 5-1, 2-1
Riverdale 3-4, 2-2
Starr’s Mill 4-2, 1-2
LaGrange 4-2, 1-2
Fayette County 1-5, 1-2
North Clayton 1-6, 0-4
Thursday, Sept. 29
Whitewater 50, Fayette County 13
LaGrange 28, Riverdale 14
Troup 63, North Clayton 0
Friday, Sept. 30
Trinity Christian 3, Starr’s Mill 0
REGION 5
Stockbridge 4-2, 3-0
Lovett 3-3, 3-0
Pace Academy 5-1, 2-1
Hampton 4-2, 1-2
Woodland 3-3, 1-2
McDonough 2-3, 1-2
Luella 1-5, 1-2
Mt. Zion 0-6, 0-3
Thursday, Sept. 29
Pace Academy 33, Hampton 7
Friday, Sept 30
Lovett 15, Luella 2
Stockbridge 49, Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 3
Woodland-Stockbridge 29, McDonough 28
REGION 6
Holy Innocents’ 3-2, 0-1
Westminster 3-2, 1-0
Stephenson 2-2, 1-0
Miller Grove 2-3, 1-0
SW DeKalb 2-3, 0-1
Hapeville Charter 0-5, 0-1
Druid Hills 2-3, x-x
Clarkston 1-4, x-x
Stone Mountain 1-4, x-x
Friday, Sept. 30
Druid Hills 39, Riverside Military 6
Hapeville Charter vs. Stephenson 13, Hapeville Charter 12
Miller Grove 26, Southwest DeKalb 21
Westminster 15, Holy Innocents’ 14
REGION 7
Cedartown 6-0, 1-0
Heritage-Catoosa 6-0, 1-0
Sonoraville 4-2, 1-0
Central-Carroll 4-2, 0-1
NW Whitfield 4-2, 0-1
SE Whitfield 4-2, 0-1
Thursday, Sept. 29
Heritage-Catoosa 55, Southeast Whitfield 12
Friday, Sept. 30
Cedartown 39, Central-Carroll 7
Sonoraville 42, Northwest Whitfield 20
REGION 8
North Oconee 5-0, 3-0
Cedar Shoals 3-3, 3-1
Walnut Grove 4-1, 2-1
Cherokee Bluff 2-4, 2-2
North Hall 2-4, 2-2
East Forsyth 4-1, 2-1
Madison County 2-3, 1-2
Chestatee 1-5, 1-3
East Hall 2-4, 1-3
Johnson-Gainesville 0-6, x-x
Seckinger 0-5, x-x
Thursday, Sept. 29
Cedar Shoals 21, Cherokee Bluff 19
East Forsyth 45, East Hall 0
Madison County 39, Chestatee 8
North Oconee 70, North Hall 7
Oglethorpe County 35, Seckinger 0
Friday, Sept. 30
Lakeside-Atlanta 21, Johnson-Gainesville 20
