Ranking the most surprising and notable games of the weekend:
1. Northside-Warner Robins 20, North Cobb 17: For the second consecutive game, Northside took a heavily favored opponent into overtime. On Sept. 2, the Eagles lost to rival Warner Robins, an 11-point favorite, 17-10. They turned it around Friday against 28-point favorite North Cobb, stopping a fourth-down play from the 2-yard line to end the game.
2. Wheeler 20, North Atlanta 13: Wheeler pulled off the biggest upset of the week, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings, when it knocked off 31-point favorite North Atlanta. The loss ended North Atlanta’s season-opening four-game winning streak. Wheeler improved to 2-2, with its losses coming against Centennial and Lassiter by a combined 13 points.
3. Cedar Shoals 35, Walnut Grove 28: Cedar Shoals picked up its first victory and handed 20-point favorite Walnut Grove its first loss when the Jaguars won the Region 8-4A game. Walnut Grove’s 3-0 start was the best in the program’s 14-year history. Cedar Shoals, which lost to 35-point underdog East Forsyth in its region opener Sept. 2, avoided its first 0-4 start since 2015.
4. Sandy Creek 33, Collins Hill 17: Defending Class 7A champion Collins Hill lost to a Class 3A team for the second straight week when it was upset by 12-point underdog Sandy Creek, ranked No. 4 in its class. A week earlier, Collins Hill was a four-point underdog when it lost to 3A No. 1 Cedar Grove 40-6. Collins Hill plays Class 7A Westlake this week.
5. Dutchtown 14, Warner Robins 7: Dutchtown has become the favorite to win Region 2-5A after defeating 13-point favorite Warner Robins, which has made five consecutive trips to the Class 5A final, winning the past two. No. 10 Warner Robins has three regular-season losses for the first time since 2016. No. 4 Dutchtown is 5-0 for the first time since 2018.
Worth noting: East Coweta beat 16-point favorite Lowndes 49-34 for its first win in six all-time meetings with the Vikings. Lowndes won the previous five games, three of which came in the playoffs, by an average score of 35-8, with none closer than 22 points. … Jackson of Atlanta has matched its victory total from 2021 (3-8) and 2020 (3-7) with a 19-0 win over 13-point favorite Banneker in the teams’ Region 5-5A opener. The Jaguars’ 3-1 start is their best since 2011. … Loganville, a 25-point favorite, defeated Winder-Barrow 27-14 in the teams’ Region 8-5A opener to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1990. The Red Devils had lost three consecutive games against their rivals but lead the series 14-5. … Paulding County is 4-1 for the first time since 2003 after a 32-25 victory over Newnan in a game projected as a tossup by the Maxwell Ratings. Paulding is 2-0 in Region 5-6A after going 1-6 in region play each of the past two seasons. … South Gwinnett is 4-0 for the first time since 2003 after a 31-14 victory over Decatur, which was a 35-point underdog. South Gwinnett’s last 4-0 team, under coach T. McFerrin, won the school’s most recent region title and finished 12-1.
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