Earlier this week, my blog reflected on a poor overall performance by the classification Week 1. At total of 25 Class 4A teams squared off against teams from outside of the classification opening week and there was one Class 4A matchup that pinned Region 5 opponents North Clayton and Riverdale. When all was said and done, the results of the Week 1 slate amounted to a combined 7-20 record and 10.6 average margin of defeat. Here’s a closer look at how the classification fared.
In Region 1, Cairo was defeated by Class 2A Fitzgerald 21-17. The Syrupmakers were the only team from Region 1 that competed this past weekend.
Region 2 had five of its nine teams in action and all five suffered defeats. Troup dropped a 28-14 game to Harris County (5A), Columbus fell 35-21 to Northside-Columbus (5A), Jordan lost 34-6 to Pacelli (A), LaGrange lost 31-19 to Upson-Lee (3A) and Spencer was defeated 41-7 by Villa Rica (5A).
Benedictine was the only Region 3 team in action and handled business in an impressive 58-26 win over Burke County (3A). Region 4 was swept with West Laurens falling 27-19 to Bleckley County (2A), Spalding falling 35-14 to Griffin (5A) and Perry falling 17-10 to Houston County (6A).
As previously mentioned, there was one region game on the Week 1 slate and it resulted in Riverdale scoring a 31-0 win over North Clayton to improve to 1-0 in Region 5. There were a total of five other Region 5 teams that played non-region games this past week. Fayette County, (20-14 over 5A Grady) and Luella (28-14 over 5A McIntosh) were victorious in their cross-classification matchups, but Mt. Zion-Jonesboro (16-8 loss to 5A Jonesboro), McDonough (35-0 loss to 5A Locust Grove) and Hampton (48-6 loss to 5A Union Grove) all opened their season in the losing column.
Mays was the lone Region 6 team in action this week and was defeated by Class 7A West Forsyth 42-6. Ultimately, Region 3 and Region 7 proved to be the only regions this past week to win the majority of its games. Heritage-Catoosa (35-7 win over 3A Lakeview Ft. Oglethorpe), Northwest Whitfield (27-6 win over 3A Coahulla Creek) and Pickens (17-8 win over 3A Gilmer) were each victorious, while their Region 7 counterparts Southeast Whitfield (47-20 loss to 3A Murray County) and Ridgeland (35-0 loss 2A Rabun County) were defeated.
Finally, the four Region 8 teams that competed Week 1 were all defeated. Cedar Shoals fell 10-3 to 5A’s Clarke Central, Madison County fell 27-6 to 6A’s Habersham Central, North Oconee dropped a 27-7 loss to 3A’s Oconee County and Flowery Branch lost 38-28 to 5A’s St. Pius.
This first week was obviously a unique one with cross-classification matchups and nearly half of the classification not on the slate.
Here is what to look for Week 2:
In Region 1, newcomer to Class 4A Bainbridge will square off with Class 5A powerhouse Coffee. Also, Thomas County Central will take on Class 2A Thomasville and Cairo will meet with Class A Brooks County. Region 2 will have one region clash with Carver-Columbus and Spencer.
Another game to watch will be No. 1 ranked Marist open its season against Class A’s Holy Innocents'. The other top matchup to watch will be Jefferson taking on Class 6A Central Gwinnett.
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