Ranking the most surprising and notable games of the weekend:

1. Decatur 40, Chamblee 38: Decatur scored on a fourth-down, 53-yard halfback pass from Tristan Strickland to Malachi Miller with 11 seconds left in the 4-5A game to capture its first region championship since 2004. Chamblee was a seven-point favorite, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings. Decatur is 4-0 in region play after starting the season 1-4.

2. Carver-Columbus 27, Dougherty 0: Ranked No. 4 in Class 3A two weeks ago, Dougherty slid to the No. 3 seed in Region 1 with its second consecutive loss, this one against one-point underdog Carver, which will be the No. 2 seed. Dougherty will open the playoffs on the road against the No. 2 seed from Region 2 (Jackson, Upson-Lee or Mary Persons).

3. Mount Zion-Carroll 33, Christian Heritage 10: Though hardly a stunner, Mount Zion pulled off the Maxwell Ratings’ biggest upset of the week when it beat 18-point favorite Christian Heritage in a Region 7-A Division II game. Mount Zion can secure its first region title since 2018 with a victory this week, but it will have to win against top-ranked Bowdon to accomplish it.

4. Holy Innocents’ 42, Stephenson 14: Stephenson had a chance to clinch the Region 6-4A title but instead fell into a tie for first place with Westminster and Holy Innocents’, which was an eight-point underdog. All are 3-1 in region play. Barring an upset in Week 12, the teams will finish tied for first place, with the seeding order being determined by the region’s point-differential tiebreakers.

5. Berrien 35, Dodge County 29: Berrien clinched its first winning season since 1994 with a victory over seven-point favorite Dodge County, which had beaten then-No. 3 Cook the previous week. Berrien is 6-3 overall and tied for third place in Region 1-2A with a 3-2 mark in league play but finishes the regular season against top-ranked Fitzgerald.

Worth noting: Allatoona, all but written off after a 1-5 start that included losses in its first two Region 6-6A games, is tied for second place after beating four-point favorite Sequoyah 10-0 for its third straight win. The Buccaneers will be the region’s No. 2 seed if they beat River Ridge this week. … Chestatee picked up its second win of the season with a 32-28 victory over 16-point favorite East Forsyth, which lost its third straight game after a 5-1 start. Before the game, Chestatee’s Shaun Conley announced his retirement after seven seasons as head coach. … Northside-Columbus clinched the first region championship in the program’s 19-year history with a 57-14 win over 19-point underdog McIntosh in a 3-5A game. Northside finished the regular season with a 9-1 record, tying the school record for victories. … Riverwood moved into a tie for third place in Region 4-6A despite a 2-7 overall record with a 40-33 victory over nine-point favorite Dunwoody. The Raiders finish the regular season against region champion Marist and are likely to end up as the region’s No. 4 playoff seed. … St. Francis, which started its program in 2010, clinched its first region title with a 35-18 victory against 15-point underdog Mount Pisgah Christian in a Region 6-A Division I game. The Knights (6-3) were a combined 6-14 the past two seasons.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. (center) is flanked by GOP whip Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. (left) and Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, as Thune speak to reporters at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. Earlier Tuesday, the Senate passed the budget reconciliation package of President Donald Trump's signature bill of big tax breaks and spending cuts. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

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