Top five
*Apalachee RB Favian Williford rushed for 269 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries in a 37-22 loss to Loganville. Williford, a bright spot for a winless team, finished with 1,076 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns in only seven games, three canceled in the aftermath of the school shootings that took the lives of two teachers and two students Sept. 4.
*Aquinas freshman RB/LB Eli Hutchinson rushed for 144 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, caught four passes for 33 yards and a touchdown and had nine solo tackles and four tackles for losses in a 43-39 victory over Howard.
*Hapeville Charter QB/DB Zion Crawford passed for 119 yards, rushed for 39 yards, threw a 59-yard touchdown pass on third-and-11 for the game-winning touchdown and ended his opponent’s final two drives with a forced fumble and a pass breakup in a 15-12 victory over Carver of Atlanta.
*New Hampstead QB Rashawn Truell was 35-of-47 passing for 500 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 33 yards and a touchdown in a 48-41 victory over Ware County. Khamari Maxwell had 18 receptions for 271 yards and three touchdowns.
*Telfair County RB/LB Bradyn Cook rushed for 216 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries and made six tackles in a 30-28 region-clinching victory over Wilcox County.
Best of the rest
*Calvary Day DL Buddy Curry had a team-leading five solo tackles, four assists, two tackles for loss and a fumble return for a touchdown in a 41-7 victory over Long County.
*Clinch County QB Aaron Bryant rushed for 141 yards and four touchdowns and was 7-of-9 passing for 227 yards and two touchdowns in a 51-37 victory over Charlton County.
*Flint River Academy QB/DE Trent Young rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on seven carries and had two solo tackles, four assists, two tackles for losses, one forced fumble and a QB hurry in a 28-6 loss to Robert Toombs Christian.
*Glascock County RB Devion Richardson rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns in a 50-14 victory over GMC Prep. The game decided the fourth and final playoff team from Region 5-A Division II.
*Grayson DB Jaylon Williams had three sacks, three solo tackles, three assists and an interception in a 43-13 victory over Newton.
*Loganville RB Zachary Hill rushed for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in a 37-22 victory over Apalachee.
*Metter RB Michael Ricks rushed for 104 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries and was 7-of-17 passing for 208 yards and a touchdown in a 28-10 victory over ECI.
*Newton RB Zion Johnson rushed for 230 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in a 43-13 loss to Grayson.
*South Gwinnett RB Eric Ramey rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries in a 48-27 victory over Grovetown.
*Southeast Bulloch LB Kyle O’Brien had 10 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a touchdown in a 50-14 victory over Groves.
*Southwest DE/TE Rinaldo Callaway had eight tackles, six tackles for losses, 3.5 sacks, one deflected pass and two receptions for 30 yards in a 20-7 playoff-clinching victory over East Laurens.
*Tiftarea Academy QB J.R. Walker rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries and was 9-of-18 passing for 104 yards and a touchdown in a 35-21 GIAA quarterfinal victory over John Milledge Academy. This will be the first season since 2017 that JMA has not played in a championship game.
*Warren County RB/LB Cedarius Johnson blocked a punt, intercepted a pass, forced and recovered a fumble, had eight tackles and three tackles for losses and rushed 17 times for 141 yards and a touchdown in a 28-14 loss to Greene County.
*Washington-Wilkes QB Tamari Curry rushed for 133 yards on 14 carries, passed for 49 yards and scored on an 80-yard run with 3:55 left to break a 13-13 tie in a 20-13 victory over Lake Oconee Academy. The game decided the fourth and final playoff berth from Region 8-A Division II.
Lines of distinction
*Burke County’s offensive line of Veunte Gross, Jameson Pierce, Arion Brown, Cadyn Bracely, Darius Jordan, Joshua Arroyo, Bryan Sapp and T.J. Spencer paved the way for 371 rushing yards in a region-clinching 47-35 victory over Thomson. Amerre Williams scored four touchdowns and rushed for 173 yards, putting him over 1,000 (1,158) for the season.
*Wheeler County’s offensive line of Jordan Bridges, K.J. Williams, Tex Atchley, Rhett McCranie, Isaiah Williams and Luke Smith with tight ends Konner Smith and Jackson Scott produced two 150-yard rushers – cousins Alvin Ricks (201) and Justin Culver (180) – in a 42-29 victory over Treutlen. Culver, with 1,008 yards, joined Ricks, with 1,806 yards, as 1,000-yard rushers.
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