Only 26 of the 57 football teams in Class 6A were in action last week, but several of the teams that played made their most of their opportunities with victories that gave significant boosts to their playoff chances.
Here are five 6A teams that helped themselves the most in Week 9:
*Alpharetta: Alpharetta, which opened in 2004, set a school record for points in a 70-21 victory over Lassiter that kept the Raiders undefeated in Region 7 and in the hunt for their first region title since 2017. Alpharetta is a 31-point favorite this week against Johns Creek, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings, and then finishes the regular season with a tough stretch against Blessed Trinity and third-ranked Roswell that will determine which of the top three seeds it gets. Alpharetta (5-2) was 6-14 over the past two seasons.
*Glynn Academy: The Red Terrors’ streak of 14 consecutive playoff berths appeared on shaky ground after a 2-4 start that included lopsided losses to Brunswick and Effingham County to open Region 2 play. After two straight victories, however, Glynn Academy is in third place in the seven-team region, trailing only Brunswick and Effingham. The Red Terrors beat Grovetown 46-13 last week and likely will make the playoffs if they win either of their two remaining games, against Evans on Friday or Lakeside-Evans on Nov. 4.
*Lanier: Fifth-ranked Gainesville and North Forsyth, both 3-0 in Region 8, appear to be locks for two of the region’s playoff berths, with the other two spots likely to go to a combination of Shiloh, Lanier and Jackson County. Lanier remained in the race with a much-needed 27-20 victory over Apalachee last week to move into a tie for fourth place with idle Jackson County in the seven-team region. Lanier and Jackson County face each other Friday night, and the winner of that game is almost certain to reach the postseason.
*St. Pius: Of the four private schools that moved into 6A during reclassification, St. Pius had the roughest start, opening the season with four losses in five games while averaging just 7.6 points. The Golden Lions have hit their stride in region play, sitting at 2-0 and tied with rival Marist for first place in Region 4 after a 33-6 victory last week against Dunwoody, which has lost two straight after a 4-1 start. St. Pius plays Riverwood this week before a game against Marist on Oct. 28 that likely will determine the region champion.
*Sequoyah: The Chiefs picked up perhaps the biggest victory of Week 9 when they defeated Creekview 7-3 to move into sole possession of second place in seven-team Region 6. Sequoyah had been tied for second with Creekview and River Ridge but moved a game ahead of Creekview and a half-game ahead of River Ridge, which was idle. The Chiefs also hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over both teams, as well as fifth-place Etowah, and those three teams still have games against No. 6 Rome, which Sequoyah doesn’t.
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