Notable results of week 5: Lovett picks up its most impressive win

ATLANTA — GHSF Daily’s Chip Saye ranks the most surprising and notable results of Week 5:

1. Lovett 28, St. Pius 7: Class AA Lovett has opened the season with four consecutive victories against ranked teams from higher classifications, but this was the most surprising of the group. The Lions dominated a St. Pius team that was ranked No. 2 in AAA last week and avenged a 24-0 loss from 2012, when Lovett went 2-2 against the same schedule.

2. North Forsyth 24, Chattahoochee 6: North Forsyth is 4-0 for the first time since 2005, and its victory against Chattahoochee was a sign that the playoff race in 6-AAAAAA will be wide open. The Raiders were 3-0 to begin the 2012 season but went 0-7 in region play. Chattahoochee was 5-2 in region play and finished in third place last season.

3. First Presbyterian 28, Pace Academy 18: Pace Academy, which opened the season 3-0, moved into the Top 10 last week for the first time in the program’s six-year history. The Knights then lost to a team that had opened the season with two lopsided losses. First Presbyterian lost to George Walton Academy 36-10 and Pike County 30-0 in its first two games.

4. Veterans 21, Westside, Macon 14: Veterans, a fourth-year program from Houston County, picked up its first victory of the season and snapped a seven-game losing streak. It was the Region 2-AAAA opener for both teams. Westside, which won the first three meetings in the series with Veterans by at least 25 points, was ranked No. 10 in Class AAAA last week.

5. Dacula 14, Grayson 7: Dacula’s unexpected victory was the latest twist in what already has been a wild year in 8-AAAAAA. The Falcons, who were 1-9 overall last year and 1-7 in region play, can take sole possession of first place with a victory against Archer this week. Grayson (10-2 in 2012) won the region title four of the past five years.

6. Westlake 36, Bainbridge 0: Former Shiloh assistant Bryan Love has led one of the state’s most impressive turnarounds Westlake was 0-10 last season for the first time in its 25-year history, but Love has the Lions at 3-2 heading into region play. Westlake’s losses have come against Hillgrove and Creekside, which are both undefeated and ranked.

7. Towers 32, Douglass 0: Former Bethune Middle School coach James Holloway is another coach who is leading a remarkable turnaround. His Titans are off to a 4-0 start in his first season after finishing 0-10 in 2012. Towers, which is 4-0 for the first time since opening the 1984 season with seven consecutive wins, has given up just seven points.

8. Atkinson County 25, Long County 18: Atkinson County snapped a 22-game losing streak by picking up its first victory since a 20-7 win against Savannah Country Day in the opening game of the 2011 season. The victory also ended Atkinson’s 21-game losing streak in region games that dated to 2010. Long County is 1-4 all-time against Atkinson.

9. Harris County 31, Callaway 12: Harris County’s victory against Callaway was the third this season in which the Tigers avenged an early season loss from 2012, when they started 0-4 but responded with eight consecutive victories on the way to a region title and the state quarterfinals. Callaway, ranked No. 7 in AAA last week, beat Harris County 24-21 in 2012.

10. Rutland 26, West Laurens 15: Rutland is 4-0 for the first time in the program’s 11 years after beating West Laurens to open region play in 2-AAAA. The Macon school has had just one winning record and one playoff appearance and has never won more than seven games in a season. West Laurens won 14-7 last year. Rutland plays Veterans on Thursday.

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