Unranked Collins Hill, Cass, Dalton and Monroe Area defeated top-10 teams Friday night; reigning champion Sandy Creek lost, and Bryan County and Lumpkin County won their first playoff games in history in the first round of the GHSA playoffs.
Collins Hill, a Class 7A school only two years removed from a state championship, dominated No. 9 North Cobb 45-14 on the road. A 19-point first-round underdog by the computer Maxwell Ratings, Collins Hill (4-6 during the regular season) advanced to play No. 10 Milton, the team it beat for that 2021 title.
Cass and Dalton, Northwest Georgia teams, led a sweep for Region 7-5A.
Cass (6-5) beat No. 6 Kell 28-14 for its second big first-round upset in two seasons, both on the road. In 2022, the Colonels knocked out No. 4 Jefferson.
Dalton (8-3) beat No. 8 Greater Atlanta Christian 39-17. Cartersville and Hiram also won from Region 7.
Only one other region swept, also in Class 5A, as Region 1 teams Coffee, Ware County, Statesboro and Jenkins went 4-0.
In Class 3A, Monroe Area (7-4) beat Sandy Creek 24-21. The team that Sandy Creek beat in last year’s final, second-ranked Cedar Grove, barely survived with a 30-27 victory against Hebron Christian. It was Cedar Grove’s 11th consecutive first-round playoff victory.
Another 3A school, Lumpkin County, made more history for itself. Already 10-0 for the first time, the Indians won their first playoff game with a 52-6 victory against Gordon Lee. Lumpkin County, ranked No. 5, has been playing since 1961.
Bryan County (10-1) got its historic victory by beating East Laurens 55-14. Bryan, ranked No. 10 in Class A Division II, played its first season in 1976.
Upsets were rare Friday, as they typically are in the first round, as ranked teams went 56-4.
No. 1 Mill Creek of 7A beat Osborne, a program its first state playoff appearance in history, 42-17. No. 1 teams Gainesville (6A), Coffee (5A) and Calvary Day (3A) also advanced. Class A’s No. 1 teams, Prince Avenue Christian and Schley County, advanced with a forfeit and a bye, respectively.
The first rounds of classes 4A and 2A will be played Saturday.
