Saturday morning recaps

CLASS 5A (by Brian Jones)

It was upsets galore as three undefeated teams went down on Friday, two of them from Cobb County. No. 7 Harrison fell hard to McEachern 48-33 at home. Rajaan Bennett had a game to remember for the Indians, rushing for 174 yards and three touchdowns. … The other Cobb County team to suffer its first loss of the year was No. 8 Walton, which was downed by Lassiter 31-24. The Trojans struck first when Hutson Mason threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Philip Lutzenkirchen early in the first quarter, and the Trojans held onto the lead until the final whistle. … The last undefeated team to go down was in Region 2, where Union Grove was blanked by Stephenson 25-0. That win put the Jaguars back in contention for the region title. … In Fulton County, Milton edged archrival Roswell 20-19. It was the fourth time in 27 matchups that the Eagles had defeated the Hornets. … Down in South Georgia, Camden County had another offensive explosion, defeating Jenkins 70-0 and virtually locking up another Region 3 title. … Also, Coffee took care of Valdosta 35-18 to improve to 7-1 for the year. Running back Melvin Long rushed for 149 yards and four touchdowns in the win.

CLASS 4A (by Ricky Dimon)

Friday’s marquee matchup in Class 4A saw Marist (7-1, 7-0) outlast fellow top-10 team and Region 6 rival Southwest DeKalb, 27-21. Marist fullback Matt Connors rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns to subdue Southwest (6-2, 6-1) and stand alone atop the standings. … Still lurking near the top of that region are the Tucker Tigers (7-1, 6-1), who crushed the playoff hopes of Stone Mountain (3-5, 3-4) with an emphatic 37-6 victory. … The classification’s No. 1-ranked team, Westside-Macon (8-0, 6-0), came off a bye week and continued its run through the 4A ranks on Friday. Westside cruised to a dominant 28-0 road win over Americus-Sumter (2-4, 3-5). … Thomas County Central (7-1, 6-0) remained on pace with Westside-Macon in Region 1-AAAA without any trouble. The Yellow Jackets rolled over Hardaway (5-4, 4-3) in impressive 31-0 fashion. … Villa Rica (7-1, 5-0) stayed undefeated in Region 5B with a narrow 13-10 win over Mays. The Raiders (6-2, 3-2) have now lost two straight after starting the season 6-0. … Rome (8-1, 6-0) is currently on an eight-game winning streak and will go into the Nov. 7 region playoff undefeated in Region 7A play. The Wolves had too much firepower for Dalton (6-2, 3-2) and prevailed in a shootout 41-23.

CLASS 3A (by Fletcher Proctor)

With so many big games on the slate for next week it was only natural that a team was looking ahead and forgot about this week’s game. The biggest upset victim of Friday night was GPB/Score Prep’s No. 9 Washington County. The team hit the road to face Burke County and left with a 28-24 loss, despite 129 yards from its standout running back Keith Swint, who also scored two touchdowns. … Waco’s opponent next week is Baldwin, which dispatched Liberty County 35-0. Jerrico Ford had two touchdowns in the game and the defense looked strong in the shutout win. … Cole Moon of St. Pius X carried the ball 20 times for 174 yards in the Golden Lions’ 28-7 win over Grady. This is the second time in school history the team has started 8-0. … The No. 1 Cairo Syrupmakers glided to a 42-10 win thanks to Reggie Bryant’s three scores and quarterback Angelo Pease’s two touchdown passes. … Carrollton needed overtime to knock off Central-Carroll 21-14 and LaGrange stomped Columbus 46-7 thanks to Ocie Salters’ three TD scampers. … Finally Treavor Scales had four scores and 258 yards rushing as the No. 5 Dunwoody Wildcats crushed McNair 34-13.

CLASS 2A (by Corey Mitchell)

The Buford Wolves (8-0, 5-0 Region 6) escaped with a 14-10 triumph over Blessed Trinity Friday night. The Titans (6-2, 4-2) were on the cusp of the upset and played aggressively, rolling the dice on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line late in the game. The Wolves’ defense held, and their offense mounted a game-winning 99-yard drive. Cody Getz delivered the big blow on the drive with a 51-yard touchdown run in the final minute of play to keep the Wolves’ perfect record intact. Buford travels to 7-1 Westminster next week, and a victory clinches a region title for the Wolves. … In the game of the week in Region 2A, McIntosh County Academy won the battle of unbeatens, edging Appling County 15-12. MCA’s 15 are the most points conceded by the Pirates (7-1, 5-1) this season. The 8-0 Buccaneers will surely have a higher ranking next week when they face Pierce County. … Brooks County (7-1, 5-0) took over first place in Region 1 by beating the previously perfect Purple Hurricanes of Fitzgerald (7-1, 4-1 region), 14-7. … Jefferson rolled up nearly 500 yards of total offense in a 47-0 win against Rabun County. The undefeated Dragons face North Oconee on Halloween night.

CLASS A (by Derek Wiley)

The Wesleyan Wolves upset seventh-ranked and previously unbeaten Athens Academy 17-7 with strong defensive play to win Region 8-A. A Spartans offense that had averaged over 37 points per game was held to only seven, mainly due to three turnovers in the second half. “We had a great plan and our kids executed it,” said head coach Franklin Pridgen. Senior defensive back and receiver Lee Ellis starred on both sides of the ball. Ellis had an interception late in the third quarter, a diving 19-yard touchdown reception in the back of the end zone early in the fourth, and a fumble recovery with 6:15 left in the game. “Most of it (the catch) was luck. It was a great throw by [quarterback Conor Welton],” said Ellis. Wesleyan running back Kyle Karempelis rushed for 125 yards and one touchdown. Athens Academy’s only score came on the Spartans’ first possession in the second half when quarterback Will Daniel connected with McKay Matthews on a 46-yard touchdown pass. Freshman kicker Eric Sunderman booted a 43-yard field goal to begin the fourth quarter for the Wolves’ other score. … No. 1-ranked Emanuel County Institute defeated Metter 40-14. ECI running back Washaun Ealey ran for 218 yards and two more touchdowns, giving him 115 in his career. … Top-five teams Wilcox County, Lincoln County and Brookstone all won handily.