1. Long County 28, Brantley County 19: Long County is within reach of the first playoff berth in the program’s 24-year history after beating Brantley County in a 1-3A game. Long, a three-point underdog according to the computer Maxwell Ratings, had lost 28 consecutive region games dating to 2015. The Blue Tide is 4-4 overall and 1-1 in the five-team region, in third place behind No. 4 Appling County and No. 5 Pierce County. Long County was 1-39 the past four seasons.
2. Ware County 29, Warner Robins 21: Ware County earned its fourth victory this season against a top-10 team when it beat then-No. 1 Warner Robins, an eight-point favorite, in a Region 1-5A game. The Gators also beat five ranked teams last season, and their nine such wins are the most in the state. Warner Robins had its 15-game winning streak end, and the Demons likely need to win at Coffee on Oct. 29 to avoid having to play on the road in the first round of the playoffs.
3. Playoff chaos in 8-5A: Clarke Central is a virtual lock to win the 8-5A title, and Johnson of Gainesville is destined for last place. However, the results of their games this weekend (Clarke Central beat Greenbrier 76-34 and Johnson lost to Apalachee 42-0), left a mess in between. The other six teams in the region – Greenbrier, Eastside, Loganville, Jackson County, Walnut Grove and Apalachee – are tied for second place. All are 2-2 in the region with three games remaining.
4. Riverwood 35, Creekview 28: Riverwood became the only unranked team to beat a top-10 opponent last week when it knocked off Creekview, which was No. 10 in Class 6A. Top-10 teams were 44-1 last week when not playing themselves. The previous week, a season-high 10 unranked teams beat ranked teams. Riverwood is tied with Johns Creek for second place in Region 7-6A, a game behind Cambridge.
5. Effingham County 20, Glynn Academy 14: Effingham County, in its first season under coach John Ford, is 4-2 overall and tied for second place in Region 2-6A after beating defending champion Glynn Academy, which was a seven-point favorite. Effingham was 5-15 the past two seasons and hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2018. Glynn Academy won region titles four of the past seasons but is now tied with Richmond Hill for fourth place.
Worth noting: Class 6A teams Cambridge (opened in 2012) and Kennesaw Mountain (2000) are closing in on the first region titles in school history after defeating their biggest remaining hurdles. Cambridge is the only unbeaten team in 7-6A after beating Johns Creek 48-47. Kennesaw Mountain, Pope and Allatoona have one loss each in 6-6A, but Kennesaw Mountain holds the tiebreakers after beating Pope 21-17. The Mustangs beat Allatoona in its region opener. … Columbia was a 42-point favorite against KIPP Atlanta Collegiate but escaped with a 28-21 victory. The Eagles reached the seven-win mark for the first time since 2014 and can claim their first region title since 1981 by beating defending champion South Atlanta on Nov. 5. …Westside of Augusta was the only double-digit underdog to win in Week 9. The Patriots defeated 11-point favorite Laney 28-6 to move into third place in Region 4-2A behind Putnam County and Jefferson County.
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