Region play in Class 5A is just getting under way, as only five of the classification’s eight regions have played at least one full week of league games and no team has played more than two.
However, several teams have already recorded significant victories. Here are five teams that won region games last week that are sure to improve their region championship or playoff prospects:
*Dutchtown: Lovejoy and Dutchtown are perennial playoff contenders and were considered two of the top challengers to Hughes in the Region 3 race. They had to face each other in the region openers last week, and Dutchtown came away with a 21-20 victory, stopping a Lovejoy two-point-conversion attempt in the final minute to clinch it. Larry Hudson had eight receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns in the win. The Bulldogs’ task will be a big one this week when they take on fifth-ranked Hughes, which has averaged 12 wins over the past four seasons and won a state championship in 2022. Dutchtown has made seven consecutive playoff appearances, reaching the quarterfinals in 2018 and 2019 and the semifinals in 2022.
*Lakeside-DeKalb: The preseason Maxwell Ratings projected Lakeside to finish eighth in eight-team Region 4 and gave the Vikings a 1% chance of making the playoffs. However, Lakeside’s odds went up considerably with a 51-50 victory over Arabia Mountain, a 2023 region champion, in the teams’ region opener. Kyle Davis tied the game with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Arzabe with 32 seconds remaining, and Wesley Cowden kicked the winning extra point. Davis passed for 269 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns. Lakeside, which played a non-region schedule the past four seasons, made the playoffs just once (2015) in the past 26 years. The Vikings play Dunwoody this week at Adams Stadium.
*Rome: The Wolves entered Region 5 play as heavy favorites despite an 0-2 start to the season, but those losses came to two No. 1-ranked teams in Carrollton of Class 6A and Toombs County of Class A Division I. Rome’s region opener was against perhaps its top challenger, East Paulding, which started the season 3-0. The Wolves made quick work of East Paulding, however, jumping out to a 27-0 lead in the first half and coasting home. Rome is tied for first place in the region with New Manchester, Villa Rica and South Paulding and will face all three in October. Rome has won an average of 11 games over the past eight seasons, with six region titles and two state championships (2016, 2017).
*Sprayberry: The Yellow Jackets had high hopes heading into Region 6 play after coasting past Alexander, Etowah and Kennesaw Mountain in the non-region portion of the schedule. Those hopes took a hit when Sprayberry was upset by Pope on Sept. 6, but it bounced back in a big way with a 31-17 victory over preseason favorite and then. No. 9-ranked Sequoyah last week to remain in the region title chase. Jaden Duckett rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown and passed for 89 yards. Sprayberry’s chances of winning its first region title since 2008 likely will be determined when it faces current co-leaders Creekview and River Ridge, both at home, in back-to-back weeks in early October.
*Tri-Cities: The Bulldogs, under second-year coach Rodney Hackney, are 3-0 for the first time since 2015 after a 21-20 victory over 18-point favorite Dunwoody in the teams’ Region 4 opener. That win puts them in an early tie for first place with Lakeside-Atlanta and the region’s two favorites, Woodward Academy and Decatur. Tri-Cities’ first three victories, over Dunwoody and non-region opponents M.L. King and KIPP Atlanta Collegiate, came by a total of nine points. The Bulldogs hope to keep the momentum going this week when they host Shiloh, a winless team but one that has played Woodward (a 21-6 loss) and Class 6A Gwinnett County schools South Gwinnett, Brookwood and Duluth. Tri-Cities hasn’t made the playoffs since 2012.
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