Justin Rogers has been Colquitt County’s coach for two seasons, winning 14 of his first 17 games. Winning over the fan base that enjoyed two state championships under the previous coach, Rush Propst, has been understandably tougher.
Rogers and his Packers might’ve turned the page Friday night in Moultrie, beating No. 2 Lowndes 40-10, a decisive victory that also clinched the Region 1-7A title for Colquitt County.
Lowndes entered 6-0 and ranked in the top 10 of three national polls. Colquitt County, ranked No. 3, moved to 6-0 with a sixth victory over a top-10 team in Rogers' tenure. Those wins include a 24-10 win Sept. 25 over Valdosta, Propst’s new team.
The No. 1 team in Class 7A, Grayson, also was impressive and moved toward its own region title Friday with a 58-17 victory over Brookwood. Grayson can clinch Region 4-7A with a victory next week over Newton (3-4).
Only two games below Class 7A matched top-10 teams Friday.
No. 1 Marist beat No. 4 Stephenson 23-0 in a Class 4A game. Marist is 6-0 while allowing no touchdowns and six points total.
In Class 2A, No. 2 Fitzgerald beat No. 5 Thomasville 29-28 and clinched Region 1. Fitzgerald is now 8-0 and one win from its undefeated regular season since 2009.
Five top-10 teams were upset.
In Class 6A, Glynn Academy beat No. 5 Richmond Hill 7-5. Richmond Hill could’ve clinched Region 2 with a win, but now Glynn Academy, Richmond Hill and Brunswick have one loss apiece with two regular-season weeks to play.
Four of the top-10 teams that lost to unranked opponents were in Class 2A, where Jefferson County beat No. 7 Putnam County 50-12, Dodge County beat No. 8 Northeast 35-21, Washington County beat No. 9 Bleckley County 42-20, and Early County beat No. 10 Cook 42-35.
Putnam had been 7-0 and gunning for its first region title since 1994, but now Jefferson County (5-2, 5-0) is alone in first place in 4-2A. In 3-2A, Northeast, Washington County and Dodge County each have one region loss.
All those surprises came a day after Heard County beat No. 4 Haralson County 26-12. Haralson entered 6-0.
Two other teams clinched region titles Friday.
Ninth-ranked Clarke Central beat Loganville to take Region 8-5A, and No. 1-ranked Prince Avenue, though idle, won Region 8-1A Private based on the outcome of other games.
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