Biggest surprises on the football field this week

ATLANTA — GHSF Daily’s Chip Saye ranks the most surprising and notable results of Week 6:

1. Commerce 31, George Walton Academy 21: Commerce, which came into the game at 2-2 after a 28-0 loss to Rabun County, opened Region 8-A play with an upset of the team ranked No. 5 in Class A last week. Commerce went 1-5 in region play last year but made the playoffs based on the power rankings. Commerce is 1-3 all-time against the Bulldogs.

2. Tift County 32, Coffee 29: Tift County upset the No. 10 team in last week’s Class AAAAAA rankings and earned its first region victory since 2010. The Blue Devils are 4-1 for the first time since the 2006 team started the season 5-0 and eventually reached the state semifinals. Coffee won 24-7 when the teams met in the Region 1-AAAAAA opener last year.

3. South Paulding 48, Allatoona 45: South Paulding moved into sole possession of first place in Region 5-AAAAA with an overtime victory against the team ranked No. 7 in the classification last week. South Paulding, playing its eighth season of football, is seeking its first playoff appearance. Allatoona fell into a three-way tie for second place in the region.

4. Westover 14, Cairo 9: Westover remained undefeated in Region 1-AAAA by snapping a 13-game losing streak in the series, beating the Syrupmakers for the first time since 1993. The loss snapped Cairo’s 24-game region winning streak, which dated to a 24-13 loss to Peach County on Oct. 9, 2009. Cairo beat Westover 31-7 in 2012.

5. Perry 41, Baldwin 35: Perry was outgained 496-371, according to the Warner Robins Patriot, but earned its first victory of the season and first for new coach Erik Soliday. Perry avoided its first 0-5 start since 2001. Baldwin has not had a winning or losing streak longer than one game this season, which could be bad news for Rutland, this week’s opponent.

6. Dunwoody 20, Miller Grove 6: Dunwoody got its first victory of the season and won for just the second time in its last 13 region games, knocking off a team that was expected to contend for a playoff spot in 6-AAAAA. The loss all but eliminated Miller Grove from the playoff race. The computer Maxwell Ratings projected Miller Grove as a 21-point favorite.

7. Our Lady of Mercy 22, Pace Academy 14: Pace Academy suffered its second consecutive loss since starting the season 3-0 and earning its first state ranking in the program’s history. This one was against an Our Lady of Mercy team that was winless coming into the game but had played a difficult schedule. It was both teams’ opener in Region 5-A.

8. Cross Keys 47, North Cobb Christian 29: Cross Keys snapped a 17-game losing streak with a victory against North Cobb Christian, which fell to 0-4 and has an eight-game losing streak of its own. Cross Keys’ last non-loss was a 6-6 tie against St. Francis on Oct. 7, 2011, and its last victory was three weeks earlier against North Cobb Christian 26-21.

9. Lambert 14, North Forsyth 13: Lambert came into the 6-AAAAAA game at 1-3 overall and 0-1 in region play but knocked off a Raiders team that was 4-0. Both teams are hoping to avoid a repeat of last year. North Forsyth started the season 3-0 but finished 3-7, while Lambert started 5-0 but finished 5-5. Neither team was in playoff contention.

10. Central Gwinnett 41, South Gwinnett 14: Central Gwinnett improved to 2-0 in 8-AAAAAA and announced itself as a playoff contender in the wide-open region race by snapping a six-game losing streak against the Comets. Central Gwinnett hasn’t reached the playoffs since 2006. South Gwinnett fell to 1-4 overall and 0-3 in region games.

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