1. Three No. 1s fall, again: For the second consecutive week, three No. 1-ranked teams lost. This time it was Class 7A Milton (40-21 vs. North Cobb), 5A Blessed Trinity (28-13 vs. Marist) and A Public Irwin County (18-15 vs. Fitzgerald in overtime). All three of the No. 1s were favored by the computer Maxwell Ratings, but by three points or less. Only Irwin retained its No. 1 ranking this week.
2. Westlake 31, Colquitt County 24: Westlake ended Colquitt County’s 23-game home winning streak, recovering a fumble late in the game to preserve a victory over the Packers, who were 16-point favorites. Westlake had lost the three previous games in the series by double-digit margins. A win this week against Creekside would make Westlake 3-0 for the first time since 2007.
3. Osborne 12, Woodland (Cartersville) 0: Osborne pulled off the biggest upset of the week, defeating a Woodland team that was a 28-point favorite. The win came in the head-coaching debut of Osborne’s Luqman Salam, a longtime Hillgrove assistant. Salam became the first coach to win his debut with the Cardinals since Rodney Hackney in 2004.
4. Jones County 34, North Gwinnett 28: It has already been a crazy season for Class 5A Jones County. A week after losing 33-28 against a Class 2A Northeast team that was a 19-point underdog, the Greyhounds turn around and defeat a Class 7A team that was a 14-point favorite. For what it’s worth, Jones County will be a seven-point favorite this week against another 5A team, Veterans.
5. Terrell County 12, Marion County 0: Terrell County is 2-0 for the first time in more than 30 years after beating 14-point favorite Marion County. Officially, Terrell started 2-0 in 1990 because of a forfeit victory in its second game. The last time the Greenwave had such a good start on the field came in 1988, when it won its first three games in an 8-3 season.
Worth noting: Appling County was a one-point favorite over Clinch County but won handily 33-6. Clinch is 0-2 for the first time since 2009, when it opened the year with losses to Charlton County and Irwin County in what would be a 10-4 season. … Clarkston, which canceled its season in 2020, ended a 22-game losing streak with a 20-19 victory over 20-point favorite Berkmar in its season opener. It was the Angoras’ first victory since they defeated Cross Keys 66-0 on Sept. 13, 2017. … Decatur ended an 11-game losing streak against private schools with a 13-6 win over Wesleyan, an eight-point favorite. The Bulldogs last beat a private school on Oct. 11, 2013, a 31-28 double-overtime game against Blessed Trinity. … Putnam County, a 12-point underdog, is 18-31-1 all-time against Morgan County but has won two straight in the series after its 37-0 victory last week. It was the War Eagles’ largest margin of victory in the series since a 40-0 win in 1991. … Randolph-Clay defeated 12-point favorite Jordan 14-0 in the head-coaching debut of Scott Swantic. The victory was the first in a season opener since 2016 for the Red Devils, who had been 4-35 since reaching the playoffs that season.
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