Ranking the most surprising and notable games of the weekend:
1. South Gwinnett 31, Newton 28: South Gwinnett pulled off the upset of the week, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings, with a victory over 31-point favorite Newton in a Region 4-7A game. Newton, which two weeks ago was undefeated and ranked No. 5, is now in jeopardy of not making the playoffs. If South Gwinnett wins its regular-season finale against Brookwood and Newton loses at Archer, it will be South Gwinnett taking the region’s No. 4 seed over Newton.
2. Cass 52, Calhoun 29: Calhoun’s streak of 23 consecutive playoff appearances ended when the Yellow Jackets lost to 13-point underdog Cass in the final weekend of play in Region 7-5A. The teams finished tied for fourth place, with Cass winning out on the head-to-head tiebreaker. Calhoun last missed the playoffs in 1999, the first year of the Hal Lamb era. Cass will be in the playoffs for the third consecutive season, a first in school history.
3. Aquinas 14, Greene County 10: Aquinas, a 27-point underdog, handed then-No. 2 Greene County its first loss of and created a three-way tie for first place in Region 8-A Division II involving these two teams and Washington-Wilkes. All three have a shot at the region title, but only Washington-Wilkes, which plays at Greene this week, can do it without help.
4. Bleckley County 21, Swainsboro 20: Bleckley County did not win a region championship in the program’s first 44 years, but now the Royals have two in three seasons after beating then-No. 2 Swainsboro in a Region 2-A Division I game. Swainsboro, a state runner-up last season, must beat Dublin this weekend to secure a first-round home playoff game.
5. New Hampstead 34, Burke County 28: New Hampstead beat 16-point favorite Burke County in the first-ever meeting between former McEachern head coaches Franklin Stephens of Burke County and Kyle Hockman of New Hampstead. Burke County, ranked No. 5 in Class 4A earlier this month, must now beat Southeast Bulloch this week to make the playoffs. New Hampstead is off this week and has clinched a playoff berth.
Worth noting: Bryan County beat 43-point underdog Savannah 66-8 in a Region 3-A Division I game to secure the first region title in the school’s 48-year history. The Redskins close out the regular season this week against Claxton, and a win would give them a school-record nine victories. … Dunwoody, a 25-point favorite, clinched its first playoff berth since 2009 with a 32-18 victory over Riverwood. Dunwoody closes out the regular season against North Atlanta, with the winner taking second place in Region 4-6A behind Marist. The loser will finish third. … Mount Zion (Jonesboro) ended a 28-game losing streak that was the longest in school history with a 12-7 victory over 22-point favorite Woodland (Stockbridge). It was the Bulldogs’ first victory since beating McDonough 34-8 on Nov. 20, 2020. … Providence Christian clinched the first playoff berth in program history with a 55-27 victory over five-point underdog East Jackson in a Region 8-2A game. Providence, which improved to 7-2, had never won more than four games in any of its first 10 seasons. … Southwest clinched its first playoff berth since 2017 with 52-51 double-overtime win over 14-point favorite ACE Charter in a Region 2-2A game. The victory also clinched the region title for Spencer. If Southwest wins this week, or ACE Charter loses to Spencer, Southwest will finish as the No. 3 seed.
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