Manchester won a state-championship rematch, and preseason No. 1 teams Buford, Benedictine and Prince Avenue Christian beat top-10 opponents to reassert their state-title candidacies Friday night in high school football.
And from metro Atlanta’s southern crescent, Stockbridge and Starr’s Mill won games to take first place in their Class 4A regions.
In the night’s most highly ranked game, No. 3 Manchester defeated No. 1 Bowdon 28-20 in Class A Division II. The two West Georgia teams played twice last season, splitting one-point games, including the state championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
No. 2 Buford beat No. 6 Collins Hill 34-7 in Region 8-6A. Buford (5-1, 2-0) lost its opener to No. 1 Milton of Class 5A and has remained behind Carrollton in the rankings since. No. 8 Mill Creek remains a contender in Buford’s region of Gwinnett County teams.
Benedictine, the preseason No. 1 Class 4A team, beat No. 6 Warner Robins 35-21 in Region 1-4A. Benedictine (4-2, 2-0), now ranked No. 3, has lost to Buford and Rabun Gap, both nationally ranked.
Prince Avenue Christian, which opened No. 1 in Class 2A, beat No. 5 Stephens County 49-7 in Region 8-2A. Prince Avenue Christian (4-3, 2-0) has lost to two out-of-state teams and Blessed Trinity, the No. 7 Class 4A team, and is ranked No. 3 in Class 3A-A private.
In Class 4A, Stockbridge beat Ola 14-10 after trailing 10-0 in a Region 4 game. Stockbridge is 6-1, 5-0 while Ola fell to 5-1, 4-1. Stockbridge was the Class 4A runner-up last season.
Starr’s Mill beat Central-Carrollton 38-35 in Region 3. Starr’s Mill, a Class 4A semifinalist last season, is 7-0, 3-0. Central is 5-2, 2-1.
In South Georgia, Colquitt County beat Lowndes 38-35. Both are unranked in Class 6A, but Lowndes entered unbeaten.
Also in South Georgia, Worth County beat No. 3 Thomasville 28-27 in Class A Division I. That was the only Friday game won by an unranked team over a ranked one.
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