Notable results from Week 6: Charlton, South Atlanta record major upsets

High school football

Credit: For the AJC

Credit: For the AJC

High school football

1. Charlton County 18, Clinch County 14: Charlton County ended a six-game losing streak in the Swamp War (and avenged a 48-0 loss last year) with a win over a Clinch team that was projected as a 36-point favorite by the computer Maxwell Ratings. Based on Maxwell’s current ratings of all teams, the result was the most unlikely of any game this year.

2. Turnover at the top: Three-top ranked teams fell from No. 1 after losses in Week 6. Class 6A Valdosta lost to six-point favorite Lowndes 33-21; Warner Robins of 5A lost to 13-point underdog Lee County 27-7; and Brooks County of A Public lost 21-13 to defending champion Irwin County, a one-point underdog. All three teams fell to No. 3. A fourth team ranked No. 1 dropped despite winning, as Grayson is now No. 2 in 7A after beating Mill Creek 20-13 in two overtimes.

3. South Atlanta 22, Pace Academy 14: South Atlanta, a 24-point underdog, shook up the playoff race in Region 6-2A with a victory over the team ranked No. 7 in Class 2A last week. South Atlanta was 1-3, but each loss came against a team that was ranked last week. South Atlanta was 0-27 in games against top-10 teams since the school opened in 1994.

4. Central (Macon) 36, Mary Persons 20: Central has not won a region title since its state championship team of 1975, but the Chargers are tied for first place in Region 2-3A after upsetting 11-point favorite Mary Persons. Central still has plenty of work to do, however, as No. 2 Crisp County and No. 4 Peach County loom in the final two games of the regular season.

5. Lithia Springs 20, New Manchester: Lithia Springs, projected to finish last in seven-team 6-5A, is tied for first place after upsetting 21-point favorite New Manchester in the teams' region opener. It was the first victory of the season for the Lions, now 1-4. Last year, Lithia Springs was 4-6 in the regular season but made its first-ever state playoff appearance.

Worth noting: As expected, Colquitt County won handily (63-14) against 29-point underdog Northside-Warner Robins. However, the 63 points were the most ever allowed by Northside, and the 49-point margin of defeat was the largest in school history. … East Coweta of 7A moved into the top 10 (No. 8) for the first time since 2010 with a 24-17 win in overtime against then-No. 7 Collins Hill, which dropped out of the top 10. East Coweta is 5-1 for the first time since 2015, when it finished 8-3. … Oglethorpe County, which has not finished with a winning record in region play since 1996, is 1-0 in 4-2A after a 28-14 victory over 21-point favorite Butler. Oglethorpe, now 1-3 overall, was 1-25 in region games over the past four seasons. … Pebblebrook, a 3-7 team in 2019 that missed the playoffs, improved to 5-1 with a 20-17 victory over North Atlanta. It is the Falcons' first 5-1 start since a 10-1 season in 2000. Pebblebrook begins 2-7A play Oct. 23 against East Coweta. … Walnut Grove had been 2-15 in region games since the start of the 2017 season but is now 1-1 in Region 8-5A after a 21-7 victory over Greenbrier. Walnut Grove was 0-10 last season. Greenbrier, a 22-point favorite, suffered its first loss.

Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.