Week 4: A few close finishes punctuate night of blowouts

There were a handful of exciting finishes, but blowouts were more of the byword for week 4 of the high school football season.

Chestatee fought back from an early deficit at Eastside, turning the game's momentum on a 70-yard fake punt for a touchdown before going on to a 33-23 victory in its Region 8-AAAA opener.

Meanwhile, Peachtree Ridge edged Mill Creek by the narrowest of margins, watching a potentially game-tying point after attempt miss inside the final two minutes.

Also in 8-AAAA, Stephens County pulled away from a 7-6 halftime lead over Walnut Grove to set-up a key showdown with Chestatee next week in Gainesville.

And in Tiger, Rabun County got some revenge for last year's defeat to Commerce, courtesy a 28-0 victory to move to 3-0. North Forsyth is also 4-0 for the first time since 2005 after a hardfought 24-6 defeat of Chattahoochee.

Pretty much everywhere else the finales were lopsided. There was still plenty of excitement to go around, however, especially for teams such as East Hall, West Hall, Flowery Branch, Jackson County, Gainesville and North Gwinnett.

The Vikings (3-1) put it on Johnson, 54-14, giving East Hall 169 points in its last three games -- or 56.3 points per contest. The Vikings will re-start their Region 7-AAA schedule next week against a White County team smarting from a 30-0 loss to Blessed Trinity on Friday.

Also in 7-AAA, West Hall continued to show its growth, smacking Banks County 48-13 behind another explosive night for Kwon Williams, who put up 180 yards rushing and four touchdowns on six carries.

Flowery Branch (2-2) also continued its ascent, playing a near-perfect first half en route to a 48-14 destruction of Loganville -- the Falcons out-gained the Red Devils 406-67 before halftime.

In Region 8-AAA, Jackson County got its first victory of the campaign, breaking an 0-3 start with a 38-6 domination of cross-county foe East Jackson.

Deshaun Watson also enjoyed a stellar outing -- even by his lofty standards -- as the Red Elephants quarterback completed 24 of 29 pass attempts for 372 yards and four TDs, along with a rushing score.

To see all scores for the area's teams, simply scroll down, and visit our Friday Game Night page for complete game stories and video highlights.


AREA FOOTBALL FINALS, SEPT. 20

Blessed Trinity 30, White County 0

Chestatee 33, Eastside 23

East Hall 54, Johnson 14

Flowery Branch 48, Loganville 14

Gainesville 49, Apalachee 6

Jackson County 38, East Jackson 6

Monroe Area 49, Lumpkin County 3

Mountain View 27, Habersham Central 0

Murphy, N.C. 65, Fannin County 25

North Forsyth 24, Chattahoochee 6

North Gwinnett 63, Meadowcreek 0

Peachtree Ridge 31, Mill Creek 30

Pinecrest Academy 43, Lakeview Academy 3

Rabun Gap Nacoochee School 34, Towns County 14

Rabun County 28, Commerce 0

Salem 60, Winder-Barrow 37

Stephens County 41, Walnut Grove 20

Washington-Wilkes 50, Riverside Military 14

West Hall 48, Banks County 13