High School Football

Surprising results from the high school football field this week

1. Hancock Central 22, Aquinas 14: Hancock Central, which was 2-3 two weeks ago, now controls its fate in subregion B of Region 7-A after shocking Aquinas, which was ranked No. 6 (private) and came in as a 27-point favorite, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings. Hancock Central will win the subregion if it beats Warren County and Lincoln County in its next two games. The Spartans had lost 12 consecutive games against Aquinas and 54 straight against top-10 opponents.

2. Sprayberry 20, Dalton 17: Sprayberry, a 19-point underdog, reinserted itself in the 6-AAAAAA playoff race by beating a Dalton team that was ranked No. 8 last week. Dalton and Sprayberry are two of four teams (Creekview and Sequoyah are the others) with two region losses that are fighting for playoff spots behind No. 3 Harrison and No. 8 Allatoona.

3. Brookstone 28, Manchester 27: Brookstone stopped Manchester's bid to clinch the subregion A title in Region 4-A. Manchester was ranked No. 8 among Class A public schools and came in as an 11-point favorite. If both teams win this week, they will finish in a three-way tie for first place with Marion County, which beat Brookstone and lost to Manchester.

4. Thomasville 20, Fitzgerald 14: Thomasville fell off the radar after starting the season 0-3, but it is in the driver's seat in 1-AA after beating a top-10 ranked team for the second consecutive week (the Bulldogs previously beat Brooks County 31-20). Thomasville, a 10-point underdog, is 4-4 overall but 2-0 in the region, a game ahead of Fitzgerald and Brooks.

5. Greenbrier 20, Grovetown 19: Greenbrier picked up its first victory of the season and ended an eight-game losing streak in the series with Grovetown, which was a 21-point favorite. Grovetown, the defending champion in 3-AAAAAA, fell into last place in the six-team league, the only winless team (0-2) in region play. Greenbrier is in a four-way tie for second.

Worth noting: Crawford County was the biggest underdog to come up with a victory Friday when it beat 31-point favorite Dooly County 20-19 in Region 4-A game. Dooly County won the previous eight meetings in the series by an average score of 38-12. ... Defending AAAAAA champion Lee County opened Region 1 play with a 35-0 win over Northside (Warner Robins). It was the third consecutive shutout loss for Northside, which hadn't been held scoreless in three straight games since 1971, nor lost to the same opponent four straight times since 1995 and Warner Robins. ... Lithia Springs ended a 16-game losing streak in region games when it beat Jackson (Atlanta) 28-25. Jackson was a 29-point favorite. The win was the first for the Lions in a region game since beating Grady 22-20 on Sept. 16, 2017. ... Pickens, a 13-point underdog, created a logjam at the top of 6-AAAA with a 35-10 victory over Northwest Whitfield, which had been the region's only unbeaten team. Pickens, Northwest Whitfield, Heritage (Ringgold) and Ridgeland have one region loss each. ... Richmond Hill is in first place in 2-AAAAAA after its 23-14 victory over three-time defending region champion Glynn Academy, a six-point favorite. The Wildcats can clinch their first title since 1996 by beating Bradwell Institute this week.

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