High School Football

Biggest surprises from high school football this week

GHSF Daily’s Chip Saye ranks the most surprising results of Week 2:

1. Pebblebrook 17, Southwest DeKalb 10: Pebblebrook snapped an 11-game losing streak by beating a team that made the playoffs last year out of tough Region 6-AAAAA. The loss spoiled the debut of Southwest DeKalb coach Michael Tanks, who got the job when Buck Godfrey resigned after 30 years leading the Panthers.

2. North Paulding 27, East Paulding 13: North Paulding snapped East Paulding's 12-game regular-season winning streak and avenged a 38-17 loss from last season. East Paulding, the 5-AAAAA champion in 2012 and ranked No. 10 last week, had not lost to another team from Paulding County since Hiram won 13-10 in 2005, ending a streak of 14 victories.

3. Thomasville 21, Cairo 10: Thomasville, which lost to Thomas County Central 38-0 in the opener and had lost nine of its previous 12 games overall, snapped an eight-game losing streak in the series with Cairo, which was ranked No. 6 in Class AAAA last week. Former Clarke Central coach Leroy Ryals picked up his first victory at Thomasville.

4. Howard 20, East Laurens 14: Howard, a sixth-year program in Macon that entered the season with an all-time record of 5-45, snapped a 24-game losing streak. The game marked a successful debut for coach Barney Hester, who won 11 state titles in the GISA, mostly with Tattnall Square, and ranks fifth in Georgia history with 323 career victories.

5. Cherokee 53, Creekview 34: Cherokee scored its most points since a 57-21 victory against Milton in 2003. The Warriors went 1-9 in each of the past two seasons and lost the final eight games of 2012. Creekview won last year 21-13 and was 9-1 in the regular season, winning Region 7-AAAAA Division A, before losing to Tucker in the playoffs.

6. Macon County 34, Dooly County 18: Dooly County, which reached the Class A public-school championship game in 2012 and was ranked No. 3 last week, was handled by a Macon County team that it beat 21-20 in overtime last year. Dooly County had won seven of the previous nine meetings in the series, including a win by forfeit in 2009.

7. Westlake 18, South Cobb 10: Westlake ended a 12-game losing streak with a victory against a South Cobb team that went 7-3 last season. Westlake, under new coach Bryan Love, failed to score an offensive touchdown in a 26-6 loss to Hillgrove in the opener but had two in the second half against South Cobb to rally for the victory.

8. East Jackson 14, Banks County 10: It was a successful debut for East Jackson coach Gary Hughes, who got the job in June after the Eagles' original hire, former Grayson assistant David Andrews, backed out amid school system changes. East Jackson had lost 16 consecutive games, including 46-30 to Banks County last year that started its first 0-10 season.

9. Glascock County 28, Warren County 6: Glascock County picked up its first win in the 18-game series that began in 1974 with a 63-0 Warren County victory. The 28 points were the most ever scored by Glascock against Warren, and it was the first time the Panthers held Warren to fewer than 22 points. Warren has lost 10 consecutive games overall.

10. Seminole County 14, Early County 13: Seminole County moved into the Class A rankings at No. 8 this week with a one-point victory against Early County in a game that was postponed until Saturday because of weather. It matches Seminole's highest ranking since it was No. 3 after a 3-0 start in 2007. Early County was No. 9 in Class AA last week.

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