Ranking the most surprising and notable games of the weekend:
1. Spencer 35, Northeast 34: Spencer pulled off the biggest upset of the week, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings, when it beat 35-point favorite Northeast to take sole possession of first place in Region 2-2A. Last year, Spencer was a 34-point underdog when it beat Northeast 14-13 and went on to win its first region championship since moving to the GHSA in 1968.
2. Dalton 28, Calhoun 21: Dalton, the most under-the-radar team in a loaded Region 7-5A, moved into sole possession of second place with a victory over then-No. 6 Calhoun, which was an eight-point favorite. Dalton had won just once in the past 12 games in the series. The Catamounts can claim their first region title since 2016 with a victory against No. 4 Cartersville this week.
3. LaGrange 42, Trinity Christian 14: LaGrange, a six-point underdog, handed Trinity Christian its first region loss and created a four-way tie for first place in eight-team Region 4-4A that includes these teams as well as Troup and Starr’s Mill. Troup, the defending region champ, will face Trinity Christian and LaGrange in the final two weeks of the regular season.
4. Upson-Lee 21, Peach County 20: Upson-Lee is 8-1 for the first time since 2003 and has reached eight wins for the first time since 2015 with a victory in a Region 2-3A game considered a toss-up by Maxwell. The Knights can win their first region title since 1993 if they finish the regular season with a victory this week against Mary Persons, which also would claim the title with a win.
5. Glascock County 59, GMC Prep 20: Glascock County, which played football from 1974 to 1979 and then restarted the program in 1990, is on the brink of reaching the playoffs for the first time after defeating four-point underdog GMC Prep to move into fourth place in Region 5-A Division II. The Panthers, 4-5 overall and 2-2 in the region, reached the four-win mark for just the fifth time in program history.
Worth noting: Campbell is in position to claim its first state playoff berth since 2017 and fifth in school history after a 41-14 victory over 12-point favorite Pebblebrook. The Spartans will be big underdogs in their final two games, against Carrollton and Westlake, but can wrap up fourth place if East Coweta wins either of its final two games. … Harris County, a 2-9 team a year ago, has sole possession of first place in Region 3-5A after defeating 3-point underdog Northgate 35-13. Barring an upset or two in the final two weeks of the regular season, the Tigers will win their first region championship since 2015. … Heritage (Conyers) ended a 22-game losing streak against teams from outside of Rockdale County when it defeated 13-point favorite Winder-Barrow 40-21. Heritage’s only other wins since 2020 had come against fellow Rockdale schools Rockdale County (three) and Salem (two). … John Milledge Academy of the GIAA extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 58 games with a 27-22 victory over one-point favorite First Presbyterian. This was John Milledge’s closest game during the streak, which began in 2019. … McEachern clinched its third region championship in five years with a 34-21 victory over three-point underdog North Paulding. The Indians started the season 0-4 under first-year coach Kareem Reid but have since won five straight, including three in Region 3-7A.
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