Gainesville’s hopes for its first region title since 2013 were looking bleak Friday night until destiny met Darius Cannon. With his team down 21-7 in the third quarter, the senior wide receiver returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.

Gainesville still trailed 21-19 with 4:18 left when Cannon caught the game-winning touchdown on a 69-yard tunnel screen. Cannon caught the ball five yards down field and ran the final 64, making two defenders miss and out-racing three others to the end zone.

Cannon finished with six receptions for a career-high 140 yards. The game decided the Region 8-6A title and avenged a 38-13 defeat from 2021.

Top five

*Decatur QB Harrison Hannah was 18-of-28 passing for 277 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-38 region-clinching victory over Chamblee.

*Gainesville WR Darius Cannon had six receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown and returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in a 34-21 region-clinching victory over North Forsyth.

*Hart County RB Nori Moore rushed for 360 yards and six touchdowns on 34 carries and added 39 other all-purpose yards in a 48-27 victory over Hebron Christian.

*South Atlanta RB Keyjuan Brown rushed for 327 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in a 46-12 victory over Washington. Brown finished the regular season with 2,139 yards rushing in nine games.

*Warner Robins QB Chase Reese was 17-of-27 passing for 383 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 144 yards on 14 carries in a 54-30 victory over Jones County.

Best of the rest

*ACE Charter RB Aaron Davis rushed for 179 yards and three touchdowns and caught a 19-yard pass in a 62-28 victory over Southwest.

*Adairsville RB Chris Roper rushed for 212 yards on 27 carries and scored both Adairsville touchdowns in a 14-7 victory over Bremen.

*Alpharetta QB Ben Guthrie was 22-of-29 passing for 310 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-14 victory over Blessed Trinity.

*Appling County RB Jaylen Johnson rushed for 207 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries in a 28-14 victory over Tattnall County. It was Johnson’s second consecutive 200-yard game.

*Berrien DB/WR Josiah Davis had four solo tackles and four assists, returned an interception for a touchdown, rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown and was 3-of-3 passing for 42 yards in a 35-29 victory over Dodge County that clinched the Rebels’ first winning season since 1995.

*Calvary Day WR Caden Arnold had five receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown in a 48-0 victory over Long County.

*Cartersville RB Malachi Jeffries rushed for 227 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in a 39-14 victory over Dalton.

*Carver (Columbus) LB Cortez West had six tackles and three tackles for losses in a 27-0 victory over Dougherty.

*Central (Carroll) WR/S Vicari Swain had six receptions for 145 yards and two touchdowns, recorded four tackles, recovered a fumble and intercepted three passes, one returned for a touchdown, in a 35-17 victory over Northwest Whitfield.

*Chamblee QB Fabian Walker was 17-of-30 passing for 330 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 105 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries in a 40-38 loss to Decatur.

*Chattahoochee WR D.J. Avery had nine receptions for 187 yards and two touchdowns and a two-point conversion in a 28-22 loss to Greater Atlanta Christian.

*Chestatee DB Elijah Pruitt had 16 solo tackles, 10 assists and three pass breakups in a 32-28 victory over East Forsyth.

*Clinch County WR Jeremy Bell had six receptions for 179 yards and a touchdown and 129 kickoff return yards in a 33-28 loss to Charlton County.

*Coffee LB/DB Larry Daniel had three tackles for losses and returned an interception for a touchdown in a 48-0 victory over Greenbrier.

*Collins Hill WR Chase Nash had six receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-0 victory over Central Gwinnett.

*Colquitt County LB Nicholas Pace had eight solo tackles, four assists, three tackles for losses and two sacks in a 24-6 region-clinching victory over Valdosta.

*Creekside QB Vinson Berry was 15-of-18 passing for 267 yards and six touchdowns in a 77-0 victory over Tri-Cities.

*Eagle’s Landing Christian freshman DB Dorian Barney returned two of his three interceptions for touchdowns and caught a TD pass in an 82-0 victory over Towers.

*East Jackson freshman QB Drew Richardson was 8-of-10 passing for 119 yards and rushed for 166 yards on nine carries in a 41-34 victory over Providence Christian. The win clinched East Jackson’s first playoff berth since 2009.

*First Presbyterian WR Carter Hayes had 12 receptions for 181 yards and four touchdowns in a 48-22 loss to Tattnall Square.

*Flowery Branch WR Seth Larson had 16 receptions for 157 yards in a 31-22 loss to Loganville.

*Gordon Lee RB/WR Robert Henson had three receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 40 yards on four carries in a 49-13 victory over Ridgeland.

*Greene County RB Malik West rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries in a 28-27 loss to Aquinas.

*Haralson County RB Caden Hughes rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries in a 45-7 victory over Murray County.

*Heard County QB Shaun Swofford was 12-of-20 passing for 236 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-14 victory over Temple.

*Heritage (Ringgold) WR Tyler Cheatwood had five receptions for 157 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-34 victory over Sonoraville.

*Houston County RB Ryan Taleb had 68 yards and a touchdown rushing and 84 yards and a touchdown receiving and opened the scoring with a 78-yard punt return in a 66-7 victory over Tift County.

*Howard QB Camareon Taylor rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries and was 14-of-18 passing for 96 yards in a 31-7 victory over West Laurens.

*Hughes RB Jekail Middlebrook rushed for 258 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries in a 68-14 victory over South Paulding.

*Irwin County QB Cody Soliday was 10-of-17 passing for 205 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-18 victory over Early County.

*Jackson (Atlanta) ATH Karleon Bell rushed for 210 yards and five touchdowns on 26 carries, passed for 80 yards, had five tackles and intercepted a pass in a 34-23 victory over Villa Rica.

*Jenkins PK John Seidensticker was 5-for-5 on touchbacks, 3-for-3 on extra points and 1-for-1 on field goals (37 yards) and reached 100 points for his career in a 24-14 victory over Bradwell Institute.

*Johns Creek WR Kyle Vaka had seven receptions for 219 yards and two touchdowns in a 47-15 victory over Pope.

*Johnson County WR Germivy Tucker rushed for 273 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries playing just the first half of a 61-7 victory over Twiggs County.

*Lambert QB James Tyre was 12-of-22 passing for 123 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries in a 31-13 victory over South Forsyth.

*Lanier County WR/DB B.J. Jones had 120 total yards and three touchdowns on six touches, made four tackles, intercepted two passes, forced and recovered a fumble and broke up a pass in a 34-7 victory over Atkinson County. The victory clinched Lanier’s first playoff berth since 2005.

*Loganville RB Solomon Leslie rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-22 victory over Flowery Branch.

*Lovejoy RB Dralin Gilbert rushed for 316 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries in a 49-13 victory over Forest Park.

*Lovett QB Preston Lusink was 16-of-18 passing for 177 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 28 yards and a touchdown in a 42-0 victory over Hampton.

*Marist QB Jack Euart was 8-of-11 passing for 154 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 60 yards on 24 carries and scored the winning touchdown in the third overtime of a 30-27 victory over St. Pius.

*Meadowcreek QB Cameron Ellis was 27-of-35 passing for 351 yards and six touchdowns and scored a touchdown in a 49-7 victory over Duluth.

*Morgan County WR T.J. Thompson had six catches for 180 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-6 victory over Cross Creek.

*Morrow WR/CB Jeremiah Rice had four receptions for 94 yards and two touchdowns, intercepted a pass and broke up four passes in a 47-14 victory over Rockdale County.

*Mount Vernon QB Sam Nazarian was 31-of-44 passing for 422 yards and five touchdowns in a 59-41 loss to Whitefield Academy.

*Norcross QB A.J. Watkins was 16-of-19 passing for 222 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 32 yards in a 50-13 victory over Peachtree Ridge.

*North Cobb LB Taizon Perkins had six tackles and broke up a pass in a 47-17 victory over Cherokee.

*North Hall RB Tate Ruth rushed for 212 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries in a 28-14 loss to Cedar Shoals.

*Northside (Columbus) RB Malachi Hosley rushed for 260 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries in a 57-14 victory over McIntosh.

*Ola DB Kayden Potts blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown, intercepted a pass and had two tackles and a sack in a 62-18 victory over Locust Grove.

*Peach County TE Skielar Mann had four receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns in a 63-7 victory over Pike County.

*Prince Avenue Christian QB Aaron Philo was 18-of-25 passing for 360 yards and seven touchdowns in a 62-6 victory over Jasper County.

*Rabun County LB Nic Baloga had 14 solo tackles, 15 assists and two tackles for losses in a 27-22 victory over Commerce.

*Richmond Hill DL Rahmann Moore had four tackles for losses and a sack and eight solo tackles in a 35-3 loss to Lowndes.

*Ringgold RB Peyton Williams rushed for 236 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries in a 49-7 victory over Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe.

*Rome DE Tyson Brown forced a fumble, returned a fumble for a touchdown, returned an interception 25 yards to set up a score and had a sack, two QB hurries, one tackle for a loss, four solo tackles and three assists in a 30-0 victory over Creekview.

*Sonoraville QB Jaxon Pate was 12-of-24 passing for 223 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown in a 35-34 loss to Heritage of Ringgold.

*Spencer RB Tony Montgomery rushed for 130 yards and four touchdowns and caught a 35-yard TD pass in a 34-14 victory over Central of Macon.

*Sprayberry QB Kemari Nix was 10-of-13 passing for 222 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 140 yards and four touchdowns on 11 carries in a 63-10 victory over Lassiter.

*St. Francis WR Branden Strozier had six receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-18 region-clinching victory over Mount Pisgah Christian.

*Stephens County WR/DB Cam’ron Lacy had seven receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns and intercepted a pass that set up the winning drive in a 28-27 region-clinching victory over Oconee County.

*Swainsboro RB Demello Jones rushed for 223 yards on 21 carries and scored four touchdowns and two two-point conversions in a 28-21 victory over Bleckley County.

*Thomas County Central RB Trey Benton rushed for 187 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries in a 39-30 victory over Lee County.

*Thomasville LB Jayden Alston had a team-leading five tackles and two tackles for losses in a 44-0 victory over Crisp County that marked Crisp’s first shutout to an opponent from the same class since 2015.

*Thomson QB Noah Story was 14-of-17 passing for 292 yards and three touchdowns in a 61-0 victory over Glenn Hills.

*Troup QB Taeo Todd rushed for 233 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries and was 8-of-23 passing for 261 yards and two touchdowns in a 50-15 victory over Trinity Christian.

*Tucker RB Jordan McCoy rushed for 192 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries in a 44-12 victory over Lithonia.

*Walton WR Cameran Loyd had five receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown in a 45-0 victory over Osborne.

*Ware County QB Niko Smith was 14-of-23 passing for 311 yards and three touchdowns in a 59-7 victory over Statesboro.

*Wheeler RB Josiah Allen rushed for 263 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries and caught a 23-yard pass in a 38-35 loss to Kennesaw Mountain.

*West Forsyth RB Peyton Streko rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns on five carries in a 40-0 victory over Forsyth Central.

*West Laurens freshman QB Ty Cummings rushed for 122 yards and passed for 131 in a 31-7 loss to Howard.

*Westside (Macon) Kadiphius “K.D.” Iverson rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries in a 41-20 victory over Baldwin.

*Whitefield Academy freshman QB Travis Burgess, playing for an injured starter, was 11-of-14 passing for 196 yards and three touchdowns in a 59-41 victory over Mount Vernon.

*Woodward Academy RB/LB Myles Graham rushed for 75 yards, scored his team’s only touchdown and recorded a sack for a safety in an 11-10 victory over Mundy’s Mill.

*Worth County RB Kaden Chester rushed 111 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and had five receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown in a 46-26 victory over Sumter County.

Lines of distinction

*Douglas County’s offensive line of Jabari Crosby, Andrew Bennett, Dario Jess, Chase Mideau, Dralen Jones, Yovanni Alvarez and Devin Jackson blocked for Latrelle Murrell (255 yards) and five other rushers who combined for 310 rushing yards in a 35-23 victory over Newnan. Douglas County finished with 422 total yards and averages 375 per game this season.

*Dublin’s offensive line of Kelwaun Gilmore, Ramontei Dardy, Brennan McCloud, Desmond Gilbert, Kemauri McRae, Drew Rozier and Antonio Benjamin cleared the way for 516 rushing yards and 53 passing yards in a 70-0 victory over East Laurens. Dublin’s first-team offense has scored touchdowns in 17 straight possessions.

*Eastside’s offensive line of Marcus Metcalf, Tagen Brown, Levi Chaffin, Gavin Gorham and Carlton Belgrave paved the way for 424 yards rushing and 477 total yards in a 30-14 victory over Winder-Barrow. Kanai Grier rushed for 209 of those yards.

*Holy Innocents’ offensive line of Patton Price, William Douglass, Sterling Hartrich, Logan Hodgson and Henry Reams with tight ends Tripp Inglesby and Jackson Phoenix paved the way for 371 rushing yards on 55 attempts and made space for 6-of-7 passing for 125 yards in a 42-14 victory over Stephenson.

*Landmark Christin’s offensive line of Evan Westling, Micah Tate, Willy Patman, Fischer Thomas and Micah Rogers opened holes for 273 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 33 attempts in a 45-12 victory over Redan.

*McIntosh County Academy’s offensive line of Daniel Rush, Danny Thomas, KeMan Thorpe, Dalton Hassler, Brandon Acree and Wayne McClenithan blocked for a pair of 100-yard rushers – Deyondray Bacon (158) and JaReese Campbell (104) – in a 33-6 victory over Portal. MCA rushed for 339 yards and five touchdowns as a team.

*Mount Zion-Carroll’s offensive line of Skyler Walker, Aidan Spradlin, Walter Myers, James Chastain, Blake Lipscomb, and Caleb Pryor led the way for 253 yards rushing and 113 passing in a 33-10 victory over Christian Heritage. The group allowed no sacks and paved the way for a 15-play fourth-quarter drive to seal the win.

*Northeast’s offensive line of left tackle Johnny Williams, left guard Zan Towles, center Ja’Coreyan Riggins, right guard Jordan Thomas and right tackle Malachi Hancock with tight ends T.J. Wright and Marlow Foster produced the season’s first 2,000-yard rusher, Nick Woodford, who ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns on five carries in a 66-0 victory over Jordan. Woodford has rushed for 2,008 yards and 30 touchdowns on 197 carries for a 6-3 team that remains in contention for the Region 2-2A title.

*River Ridge’s offensive line of Daniel Green, Reed Albers, Joseph Hornbuckle, Paul Carneiro, John Faletra and Eleazar Altamirano blocked for three 100-yard rushers – Daniel Fichtner (105), Isaiah Coughlin (113) and Camden Cox (101) – in a 39-21 victory over Etowah. River Ridge put up 571 total yards.

*Social Circle’s offensive line of Matt F. Riley, A.J. Vinson, J.D. Duvall, Hunter Williams and Lucas Langley allowed no sacks or QB pressures and facilitated their team’s 443 total yards in a 48-12 victory over Oglethorpe County. Logan Cross was 14-of-17 passing for 309 yards and five touchdowns.

*Telfair County’s offensive line of Charlie Allen, Devin McRae, Jacob McMillian, Wes Pope and Christon Zanders with tight ends D.J. Morgan and Bradyn Cook paved the way for 405 rushing yards in a 32-17 victory over Dooly County that clinched second place in Region 4-A Division II and guaranteed the Trojans of their first home playoff game since 1993. The victory was Telfair’s seventh this season, the most since 1993. Telfair RB Qua Powell rushed 28 times for 269 yards, giving him nearly 1,300 for the season.

*Worth County’s offensive line of Chase Foley, Tristan Carter, Corrick Greene, Ken Hamilton, T.J. Smith, Grant Juster and Sherman Smith created space for 534 total yards – 241 rushing, 293 passing – without allowing a sack in a 46-26 victory over Sumter County.

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