Ranking the most surprising and notable games of the weekend:
1. McDonough 32, Mount Zion (Jonesboro) 7: McDonough and predecessor school Henry County have played football since 1951 but never started a season 3-0 until Friday night, when the Warhawks beat Mount Zion in the teams’ Region 5-4A opener. McDonough can match last season’s win total (4-6) and take a big step toward its first playoff berth since 2018 with a victory against Lovett this week.
2. Morgan County 26, Hebron Christian 14: Morgan County, a 10-point underdog, became the 49th team in Georgia to reach 500 all-time victories, according the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. The Bulldogs join a group that includes Roswell and Northside-Warner Robins, who hit the mark earlier this year. Morgan County is 3-1 this season.
3. Sumter County 24, Crisp County 15: Sumter County pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings, and picked up its first win of the season when it beat 31-point favorite Crisp County. Sumter County opened the season with losses to Houston (56-12) and Westover (30-18). Crisp County won 19-0 last year.
4. St. Augustine, Fla. 45, Brunswick 35: Brunswick’s 23-game winning streak in regular-season games ended Saturday in the finale of the Georgia vs. Florida Border Classic. Georgia teams went 4-3 for the second consecutive season in the three-day event, this time getting victories from Glynn Academy, Coffee, McIntosh County Academy and Richmond Hill.
5. Laney 44, First Presbyterian 44: For the third time this season, a game involving a GHSA team ended in a tie. This time it was Laney against GIAA opponent First Presbyterian, a two-point favorite. Laney took a 44-41 lead on a short run with 1:15 remaining but missed the extra point, and First Presbyterian kicked a 28-yard field goal with 5.3 seconds left.
Worth noting: Central (Talbotton) ended a 27-game losing streak with a 14-6 victory over 28-point favorite Twiggs County. It was the Hawks’ first victory since defeating Crawford County 56-50 on Nov. 8, 2019. Twiggs County won 48-0 last season. … Emanuel County Institute picked up its first win and handed Dublin its first loss with a 10-7 victory in a game in which Dubin was favored by 20 points. Dubin, which beat the Bulldogs 41-21 last year, fell out of the A Division I rankings with the loss. … Providence Christian took care of business as expected and beat Riverside Military 51-13 to reach 3-0 for the first time since playing its first varsity game in 2012. Another win this week against Athens Christian would match the school’s best season (4-6 in 2018). … Class 4A No. 8 Spalding is 4-0 for the first time since 2015 with a 41-27 victory over Dutchtown in a game that was considered a toss-up by Maxwell. Dutchtown won 21-14 last season. Spalding’s 2015 team went on to finish 10-2. … Woodstock ended a 25-game losing streak, the second-longest in school history, with a 20-10 victory over 14-point favorite Lassiter, which won 64-14 last year. It was the Wolverines’ first victory since Nov. 6, 2020, against Etowah (24-14).
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