Allatoona, Kell, Lassiter and Sprayberry are tied for first place in 6-6A after the first night of region play Friday.
Allatoona, the state runner-up last season and the preseason Maxwell Ratings' projected favorite in 2020, opened league play with a 21-6 victory over Kennesaw Mountain, which dropped from 7A this season. Buccaneers head coach Gary Varner missed the game because of health concerns, according the Marietta Daily Journal. Sophomore tailback Jayden Ponder ran for 146 yards.
Kell, which moved up from 5A after finishing 9-3 each of the past two seasons, picked up its first victory of the season with a 47-13 victory over Pope. Kell opened the season with a solid performance in a 35-28 loss to Walton in the Corky Kell Classic two weeks ago but had not played since then because its scheduled game with Hillgrove last week was canceled.
Sprayberry and Lassiter each picked up its first win of the season after 0-2 starts in non-region play. Sprayberry, the third-place team in the region last year behind state finalists Harrison and Allatoona, routed Wheeler 45-6. Lassiter, which was 1-9 the past two seasons and came into the weekend on a seven-game losing streak, defeated South Cobb 30-13.
The first matchup between any two of the four tied teams won’t take place until Oct. 23, when Lassiter travels to Sprayberry.
With nine teams, 6-6A is the largest region in the classification and the first to begin league play.
- Elsewhere in Class 6A, Osborne ended a school-record 31-game losing streak with a 29-8 victory over Forest Park. It was the Cardinals' first win since Oct. 21, 2016, when they beat Forest Park 14-8. Osborne, the only member of Region 6-6A that had a non-region game this week, will begin league play against Wheeler next Friday. The Cardinals haven’t won a region game since 2011.
- Fulton County Schools teams got into the action this week after a two-week delay over COVID-19, and its was a good start for the county’s 6A schools, which posted a 5-2 record. Hughes (vs. Harrison), Westlake (vs. Creekside), Cambridge (vs. North Oconee), Chattahoochee (vs. Northview) and Riverwood (vs. North Springs) won their openers. Johns Creek and Centennial lost to 7A teams.
- Buford, the 2019 Class 5A champion now playing in 6A, bounced back from a season-opening 28-14 loss to North Cobb last week with a 39-6 victory over Carver of Atlanta. The Wolves held Carver to 33 total yards (34 rushing and minus-1 passing) and two first downs, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post. Carver’s only points came on an interception that was returned for a touchdown.
- River Ridge of Region 7 is 3-0 for just the third time in the program’s 12-year history after a 38-7 victory over Etowah. It was the Knights' second consecutive victory over a fellow Cherokee County school (they beat Woodstock 22-17 last week). River Ridge came into the season 0-20 all-time against other county schools – 0-2 Etowah, 0-2 vs. Woodstock, 0-8 vs. Creekview, and 0-8 vs. Sequoyah.
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