1. Creekside 19, Grayson 14: Creekside of Class 5A pulled of the upset of the week when it defeated defending Class 7A Grayson, which was projected by the Maxwell Ratings as a 37-point favorite. Creekside scored two touchdowns in the final nine minutes to overcome a 14-6 deficit. Grayson allowed more than 17 points only once in its 14-0 2020 season.
2. More champions lose: In addition to Grayson, defending champions Pierce County of Class 3A and Prince Avenue Christian of A Private lost their openers. Pierce County lost 20-13 to 6A Brunswick, which was an eight-point underdog after losing 31-10 last year. Prince Avenue lost to 16-point underdog Calvary Day, an A Public semifinalist in 2020.
3. Three No. 1s lose: There are three new top-ranked teams this week after previous No. 1s Rabun County (2A), Brooks County (A Public) and Eagle’s Landing Christian (A Private) were knocked off. All three teams lost to opponents from higher classes, although two (Brooks over Thomasville, ELCA over Woodward Academy) were favored.
4. Callaway 30, Opelika, Ala. 21: Callaway scored nine points in the game’s final two seconds to save Georgia from a seven-game sweep at the hands of out-of-state opponents. GAC, Lakeside (Evans), North Gwinnett, Peach County, Richmond Hill and Thomas County Central all came up short against teams from Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.
5. Glynn Academy 14, McIntosh County Academy 14: According to GHSA rules, no games are supposed to end in ties, barring rare circumstances. For whatever reason, this one did, leaving Class 6A Glynn all even with a Class A Public team that was a 21-point underdog and lost last year 33-7. MCA forced the tie with a late touchdown and two-point conversion.
Worth noting: Coahulla Creek, which didn’t win more than two games in any of its first nine seasons, is 1-0 after beating 28-point favorite Northwest Whitfield 31-25 in overtime. The Colts had been 0-3 in the series, losing by an average of 21 points. … Greater Atlanta Christian surrendered the most points in program history when it lost to Tennessee power Lipscomb Academy 76-7. The Spartans’ previous high for points allowed came in a 60-42 loss to Baylor, Tenn., in 2009. … Lakeside of Atlanta ended a school-record 27-game losing streak with a 21-12 victory over Berkmar, which was a three-point favorite. It was the Vikings’ first win since beating Decatur 21-20 in the opening game of the 2018 season. … Social Circle, which reached five wins last year for the first time since 2008, got off to a hot start with a 40-6 victory over George Walton Academy, a 28-point favorite. George Walton won 35-7 last year in a game it eventually had to forfeit. … Trinity Christian, a state runner-up in 2020, overwhelmed 13-point favorite Athens Academy 59-7 in a matchup of top-four teams in Class A Private. The 59 points were the most ever allowed by Athens Academy, which won 17-10 last year.
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