It was an exciting night around northeast Georgia as nearly a dozen teams were fighting for their playoff lives Friday in prep high school football action.
Rabun County and North Gwinnett clinched region titles, and nearly half-a-dozen teams qualified for the state playoffs. However, with that meant that half-a-dozen teams as well saw their dreams of the playoffs come to an end.
(NOTE: For a complete look at games, stories and video highlights from throughout northeast Georgia, visit our Friday Game Night page.)
Rabun County did not take Oglethorpe County lightly with a 56-14 road victory that clinched a fourth consecutive Region 8-AA title for the Wldcats. North Gwinnett captured its first region title in 6-AAAAAAA title since 2014 with a 45-6 rout of Collins Hill.
Buford routed Loganville 49-0 to set up a showdown next week with Flowery Branch for the Region 8-AAAAA title. Dawson County also set up a title showdown next week against Greater Atlanta Christian in Region 7-AAA with a 42-21 win over arch-rival Lumpkin County behind another big game from senior quarterback Coey Watson at The Burial Grounds.
Region 8-AAAAAA saw its seeding situation loosen up slightly when Dacula knocked off Lanier 41-7 in Sugar Hill; Gainesville continuing its resurgence with a 35-12 victory over Apalachee; and Winder-Barrow holding off Habersham Central 40-28 in Mt. Airy. The Red Elephants can still snag the No. 2 seed with a win next week against Lanier and a Winder-Barrow loss to Dacula.
In Region 8-AAAA, Jefferson rebounded from its loss last week to St. Pius with a nail-biting 27-24 win over Stephens County and stayed alive for a top two seed. However, the loss for the Indians dealt their playoff aspirations a serious blow. They will now need to beat North Oconee next week and get some help to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 2009.
Jackson County clinched a playoff spot in Region 8-AAA with a 43-7 win over East Jackson. The loss for East Jackson also knocked the Eagles out of playoff contention.
Banks County clinched a playoff berth with a 14-7 win over Putnam County in Homer.
Other winners on the night for area teams were North Hall, Towns County, Union County, and White County.
East Hall, Lakeview Academy, Commerce, Chestatee, Fannin County, North Forsyth, and West Hall all suffered losses on Friday night.
WEEK 10 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES, OCT. 27
Athens Academy 22, Commerce 7
Athens Christian 25, Riverside Military Academy 22
Banks County 14, Putnam 7
Buford 49, Loganville 0
Cedar Shoals 41, Johnson 18
Dacula 41, Lanier 6
Dawson County 42, Lumpkin County 21
Gainesville 35, Apalachee 12
Jackson County 43, East Jackson 7
Jefferson 27, Stephens County 24
Marist 48, Chestatee 30
North Gwinnett 45, Collins Hill 6
North Hall 31, East Hall 20
Rabun County 56, Oglethorpe County 14
Towns County 56, Lakeview Academy 13
Union County 37, Fannin County 14
West Forsyth 35, North Forsyth 16
White County 33, West Hall 30
Winder-Barrow 40, Habersham Central 28
