The Georgia high school football playoffs began this weekend with 254 of the GHSA’s 424 football-playing schools advancing beyond the regular season.
Walton and Creekside, two metro Atlanta teams whose regular seasons didn’t end so well, made the best of their second seasons Friday, each defeating another highly ranked team to advance.
Lesser heralded Hapeville Charter and Dawson County came away with the night’s biggest upsets, shooting down Jefferson and Sandy Creek, respectively.
Walton, the No. 9 team in Class 7A, won at No. 6 Colquitt County 41-17. The Raiders of Cobb County had opened the season by beating another South Georgia power, Lowndes, but had been erratic since, finishing 6-3 and getting blown out at home last week by Marietta.
In Class 5A, No. 5 Creekside defeated No. 7 Coffee 28-18. As did Walton, Creekside started with a bang, beating defending Class 7A champion Grayson in the opener, but settled for the No. 2 seed out of Region 3 after a 21-14 season-finale loss to unbeaten Woodward Academy last week.
Hapeville Charter, a Class 4A team ranked No. 7 in preseason but discounted after a 1-5 start, beat No. 6 Jefferson 12-10 for the Hornets’ fifth straight win. Hapeville was a 28-point underdog, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings.
Dawson County, an unranked Class 3A team, beat No. 7 Sandy Creek 36-27. Sandy Creek was coming off a victory last week against then-No. 1 Cedar Grove and was a 15-point favorite.
The first round continues Saturday with Class 6A and classes A Public and A Private.
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