No. 1 Buford rallied to beat Mallard Creek 10-7 in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday night while fellow Class 7A teams Mill Creek and Walton were impressive against top-10 opponents.
Twenty-one of the 80 ranked teams lost on the season’s second Friday, but only four might be called upsets.
In Buckhead, Pace Academy beat No. 10 Westminster 33-31 in Class 4A. It was Pace Academy’s second consecutive two-point victory over its city neighbor. Pace Academy had never beaten Westminster until last season.
No. 4 Callaway of Class 2A beat No. 9 Cedartown of 4A 27-10. Cedartown was the 4A runner-up last season, when it beat Callaway 47-7.
In Class A Division II, No. 9 Macon County beat No. 4 Clinch County 22-19, and unranked Jenkins County beat No. 6 Johnson County 28-26. The other 17 losing ranked teams played higher-ranked, out-of-state or larger schools.
The state’s most followed team, Buford, trailed 7-0 at halftime and let star quarterback Dylan Raiola take four sacks, but the Wolves got a 42-yard TD pass from Raiola to K.J. Bolden in the third quarter and a 41-yard field goal from Mario Ventura in the fourth to prevail. Mallard Creek traditionally is a top North Carolina team, but Buford beat the Mavericks 56-7 at home last year.
Mill Creek, Georgia’s defending 7A champion, beat No. 9 Norcross 27-13. Mill Creek is ranked No. 3.
No. 4 Walton defeated No. 10 Brookwood 63-15. That’s six days after beating then-No. 9 Grayson 49-27, marking the first time Walton has beaten two top-10 teams to start a season.
Houston County, Thomas County Central and Calhoun also won big games Friday against other ranked teams.
Houston County, the No. 4 team in 6A, beat No. 5 Perry of 4A 42-35 in a county rivalry game reminiscent of last year’s shootout, which Houston County won 57-56.
Coffee, the No. 4 team in 5A, beat No. 4 Bainbridge of 4A 23-14, and No. 8 Thomas County Central of 6A beat No. 4 Thomasville of 3A 45-7 in a crosstown game.
No. 9 Calhoun of 5A shook off an opening loss to Blessed Trinity and beat No. 3 Carver-Atlanta of 3A 40-18 in the Great Atlanta Bash.
In other games between ranked teams, No. 6 Wayne County of 4A beat No. 7 Brooks County of A Division I 14-0, and No. 7 Stephens County of 3A beat No. 3 Rabun County of A Division I 35-0. It was the first time that Rabun County, the alma mater of Georgia’s Gunner Stockton, has been shut out since Greater Atlanta Christian did it in 2013.
Nine other top-10 teams lost, all to larger or out-of-state teams.
Bowdon, the defending A Division II champion, lost to Central-Carroll, a 4A school, 34-14, and is 0-2. Woodward Academy, the No. 3 team in 6A, lost to Tennessee power McCallie 41-21.
Other ranked teams losing were No. 5 Fellowship Christian (to Trinity Christian of 4A), No. 9 Athens Academy of 2A (to Mobile Christian), No. 7 Cook of 2A (to Valdosta), No. 8 Lamar County (to Upson-Lee), No. 7 McIntosh County Academy of A Division II (to Glynn Academy), No. 4 Elbert County of A Division I (to Madison County) and No. 10 Putnam County of 2A (to Baldwin).
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