Week 7 Georgia high school football recap
Week 7 in Georgia was filled with big-time matchups and thrilling endings spread over two nights. Most of the state elected to move their games up to Thursday night in anticipation for Hurricane Ian and it produced some of the best games of the year.
Walton won a shootout against North Paulding, Calhoun outlasted Cartersville in triple overtime and Hebron Christian upset Oconee County Thursday night in a thriller. Friday night, Buford rolled past Collins Hill to highlight the smaller slate of games. See how the rest of the state’s Top-Ranked teams fared in Week 7.
Buford 23, Collins Hill 3: Buford continued its winning ways Friday night with an impressive 23-3 win at home against Collins Hill, a game that was played on ESPN2. The Wolves have now won 17 games in a row dating back to last season. Alabama commit Justice Haynes scored bookend touchdowns on the ground for the Wolves. Quarterback Tristan Gabrels scored the third touchdown for the Wolves, also on the ground.
Mill Creek 58, Central Gwinnett 7: Looking to keep pace atop Region 8-AAAAAAA with Buford ahead of their match-up next week, Mill Creek dismantled previously undefeated Central Gwinnett, 58-7 Thursday night. Senior quarterback Hayden Clark tossed for 296 yards and a pair of scores while Alabama commit Caleb Downs and Cam Robinson each scored a rushing touchdown in the victory. The Hawks are now 6-0 on the season for the second year in a row.
Hughes 40, Alexander 7: Nationally ranked Hughes improved to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in Region 5-AAAAAA with a dominant 40-7 win on the road at Alexander Friday night. Prentiss Air Noland tossed three touchdown passes and rushed for another in the victory. Terrance Love caught two of the three scores from Noland. The Panthers have out-scored region opponents 153-10 in three games this season.
Brookwood 24, Archer 11: After losing three straight, Brookwood has responded with back-to-back wins and after defeating Archer, 24-11, Thursday night, they are 1-0 in Region 4-AAAAAAA play. Alabama commit Dylan Lonergan tossed two touchdowns and ran for a third. It also marked the Broncos’ first win over the Tigers since 2012.
Mountain View 29, Dacula 7: Mountain View bucked a slow start and turned it into an impressive 29-7 win over rival Dacula to improve to 4-2 on the season. With starting quarterback Mason Kidd still out with an injury, Jayden Dooely made his second straight start and is now 2-0 as a starter after tossing two touchdown passes in the victory. The Bears rattled off 29 unanswered points after trailing the Falcons 7-0 early.
Grayson 26, Newton 0: After losing a stunner last week to Lowndes, Grayson rebounded Thursday night with an impressive 26-0 shutout victory on the road at Newton. The Rams improve to 5-1 on the season and are now 1-0 in Region 4-AAAAAAA play after defeating Newton. The Rams held just a 3-0 lead at the half before scoring 23 points in the second half. Grayson running back Joe Taylor rushed 27 times for 164 yards and a touchdown in the win.
Walton 51, North Paulding 49: An offensive explosion for the first three quarters from both Walton and North Paulding came down to a 20-yard game-winning field goal for the Raiders Thursday night. Star quarterback tossed a season-best six touchdown passes in the victory and helped lead the Raiders down the field in the closing seconds to set up the game winner. The Raiders improve to 4-1 on the season including four wins in a row after dropping the season-opener to nationally ranked Mill Creek.
Hebron Christian 35, Oconee County 28: In one of the biggest upsets in the state, Hebron Christian led Oconee wire-to-wire and earned a hard-fought 35-28 win to remain unbeaten on the season Thursday night. The Lions were led by junior quarterback Gavin Hall, who rushed for three touchdowns and passed for one to pair with 301 total yards of offense. The Lions improve to 1-0 in Region 8-AAA with the win.
Calhoun 50, Cartersville 48: It took three overtimes and 50 points, but Calhoun was able to leave with a 50-48 win over Cartersville in thrilling fashion Thursday night. The loss for Cartersville snapps a 62-game winning streak in region play. Calhoun also earned its first win over Cartersville in its last five tries. Calhoun was led by junior Caden Williams, who scored three touchdowns in the victory.
Lee County 50, Houston County 21: After starting the season 5-0, Houston County ran into a buzz saw Thursday night on the road at Lee County, who jumped out to an early lead and never looked back en route to a dominant 50-21 win. Lee County running back Ousmane Kromah scored five rushing touchdowns, including runs of 76, 71 and 12 in the first quarter alone. The Trojans improve to 5-1 on the season and are 1-0 in Region 1-AAAAAA after the win over the Bears.
Loganville 13, Eastside 10: The last time Loganville started a season 6-0, the year was 1975. On Thursday night, the Red Devils had a chance to start a season 7-0 for the first time since the program started in 1964. It wasn’t easy, but the Red Devils took a 13-10 lead in the third quarter and played to a scoreless tie in the second half to win by three points. Solomon Leslie scored both touchdowns for Loganville. Kenai Grier got the lone touchdown for the Eagles, a 76-yard scamper on the very first play from scrimmage to start the game. The Red Devils improve to 3-0 in Region 8-AAAAA play with the win.
Gainesville 42, Lanier 14: Gainesville remains unbeaten on the season after crushing Lanier, 42-14, on the road Friday night. The Red Elephants are 6-0 for the first time since 2009 when they started 14-0 and lost in the state championship game to Peach County by one point. Senior Naim Cheeks scored three rushing touchdowns and accounted for more than 200 yards. Quarterback Baxter Wright was also responsible for a pair of touchdowns in the victory. They are now 2-0 in Region 8-AAAAAA play to start the season.
Norcross 48, Duluth 0: Norcross made quick work of Duluth Friday night, dominating them 48-0 for their second Region 7-AAAAAAA victory. Thirty-five of the Blue Devils’ points came in the first quarter. AJ Watkins tossed two touchdown passes to Georgia tight end commit Lawson Luckie while Michael Ammons scored a pair of rushing touchdowns in the victory. Norcross has reeled of four consecutive wins after starting the season 0-2.
