Ranking the most surprising and notable games of the weekend:
1. East Forsyth 22, Cedar Shoals 14: East Forsyth recorded the upset of the week when it won its Region 8-4A opener against Cedar Shoals, which had been projected as a 35-point favorite by the computer Maxwell Ratings. It was the first region victory in school history for the second-year program, which went 2-8 in 2021 against a non-region schedule.
2. Cook 32, Brooks County 28: Brooks County, the 2021 Class A Public champion, had a 12-game win streak that was the second-longest in school history come to an end with a loss to 19-point underdog Cook. Brooks County had won the past seven meetings in a series it leads 34-20. Cook, under first-year coach Byron Slack, is 2-1 for the first time since 2018.
3. McNair 24, North Clayton 0: McNair ended a 26-game losing streak that was the longest in school history when it won by 24 points against 24-point favorite North Clayton. It was the first victory for the Mustangs since defeating Therrell 18-13 in the final game of the 2018 regular season. McNair (1-2) went 0-10 in 2019, 0-5 in COVID-shortened 2020 and 0-9 last season.
4. North Springs 21, Riverwood 14: North Springs, a 2-26 team over the past three seasons, improved to 1-1 with a victory over north Fulton County-neighbor Riverwood, a 31-point favorite. North Springs could improve to 2-1 for the first time since 2017 with a win over M.L. King this week. Riverwood had won 10 of the past 12 games in the series.
Worth noting: Groves ended a 19-game losing streak that was the longest in program history with a 28-0 victory over six-point favorite Savannah. The streak would have been 29 games if not for a forfeit victory against Beach in 2019 in a game the Rebels lost 43-0 on the field. … Hampton, which opened in 2014, is 3-0 for the first time after its 34-33 victory over 11-point favorite Central of Carrollton. The Hornets were 17-62 over their first eight seasons, although they did have two playoff appearances, including last year. … Mundy’s Mill won for just the second time in nine all-time meetings with Riverdale, which was a 10-point favorite. The Tigers, 2-1 under first-year coach Earthwind Moreland, scored their most points in a game since a 55-6 win over Osborne in 2017. … Wayne County, an 0-9 team last season, improved to 2-1 under first-year coach Jaybo Shaw with a 7-0 victory over 18-point favorite Appling County, which was ranked No. 3 in Class 2A. Appling won 41-7 when the teams met in 2021.
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