Milton, North Gwinnett, North Paulding and Roswell were among several teams to win region-championship showdowns Friday night, but lesser-known Spencer and Harlem made the most history, winning their first titles in decades on the final weekend of the high school football regular season.
Spencer, a Columbus school, is a champion for the first time since joining the Georgia High School Association in 1968 after defeating Ace Charter of Macon 16-6 in Region 2-2A. Spencer (8-2) won four state titles in the Georgia Interscholastic Association, the last one in 1967, two years before the league for the state’s Black schools shut down.
Harlem, an Augusta-area school, defeated Morgan County 34-17 to win Region 4-3A. Harlem most recently had won a region in 1974. The Bulldogs (9-1) have nine victories for the first time since 1981.
In Class 7A, No. 9 Milton beat No. 7 Lambert 31-21, dealing Lambert (9-1) its first loss. That was for the Region 6 championship. North Gwinnett defeated Norcross 35-27 to win Region 7-7A.
North Paulding beat Marietta 21-14 in Region 3-7A. It was North Paulding’s second region title in history, and its first since 2013. In 6A, No. 3 Roswell beat north Fulton County neighbor Alpharetta 38-21 to win Region 7.
Twenty-four teams clinched region titles Friday or Thursday. Others were Brunswick and Thomas County Central in 6A, Ware County and Dutchtown in 5A, Bainbridge in 4A, Peach County, Cedar Grove and Adairsville in 3A, Fellowship Christian and Rockmart in 2A, Irwin County, Swainsboro, Metter, Lamar County and Prince Avenue Christian in A Division I and Charlton County, Johnson County and Bowdon in A Division II.
There weren’t many upsets, but five unranked teams beat top-10 teams.
LaGrange put itself in the playoffs with a 38-34 victory over No. 4 Troup, which had been undefeated. Troup (9-1, 6-1) still is the Region 4 champion, but LaGrange (8-2, 5-2) will join Whitewater (8-2, 5-2) and Trinity Christian (6-4, 5-2) in the playoffs. Out is No. 8 Starr’s Mill, which lost to No. 10 Whitewater 14-3 on Friday.
Another upset winner was Parkview, which took out No. 9 Grayson in 7A’s Region 4. It won’t affect playoff position, however, as Grayson will still be No. 2 and Parkview No. 4.
Hebron Christian beat No. 7 Stephens County 25-21 in Class 3A. Stephens County (8-2) has clinched the Region 8 title, but Hebron Christian forced a three-way tie for second place with Oconee County and Monroe Area. An 11 a.m. Saturday coin flip will sort out seeds No. 2 through No. 4, as each team is 1-1 against the others.
In Class 2A, Cook beat No. 8 Worth County 36-12, and Mount Pisgah Christian beat No. 10 Whitefield Academy 37-24 in A Division I.
Two No. 1-ranked teams finished their seasons with convincing victories over other highly ranked opponents. Ware County (9-0) of Class 5A beat No. 4 Coffee 31-6 while Cedar Grove (7-2) of 3A beat No. 4 Carver-Atlanta 21-2.
The playoffs begin next week with classes 6A, 4A, 2A and A scheduled for Friday and 7A, 5A and 3A for Saturday.
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