1. Cherokee 14, Cartersville 12: Cherokee ended Cartersville’s state-record 62-game winning streak in the regular season. Cartersville, projected as a seven-point favorite by the computer Maxwell Ratings, had not lost in the regular season since 2014, when beaten by North Cobb 27-26. Cherokee is 5-0 and in the top 10 for the first time since 2007.
2. Cross Keys 28, Notre Dame Academy 7: Cross Keys ended a school-record 30-game losing streak with a win over the Duluth private school. It was the Indians' first win since beating Pataula Charter on Sept. 30, 2016. The long-suffering DeKalb County program, which often plays fewer than 10 games, has not won more than once in a season since 2010.
3. Denmark 20, North Forsyth 10: Denmark pulled off the biggest upset of the week, according to the Maxwell Ratings, when it beat 28-point favorite North Forsyth in the teams' Region 6-7A opener. It was the first victory over the season for Denmark (1-3) and the first loss for North Forsyth (3-1). Denmark was a 7-3 playoff team last year playing in Class 4A.
4. Islands 26, Jenkins 8: Islands is ranked for just the second time in its seven-year history after knocking off Region 3-4A rival Jenkins, which was ranked No. 6 last week and came in as a 22-point favorite. It was the Sharks' first victory in seven tries against Jenkins, which had won the previous meetings by an average of 29.7 points, including 20-7 last year.
5. Irwin County 35, Tift County 20: The two schools located about 19 miles apart met for just the fifth time, and Irwin County collected its first win in the series since 1964. Tift won the other three meetings. It was Irwin’s first game against a team from a class higher than 2A since 2005 and its first victory against such teams since beating Bainbridge in 2002.
Worth noting: Harlem beat seven-point favorite Lincoln County 42-27 to end a 10-game losing streak in the series. Lincoln County won their most recent meeting 69-6 in 2011. Harlem had not won in the series since a region playoff game in 1981. … In a game played last Monday, Josey ended a school-record 29-game losing streak with a 14-8 overtime victory over Cross Creek. It was the Eagles' first win since beating Groves 35-18 in the 2017 season opener. Josey lost to Hephzibah 38-7 on Saturday and is 1-1 this season. … Redan, an 11-point favorite, set a school record for points in a 62-0 victory over Druid Hills in the season opener for the DeKalb County schools. The Raiders' previous single-game best came in a 59-57 loss to Greenbrier in 2008. … Southeast Whitfield ended a 17-game losing streak with a 21-7 victory over nine-point favorite Armuchee. It was the first victory over the Raiders, a Class 4A school playing a non-region schedule, since beating Gilmer 42-14 on Oct. 5, 2018. … Washington-Wilkes is 3-0 for the first time since 2013 after a 42-7 win over five-point favorite Elbert County. The Tigers, in their first season under coach Sid Fritts, had lost nine of the previous 12 against Elbert, including 28-14 last year.
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