Class 7A blog: Top-10 teams go 5-1; five games canceled

Here’s a quick look out how Class 7A’s top 10 fared Friday night and how too many unranked teams didn’t get to play because of COVID-19 cancellations just 24 hours before kickoff.

*No. 1 Grayson moved on from the news that quarterback Carlos Del Rio is ineligible and defeated Del Rio’s former team, McEachern, 55-21. Grayson has scored 50-plus points in both victories. The Rams beat Jones County 51-13 last week. Del Rio, committed to Florida, lost an appeal to gain eligibility as a transfer student.

*No. 2 Lowndes beat Griffin 45-6 to improve to 2-0. The Vikings play Oakleaf (Fla.) next week.

*No. 3 Parkview opened with a 33-16 victory over Mountain View. Parkview plays at No. 4 North Gwinnett (2-0) next week.

*No. 4 North Gwinnett beat Jones County 44-21. North beat McEachern 35-7 in the opener last week and will play No. 3 Parkview (1-0) next week.

*No. 5 Colquitt County remains on the sidelines with players in quarantine. The Packers will open next week against Banneker.

*No. 6 Collins Hill beat Sprayberry 34-13. The Eagles had beaten Carrollton 46-24 in the opener. Collins Hill, with its highest ranking since 2013, plays at No. 1 Grayson next week.

*No. 7 Marietta and No. 8 Mill Creek and No. 9 Brookwood were off. Mill Creek opens next week against No. 6 Dacula of Class 6A. The other two opened with wins last week. Brookwood plays at Wlaton (2-0) next week while Marietta plays at McEachern (0-2)

*No. 10 Archer lost to Warner Robins, the No. 1 team in 5A, 42-7. That likely will knock the Tigers out of the rankings. They’ve been ranked all but two weeks since 2017.

*Other notes: Best 7A victory not involving a top-10 team would probably be North Cobb’s 28-14 decision against No. 3 Buford of 5A. North Cobb is 2-0. ... Several Class 7A teams didn’t get to play Friday because of COVID-19 outbreaks. Tift County canceled its game with Valdosta; Hillgrove canceled its game with Kell, Newnan couldn’t play because Carrollton canceled; Denmark canceled its game with Allatoona; Etowah canceled its game with Forsyth Central. That comes to six 7A schools that didn’t get to play a scheduled game. ... Fulton County teams will open their seasons next week. They were on delay because of COVID-19. Alpharetta will be at home against North Cobb, and Roswell will be at home to centennial; and Milton is at home to Johns Creek.