Friday night brought high drama, big upsets, and some one-sided statements as Northeast Georgia teams clashed under the lights.
North Oconee lived up to its No. 1 billing with a dominant shutout of Jefferson, while Banks County nearly stunned No. 8 Cherokee Bluff in a thriller that came down to the wire.
Habersham Central turned in its most complete performance of the year in a rout, and Lumpkin County went toe-to-toe with GAC before falling on a last-second field goal. From Rabun County’s grind-it-out win at Bremen to Stephens County’s heartbreaking collapse against Oconee County, the night was packed with season-defining moments.
Here’s a look at your local scores and recaps.
#1 North Oconee 35, #1 Jefferson 0
Losing Max Brown on the very first play of the game immediately made it look bleak. From there, the star-studded Titans just rolled up a masterpiece. 3-star Georgia Southern QB commit Harrison Faulkner threw four TDs. The first went to UGA’s 4-star edge, who hauled in a 36-yard TD. He then connected with Charlie Hawkins in the second. Braxton Goolsby added a rushing TD from 29 yards out, and Faulkner hit Brooks again for a 28-0 lead at the break. He added one more to the 3-star WR Kentucky commit in the third to put up an exact repeat of last year’s score.
#8 Cherokee Bluff 24, Banks County 21
In a shocking result, Banks County not only showed great improvement again, but nearly toppled a great Bears team in a 24-21 final.
Franklin County @ West Oak (SC) (score unknown)
Habersham Central 41, Loganville 0
The Raiders were all over Loganville early and often, riding their most complete game of the season to a 41-0 win against the Red Devils.
#9 GAC 37, Lumpkin County 35
In a tight battle to open region play against GAC on the road, Lumpkin fell 37-35. Mason Hester struck first with a TD pass to Mike Nichols late in the first. Nolan Matthews’ 38-yd TD made it 14-0 at the end of one. GAC scored 21 straight to take a lead going into the break. Matthews tied the game in the third on what became an 8-minute drive. He tied it once more with a TD to open the fourth, making it a 28-all ballgame. Not to be outdone after the Spartans pulled back ahead, Matthews added his fourth TD of the game to make it a 35-34 lead. With eight seconds left, the Spartans knocked in a 36-yard field goal for the win.
#5 Rabun County 14, Bremen 3
The Wildcats found themselves in yet another drama-filled road game, this time coming away with a lower-scoring win of 14-3 at Bremen. After trailing 3-0 at the break, Rabun went ahead on a 45-yard TD run by Reid Giles in the third. A 5-yd TD strike late from Ty Truelove to Dane Tyler made it a 14-3 game, which proved the final.
#10 Oconee County 28, Stephens County 24
Despite taking a 24-7 lead in the first half, the Indians saw #10-ranked Oconee County rally for a comeback win. Stephens County didn’t score in the second half. Dallas Hague had a rushing score in the first, Luke Waters added a 35-yard field goal, and a blocked punt for a TD from Peyton Feaster was followed by a Morris Perkins 8-yard TD.
#10 Ware Shoals (SC) 24, Towns County 7 (incomplete score)
#3 Rockmart 35, Union County 0
Union County couldn’t get anything going, as Rockmart used a 15-0 halftime lead on the way to a 35-0 shutout.
Pickens 34, White County 7
Alex Freeman threw a TD pass in the final minute to Zach Godfrey to give the Warriors their first TD in weeks, and avoided a shutout in a 34-7 loss to Pickens.
Other games of local interest
#2 Buford 34, #4 Douglas County 26
#3 Carrollton 43, #3 Gainesville 21
#6 North Hall 51, Chestatee 7
Athens Christian 20, Riverside 18
George Walton vs Lakeview (score unknown)
Jackson County 44, Madison County 7
Lincoln County 24, Elbert County 17
Morgan County 46, Cedar Shoals 20
Prince Avenue Christian 48, Johns Creek 0
Rabun Gap-Nachoochee 42, Ambassador Christian, N.C. 0
Winder-Barrow 35, Apalachee 16
Statewide scores
Allatoona 20, Cedartown 7
Americus Sumter 56, Kendrick 0
Bacon County 27, Lanier County 21
Brooks County 21, Fitzgerald 3
Brookstone 35, Southwest Georgia Academy 14
Burke County 28, Northside-Warner Robins 14
Cairo 42, Cook 12
Calvary Christian 22, Flint River 7
Calvary Day 49, Windsor Forest 0
Cambridge 52, Calhoun 42
Cartersville 45, Dalton 14
Carver-Columbus 31, Northside-Columbus 12
Cass 28, Hiram 21
Cedar Grove (GA) 28, Mt. Paran Christian 20
Central Gwinnett 47, Chapel Hill 0
Christian Heritage 35, Dade County 3
Clinch County 21, Mitchell County 6
Coffee 23, Gadsden County, Fla. 12
Colquitt County 43, Lee County 36
Creekview 35, Riverwood 7
Crisp County 66, Dougherty 38
DeLand, Fla. 46, Appling County 30
Dodge County 32, Vidalia 13
Eagle’s Landing Christian 27, Woodland Stockbridge 0
Early County 41, Miller County 17
Effingham County 43, Bradwell Institute 35
Fannin County 35, Coosa 15
Fellowship Christian School 52, Savannah Christian Prep 21
Glynn Academy 36, Statesboro 8
Gordon Central 21, Chattooga 14
Harlem 41, Baldwin 18
Harrison 49, Pebblebrook 14
Hawkinsville 23, Rutland 12
Hayesville, N.C. 35, Georgia Force Christian 21
Heard County 29, Bowdon 28
Heritage School 48, Walker 41
Hillgrove 69, Osborne 0
Holy Ground Baptist 66, Peoples Baptist 60, 3OT
Houston County 57, Tift County 14
Hughes 42, Banneker 0
John Milledge 27, Bulloch 18
Jones County 42, Union Grove 3
LaFayette 32, Trion 14
Lanier 42, Dacula 29
Liberty County 40, Long County 34
Locust Grove 35, Hampton 26
Lovejoy 35, Dutchtown 14
Lowndes 38, Kell 7
Maclay, Fla. 35, Valwood 34, OT
Marietta 52, Wheeler 21
McEachern 34, Campbell 7
Milton (GA) 21, Blessed Trinity 10
MLK Jr. 29, Maynard Jackson 27, 2OT
Mt. Zion-Carrollton 47, Baconton 0
New Manchester 48, Kennesaw Mountain 14
Norcross 35, Duluth 21
North Cobb 41, Walton 7
North Forsyth (GA) 28, South Forsyth 7
North Gwinnett 37, Brookwood 14
North Murray 49, Murray County 0
North Paulding 59, Cherokee 43
Northgate 35, Newnan 21
Ola 33, Eagle’s Landing 0
Parkview 61, Berkmar 14
Paulding County 28, South Cobb 19
Peachtree 28, Hearts 14
Peachtree Ridge 55, Meadowcreek 0
Perry (GA) 28, Veterans 15
Portal 35, Bryan County 35
Ringgold 34, North Cobb Christian 27
River Ridge 44, Pope 13
Robert Toombs Christian 34, Briarwood 20
Rome 31, East Paulding 14
Schley County 28, Chattahoochee County 0
Sequoyah 63, Sprayberry 20
Sonoraville 35, Coahulla Creek 14
Southeast Bulloch 47, Johnson-Savannah 13
Stockbridge 47, McDonough 7
Thomas County Central 49, Bainbridge 0
Tiftarea 20, Westfield (GA) 19
Valdosta 41, South Gwinnett 3
Villa Rica 27, Alexander 6
West Laurens 56, Cross Creek 0
Westminster Christian 69, Holy Spirit 0
Whitefield Academy 56, Darlington 28
Wilcox County 29, Turner County 20
Woodstock 31, Lassiter 21
Woodward Academy 17, Shiloh 14
POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Walton vs. Wheeler, ccd.
