In high school football’s Region 6-AA (which is beginning to look a lot like the SEC with the way these teams are starting to beat up on each other), Blessed Trinity came back from 31-16 to win a wild one, 42-38. Senior running back Sam Burkhalter (our Score Prep player of the week) racked up 227 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the come-from-behind win. Blessed Trinity (5-1, 2-1) gets a bit of a breather this Friday with a home game against Cross Keys, but has to play Buford (ranked No. 1) on Oct. 24 and Westminster (No. 7) on Nov. 7, the last regular-season game of the year. Lovett (4-3, 2-2) still must play Greater Atlanta Christian on Oct. 24.
FOOTBALL FRENZY
The region action is really starting to heat up, as evidenced by some of the great matchups we saw last week. Northside-Warner Robins recovered nicely from the sound beating they suffered at the hands of Lowndes last week, taking out previously undefeated Coffee on the road, 17-14. Northside running back Xavier Bacon, who was stymied in the second half against Lowndes, exploded for 155 rushing yards and a touchdown as well as a momentum-changing kickoff return touchdown at the beginning of the second half. Northside improves to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in Region 1-AAAAA. … Lowndes picked up a hard-fought 14-7 victory over archrival Valdosta in the Winnersville Classic last Friday to stay unbeaten on the year. Valdosta falls to 4-3 and 1-3 in Region 1-AAAAA.
The Grayson Rams are in the driver’s seat for their first Region 8-AAAAA title, and their first region title since 2002 when the football team competed in Class 3A. Grayson defeated Brookwood 10-7 last Friday to remain unbeaten the region. It was also the Rams’ first win over Brookwood in five tries all-time. … In our Score Atlanta/790 The Zone Game of the Week, Walton mounted a furious comeback against Milton to stay undefeated on the year. The Raiders, down 20-3 late in the third quarter, stormed back to take a 24-20 win from the Eagles on Walton’s homecoming. … Luckily, our Score Atlanta/GPB Game of the Week was just as exciting. Southwest DeKalb held off No. 9 Chamblee by the score of 17-10 for a huge Region 6-AAAA win. The victory also catapulted the Panthers (5-1, 5-0) into our Week 8 GPB/Score Prep Top-10 rankings for Class 4A (check out page 14 to see where they ended up). … The Region 7-AAAAA race is becoming more and more interesting by the week, as three teams—North Gwinnett, Collins Hill, and Peachtree Ridge—remain undefeated in league play at 4-0. Collins Hill hosts Peachtree Ridge this Friday, and Peachtree Ridge hosts North Gwinnett in the last game of the regular season. North Gwinnett and Collins Hill don’t meet in the regular season.
TWIN CITY TERROR
Washaun Ealey of Emanuel County Institute is about to make history. The senior running back, committed to the University of Georgia, is only one rushing touchdown away from tying the state career record of 111, held by Pacelli’s Matt Dunham (2001-04). Ealey ran for an unbelievable 58 touchdowns last season alone (that being a state single-season record), but has had a quieter senior campaign with 18 scores so far. Emanuel County Institute, ranked No. 1 in Class A, is the defending state champion.
ON THE DOCKET
This Friday fans in the metro area will be treated to a number of great matchups. In a battle of Region 5-AAAAA unbeatens, East Paulding travels to Harrison. M.L. King (5-1, 3-0 Region 2-AAAAA) meets Stephenson (5-1, 2-1) at Hallford Stadium. Chamblee (4-2, 3-2 Region 6-AAAA) meets county rival Tucker (5-1, 4-1) at Adams Stadium. The aforementioned Peachtree Ridge at Collins Hill matchup will be a big one, and Marist (5-1, 5-0 Region 6-AAAA) will meet up with Miller Grove (2-2-1, 2-2) at Panthersville Stadium. On Saturday, St. Pius X (6-0, 3-0 Region 5-AAA) clashes with Washington (5-2, 4-0) at Grady. … If you can’t make it to a game, check out our Score Atlanta Games of the Week. Tune in to 790 The Zone on Friday night beginning at 7 p.m. for coverage of the Central Gwinnett at Brookwood matchup, or go to www.gpb.org/football/watch for a live stream of the North Cobb at McEachern game.
BEYOND THE GRIDIRON
The state’s volleyball teams will be in action this week in their Area tournaments. The state sectionals begin on Oct. 23. … Play begins in the softball state sectionals on Friday. … The cross country state meets will be held on Nov. 8 at Carrollton High School. Score Atlanta and Scoreatl.com will be covering all the action, so check back often!
Ewalt can be reached aewalt@scoreatl.com.
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