Lee County has clinched a region title, Hughes is in sole possession of first place, and a jumble remains at the top of three other Class 6A regions after Week 10 of the high school football season.
Second-ranked Lee County won its fifth consecutive Region 1 championship when it defeated No. 9 Northside-Warner Robins 41-7 Friday night. The four-team region is down to just three playoff-eligible teams this season after Valdosta was banned from the postseason over alleged recruiting violations in 2020, and the Wildcats’ games don’t affect the region standings. That leaves just Lee County, Northside and Houston County fighting for playoff spots, and Lee County has victories against the other two. Northside and Houston County will play for second place in Warner Robins next week.
Third-ranked Hughes is alone in first place in Region 4 after a 28-7 victory over Lovejoy in a battle of the region’s remaining unbeaten teams. A win next week against Tucker will give Hughes its first region title since 2013. This loss dropped Lovejoy into a three-way tie for second place with Tucker and No. 5 Westlake. Those are the four teams that are likely to make the playoffs from Region 4, although North Atlanta still has a way in if it can beat Lovejoy in the regular-season finale on Nov. 5.
Riverwood created a three-way tie for first place in Region 7 when it knocked off previously unbeaten Cambridge 40-33. Riverwood, Cambridge and Johns Creek are all 4-1 in the region and 1-1 against each other. Cambridge defeated Johns Creek last week, and Johns Creek beat Riverwood on Sept. 24. Creekview and River Ridge are tied for fourth place at 3-2, although Creekview holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.
There’s also a three-way tie for first place in Region 6, but the picture there is clearer. Kennesaw Mountain (defeated Wheeler 36-6), Pope (defeated Sprayberry 25-7) and defending champion Allatoona (defeated Kell 23-12) have one loss each in region play, but Kennesaw Mountain holds the tiebreaker because of its victories against the other two. Kennesaw Mountain can claim the first region championship in program history if it defeats Osborne on Nov. 5. Osborne is in last place at 1-6 overall and 0-5 in the region.
The number of teams tied for first place in Region 5 dropped from five to four after Rome defeated Alexander 16-6. Rome, Carrollton, Douglas County and South Paulding are 4-1 in region play. Alexander, at 3-2, is alone in fifth place. The Cougars remain in the heart of the playoff race, but they’ll need to win one, if not both, of their remaining games against Carrollton and South Paulding to reach the postseason.
The other Class 6A first-place teams after Week 10 include Brunswick in Region 2, Evans and Alcovy in Region 3, and Buford and Dacula in Region 8.
Glynn Academy’s streak of 13 consecutive playoff appearances is in jeopardy after a 14-7 loss to Richmond Hill that dropped the Red Terrors into fifth place in Region 2. Glynn Academy (3-5-1 overall and 2-3 in the region), which won the region title four of the past five seasons, must beat Statesboro in its regular-season finale on Nov. 5 and get help from elsewhere to keep its playoff streak alive. Statesboro and Effingham County are tied for second place behind Brunswick, and Richmond Hill is in fourth place.
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