GHSF Daily’s Chip Saye ranks the most surprising and notable results of Week 3:
1. Newton 15, Lowndes 14:Newton pulled off the biggest upset of the season when it knocked off the team that was ranked No. 7 in AAAAAA last week. Newton lost to Lowndes 31-0 last season and finished 5-6. Newton and McEachern (twice) are the only non-region opponents to beat Lowndes in the regular season since the start of the 2008 season. The victory was Newton’s most shocking since beating No. 1 Griffin 3-0 in 1977.
2. North Springs 35, Hapeville 34: North Springs snapped a 34-game losing streak, the state’s second-longest active slump. The Spartans’ victory was their first since Oct. 16, 2009, when they lost to Stone Mountain 39-6 in a game that was overturned by forfeit. Their last on-field victory, 28-0 against Cross Keys on Aug. 28, 2009, also was overturned by forfeit.
3. Pace Academy 42, Athens Academy 9: Pace Academy picked up the biggest victory in the program’s six-year history, routing the team that was ranked No. 6 in Class A last week. Pace Academy, which lost to the Spartans 42-7 last season and finished 3-7, is 2-0 for just the second time in the program’s history. Athens Academy was 11-1 in 2012.
4. New Manchester 41, North Paulding 30: North Paulding knocked off defending 5-AAAAA champ East Paulding in its opener, then turned around and lost to a New Manchester team that was 2-8 in 2012. New Manchester is 3-0 in its second full varsity season and could at least challenge for a playoff berth in what appears to be a wide-open race.
5. Lakeside, Evans 23, Thomson 14: Lakeside ended a seven-game losing streak against Thomson and won for just the second time in 14 all-time meetings. Thomson, which beat the Panthers 51-27 last season, were ranked No. 10 in Class AAA last week. The Bulldogs committed five turnovers and had 103 yards in penalties in what was their first game.
6. Baldwin 35, Peach County 21: Baldwin bounced back from a 28-14 loss to Jefferson County in the opener to knock off the team ranked No. 7 in AAA last week. Peach County had won the past four meetings in the series, including last year’s 42-7 blowout. Peach County allowed the most points in a regular-season game since a 48-28 loss to Perry in 2007.
7. Bremen 17, Central, Carrollton 7: Bremen picked up its first victory of the season after being blown out by Alexander 41-14 in the opener two weeks ago. Central suffered its first loss after winning its first two games by a combined score of 104-0. Both teams went 5-5 in the regular season in 2012, and Central won 34-28 when the teams met in Bremen.
8. Buford 38, Gainesville 14: Buford’s victory in this battle of defending state champions was not as big of a surprise as its domination of the Red Elephants. Buford jumped to an early 17-0 lead, ran for 374 yards and held Gainesville QB Deshaun Watson to less than 200 yards passing. Gainesville averaged 41 points per game last season.
9. Cairo 6, Bainbridge 0: Bainbridge, ranked No. 10 in Class AAAAA last week, has given up just six points this season but hasn’t scored a touchdown in a 1-1 start. The Bearcats beat East Gadsden, Ala., 3-0 in their opener. Cairo made a goal-line stand in the final minutes to preserve the win, which came a week after a 21-10 loss to Thomasville in its opener.
10. Savannah Christian 17, Prince Avenue Christian 9: Jeff Herron, formerly of Camden County, suffered his first loss as Prince Avenue Christian’s coach and lost for only the second time in 61 all-time meetings against Savannah schools. Savannah Christian lost to Prince Avenue 28-12 last year but responded with seven consecutive victories.
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