Region play in Class 6A started with a bang Friday night when Region 6 favorites Allatoona and Kell lost their openers in league play.
Allatoona, the defending region champion and the preseason favorite of the computer Maxwell Ratings, lost to Kennesaw Mountain 22-20. Cayman Prangley threw a game-winning 56-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter for Kennesaw Mountain, which had lost its three previous meetings against Allatoona by a combined score of 79-28. Allatoona had been projected as a 10-point favorite.
Kennesaw Mountain is a team on the rise in the fourth season under head coach Caleb Carmean. After bottoming out at 0-10 season in 2019, the Mustangs rebounded with a 4-6 season in 2020 and, most significantly, reached the playoffs for the first time in the program’s 21-year history. Now the Mustangs sit at the top of the standings and have emerged as a favorite to grab another playoff berth this year. Kennesaw Mountain is 3-0 overall for the first time.
“We knew it was going to be a fourth quarter fight,” Carmean told Marietta Daily Journal correspondent Michael Hebert. “When you play Allatoona, that’s just how it goes. Our kids were prepared for it, and they did a good job of answering every time they got punched.”
The other upset in the opening weekend of Region 6 play was Pope’s 30-24 victory over Kell. Phillip Sims scored on a 3-yard run on the Greyhounds’ final drive. Pope, a 14-point underdog, had been 1-10 all-time against the Longhorns. Kell was the region runner-up last year.
Pope has been a hard-luck team over the past two years. A late-season swoon in 2019 (losing three of their final four games) dropped the Greyhounds to fifth place, and COVID essentially sunk their playoff hopes last year.
“This is a huge win for our program in general,” Pope coach Tab Griffin told MDJ correspondent Rebecca Rios. “Kell is a great team and a top-tier team in our region. This just gives us some huge momentum, especially going 1-0 for the region, and gives our guys some confidence.”
Kennesaw Mountain and Pope share first place with Sprayberry (a 33-0 winner over Wheeler) and Lassiter (a 43-28 winner over South Cobb). Those leaders will be cut down to two next weekend, as Sprayberry travels to Kennesaw Mountain and Lassiter visits Pope.
Region 7 had the best night among Class 6A regions in Week 3, as all six of the league’s eight teams that played came away with victories. River Ridge defeated Etowah 22-7 and Riverwood beat North Springs 34-7, both improving to 3-0. Creekview moved to 2-0 with a 48-0 victory over Woodstock. Cambridge played its first game and outlasted North Oconee 21-19, and Sequoyah defeated Cass 37-23. Chattahoochee picked up its first win by beating Northview 41-8. Johns Creek had the night off but also got in the win column as a result of a forfeit by Heritage-Conyers. Centennial had the night off.
Sixth-ranked Rome and No. 7 Hughes recorded significant victories, knocking off undefeated teams from the highest classification. Rome defeated Class 7A No. 10 Cherokee 27-7. Hughes, which beat Allatoona 6-0 last week in a game shortened to less than two quarters because of inclement weather, rolled past Harrison 38-14. Harrison was unranked but had impressive victories over Allatoona and North Forsyth in its first two games.
The only ranked Class 6A team to lose in Week 3 was third-ranked Westlake, which was riding high after a 31-24 victory over Class 7A power Colquitt County last week. Westlake was taken down by Class 5A No. 6 Creekside 27-20 in a south Fulton rivalry game. Creekside quarterback Nyqua Lett threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Derrick White with 1:34 remaining for the winning points.
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