Pebblebrook and South Cobb are bordering Cobb County schools that had beaten only three ranked teams in 40 years.
On Friday night, they delivered two of the more stunning upsets of this high school football season and ushered in a season-high 10 victories by unranked teams over top-10 opponents.
The regular season’s eighth Friday also featured several showdowns between ranked opponents.
They included No. 7 Calhoun beating No. 9 Blessed Trinity 32-27 and No. 6 Ware County beating No. 4 Coffee 35-3 in Class 5A; No. 2 Oconee County beating No. 9 Hart County 35-13 in Class 3A; No. 3 Prince Avenue Christian beating No. 8 Athens Academy 49-13 in Class A Private; and No. 3 Macon County beating No. 5 Schley County 54-38 in Class A Public.
In a cross-class thriller, No. 7 Lowndes of 7A defeated Class 3A’s No. 1 team, Cedar Grove, 45-38.
Add those to the unmatched success of unranked teams, and this probably was the most eventful Friday night of the season.
Pebblebrook, unranked since 2003, defeated No. 10 East Coweta 38-21 in a Region 2-7A game after leading the defending region champions – a 20-point favorite, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings – 31-7 at halftime.
It was Pebblebrook’s first win against a ranked opponent since beating Rome in 2003 and the program’s second top-10 victory in 40 years. Pebblebrook (6-0-1, 1-0) is a genuine contender to win its first region championship since 2006.
South Cobb’s 17-15 victory over No. 4 Kennesaw Mountain was even more unlikely. South Cobb entered 1-5 overall and 0-4 in region play. Kennesaw Mountain was 6-0 and 4-0. The upset victory was South Cobb’s first over a top-10 team since the Eagles beat North Cobb in 2012 and their third in 40 years.
Those were only two of the many triumphs by those outside the top 10.
South Paulding beat No. 7 Douglas County 28-6 in a game that threw Region 5-5A into a remarkable five-way tie for first place. Also 3-1 in region play are Carrollton, Alexander and Rome. Only four will make the playoffs.
Bainbridge routed No. 8 Dougherty 45-14 in a Region 1-4A game. Dougherty was 5-0 and ranked for the first time since 2006, but Bainbridge (3-3, 2-0) is the defending region champion.
Miller Grove defeated No. 7 Stephenson 34-27 in Region 6-4A. Miller Grove had been 1-25 all-time against top-10 opponents from the same class, its other top-10 victory coincidentally against Stephenson in 2012.
North Oconee defeated No. 6 Flowery Branch 14-7 in Region 8-4A, leaving North Oconee (4-3, 3-0) in a tie for first place in the region with No. 1-ranked Jefferson (7-0, 3-0).
In Class 3A, Crisp County beat No. 6 Peach County 27-14, ending Peach’s 35-game winning streak in region games.
Haralson County beat No. 5 Callaway, the defending Class 2A champion, 42-14 in Region 5-2A. Haralson County defeated Callaway in 2020, the Cavaliers’ only loss, but faltered while Callaway rallied to win the region and state titles. Haralson County (6-1, 1-0) is positioned again to win its first region title in history.
Dublin pummeled No. 8 Wilcox County 49-0, muddying the Region 4-A Public standings. Those two, plus Montgomery County and Dooly County, have one region loss apiece.
First Presbyterian beat No. 7 Tattnall Square 20-0 in Region 1-A Private. Tattnall has been one of only four unbeaten teams in the classification.
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