Ranking the most surprising and notable games of the weekend:
1. Etowah 16: Wheeler 13: Etowah pulled off the biggest upset of the week, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings, when it defeated 25-point favorite Wheeler in a Region 5-6A game. The victory was the Eagles’ first in region play since they beat Woodstock on Oct. 14, 2022, and ended a 12-game losing streak in such games. Wheeler was coming off a big upset of its own, beating 10-point favorite Cherokee 28-27 the previous week.
2. Mountain View 28, Central Gwinnett: Mountain View, a 16-point underdog, won its second consecutive game after starting the season 0-6 and now finds itself within reach of a playoff berth in Region 8-6A. The Bears are 2-2 in region play and alone in fourth place behind top-10 teams Buford, Collins Hill and Mill Creek. A victory against Dacula this week likely gets the Bears into the playoffs for the fourth straight season and eighth time in nine years.
3. North Murray 27, Ringgold 26: Ringgold continues to be the hard-luck team of 6-2A, falling to fifth place in the region with a one-point loss to 10-point underdog North Murray. In early September, Ringgold lost back-to-back overtime games to the region’s two highest-ranked teams, Rockmart (23-20) and North Cobb Christian (41-39). North Murray moved into a tie for second place with North Cobb Christian, and those two teams will meet this week.
4. Sprayberry 30, River Ridge 27: Sprayberry handed four-point favorite River Ridge its first loss and moved into first place in Region 6-5A. It was the second upset in region play (Sequoyah was favored by 14 in a game Sprayberry won 31-17) for the Yellow Jackets, who were upset themselves by 10-point underdog Pope in their region opener. Sprayberry will win its first region championship since 2008 if it defeats Lassiter and Woodstock in its final two regular-season games.
5. Westminster 16, Kell 14: Westminster’s victory over eight-point favorite Kell put the Longhorns in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Kell (0-2 in region play) fell into fifth place in five-team Region 6-4A and have to beat fourth-place Centennial this week to avoid playoff elimination. Westminster is in third place and faces Blessed Trinity and Centennial in its final two regular-season games.
Worth noting: Aquinas handed 13-point favorite Harlem its first region loss with a 12-7 victory that created a logjam of five one-loss teams behind unbeaten Westside of Augusta in nine-team Region 4-3A. Westside is seeking its first region championship since 2000. … Brooks County, a seven-point favorite, continued its recent dominance of Clinch County with a 42-12 victory in a Region 2-A Division II game. The Trojans have won four straight games in the series by an average of 38.5 points. … North Hall, a three-point favorite, is the only remaining unbeaten team in Region 6-3A play after a 27-23 victory over Greater Atlanta Christian. GAC had won the previous five meetings between the teams by an average score of 39-8. North Hall is seeking its first region title since 2012. … Riverwood ended an 11-game losing streak that was the third-longest in school history with a 24-16 victory over seven-point favorite Lassiter in a Region 6-5A game. It was the Raiders’ first win since beating South Cobb on Sept. 29, 2023.
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