A region title was sewn up, another region title shot was set up, and several over northeast Georgia-based programs saw their playoff pictures continue to clear on Friday in Week 9 of high school football action.
Rabun County clinched its second straight Region 8-AA title courtesy a 43-10 defeat of Washington-Wilkes in Tiger. Meanwhile, Dawson County slammed Banks County 45-0 to help clear the way for a shot at the program's first-ever region title.
As exciting as those results were, little could compare to the finishes at Fannin County and Winder-Barrow, however. West Hall traveled to Blue Ridge and pulled out a thrilling, 40-37 double overtime defeat of Fannin -- a result that also helped give the Tigers a title shot next week when they host Lumpkin County in Dawsonville. Also in 7-AAA play, East Hall knocked off Franklin County 34-27 in Carnesville to help keep the Vikings neck-and-neck with Dawson -- though the Tigers do have the edge due to their head-to-head win over East Hall earlier in the season.
In Region 8-AAAAA, Winder pulled off yet another thrilling win, knocking off Clarke Central 21-17. The win represented the Bulldoggs' fourth of the season decided by one possession and kept Winder in the thick of the playoff hunt. Also in 8-AAAAA, Gainesville pulled away from Cedar Shoals 46-18 to right the ship after two straight defeats and set-up a big showdown at Loganville next week. Lanier kept a stranglehold on first in the region with a 31-10 defeat of Salem.
Elsewhere, Habersham Central notched its first win of the campaign, 21-6 over Johns Creek in Region 6-AAAAAA.
In Region 8-AAAA, North Hall maintained its push for the playoffs, blanking Monroe Area 25-0. Buford and Stephens County also maintained their undefeated marks in region play, the Wolves dominating North Oconee 56-7 and Stephens dumping Madison County 39-13. White County also kept its playoff hopes alive courtesy a 52-11 win at Chestatee.
Mill Creek also kept its perfect record and drilled Collins Hill 42-17 to get off to a great start in its key three-game slate to end the 7-AAAAAA campaign.
Be sure to check out our Friday Game Night page for game stories and video highlights from Week 9 action.
WEEK 9 AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES, Oct. 23
Athens Christian 43, Lakeview Academy 21
Buford 56, North Oconee 7
Centennial 49, North Forsyth 39
Commerce 49, Towns County 0
Dawson County 45, Banks County 0
East Hall 34, Franklin County 27
Gainesville 46, Cedar Shoals 18
Greene County 39, Riverside Military 0
Habersham Central 21, Johns Creek 6
Heritage, Conyers 34, Apalachee 14
Jackson County 69, East Jackson 7
Lanier 31, Salem 10
Mill Creek 42, Collins Hill 17
North Gwinnett 53, Duluth 7
North Hall 25, Monroe Area 0
Rabun County 43, Washington-Wilkes 10
Stephens County 39, Madison County 13
West Hall 40, Fannin County 37 2OT
White County 52, Chestatee 11
Winder-Barrow 21, Clarke Central 17
