Ranking the most surprising and notable games of the weekend:
1. Appling County 13, Pierce County 6: Two No. 1-ranked teams and four No. 2s lost last week, but this was the biggest surprise of the group, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings, which projected Appling County as a 17-point underdog against Class 2A No. 1 Pierce County. The win gave Appling County the Region 3-2A title. The Pirates have won three straight games against Pierce, which overcame a 17-14 loss last year and went on to win the state title.
2. Jeff Davis 26, Fitzgerald 20: Jeff Davis, an 18-point underdog, knocked fifth-ranked Fitzgerald out of a tie for first place in Region 1-A Division I and remained alive in the battle for fourth place in the seven-team region. Jeff Davis lost to Fitzgerald 48-0 each of the past two seasons. Fitzgerald’s loss opened the door for Worth County, which can win its first region title since 1989 with a victory this week against Brantley County.
3. Stephenson 15, Douglass 9: Stephenson, a 15-point underdog, upset then-No. 3 Douglass in a Region 5-3A game to clinch its second consecutive region championship and fifth in 10 seasons. The Jaguars won five straight games after being upset by Mount Zion of Jonesboro 20-14 in the region opener on Sept. 13. Douglass, the region’s only ranked team for most of the season, dropped to No. 9, one spot behind newly ranked Stephenson.
4. Jonesboro 29, Starr’s Mill 24: Jonesboro created a three-way tie with Starr’s Mill and Central of Carrollton for first place in Region 3-4A when it handed seven-point favorite Starr’s Mill its first loss of the season. Central will be the region champion and No. 1 seed because of tiebreakers. Jonesboro is 10-3 in region games since missing the playoffs in 2022.
5. Brookwood 25, Norcross 13: Brookwood was 1-3 overall and 0-1 in Region 7-6A after a 36-10 loss to North Gwinnett on Sept. 13, but the Broncos won their final six regular-season games and clinched second place with a victory over 14-point favorite Norcross. Brookwood went 4-6 in 2023 and missed the playoffs for just the third time in 22 seasons. Norcross dropped to third place and will be on the road in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Worth noting: Chestatee clinched third place in Region 6-3A and its first playoff berth since 2016 with a 30-20 victory over three-point favorite Greater Atlanta Christian. The War Eagles’ five victories are the most since they went 9-3 in 2013. GAC finished as the fourth-place team but will depart for the playoffs in the 3A-A private division. … Lanier, a six-point underdog, denied third-year school Seckinger its first playoff berth with a 20-19 in a game that decided fourth place in Region 7-5A. Lanier alternated wins and losses all season, never having a winning streak or a losing streak of more than one game. … Upson-Lee, an eight-point underdog, defeated then-No. 6 LaGrange 18-15 in a game that decided second place in Region 2-3A behind Sandy Creek. Upson-Lee lost the past three meetings against LaGrange, including 42-7 last season. … Veterans, which opened in 2010, avoided its first 0-10 season with a 17-0 victory over 14-point favorite Northside of Warner Robins in a Region 2-5A game. Northside finished the year 2-8, its worst record since going 0-9-1 in 1965 in the school’s third season. … Woodland of Cartersville ended a 21-game losing streak in region games that dated to 2020 when it defeated seven-point favorite Dalton 20-17 in a 7-4A game. Dalton finished the season 0-10 for the first time in the history of a program that began in 1924, according the Georgia High School Football Historians Association.
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