Northeast Georgia area football teams have entered the home stretch of their playoff drives and Week 8 played a big role in exposing the front-runners in all six area regions in the AccessWDUN coverage area.
And no game was bigger than Jefferson and Hart County's monster Region 8-3A showdown in Hartwell Friday night. The Dragons used their punishing option attack to grind out a 28-23 victory over the Bulldogs. The win gave Jefferson (5-1, 3-0 Region 8-3A) sole possession of first place. Hart County (5-1, 1-1 Region 8-3A) suffered its first loss of the season and dropped into third place in the region after Monroe Area's (5-2, 2-1 Region 8-3A) win over Jackson County, 49-0, in Jefferson.
A close second was Dawson County trying to take down Greater Atlanta Christian in Region 7-3A in another battle for first place. The Tigers (5-2, 2-1 Region 7-3A) stayed close but could not get the lead as the Spartans (6-1, 3-0 Region 7-3A) held on for a 20-7 victory in Dawsonville. In otjer Region 7-3A action, Cherokee Bluff earned its first-ever region win outlasting Lumpkin County 45-14 in Dahlonega and Fannin County held off East Hall's upset bid in Rabbittown with a 49-26 victory.
Meanwhile, Johnson snapped a long Region 8-5A losing streak Friday night with a thrilling 24-22 win in four overtimes over Walnut Grove at The Dungeon. It was the first region win for the Knights (4-3, 1-1 Region 8-5A) who had been 0-18 since the current Region 8-5A was formed in 2016. And No. 1 Buford (7-0, 2-0 Region 8-5A) continued its long win Region 8-5A win streak blasting Cedar Shoals 31-13 at Tom Riden Stadium.
There were several big Region 7-4A matchups, highlighted by Flowery Branch's 40-7 win over Chestatee in Gainesville. Combined with Blessed Trinity's 20-19 win over Denmark, the Falcons (6-0, 2-0 Region 7-4A) stayed in the top tier of the region standings. Marist also kept pace with a 45-7 victory over West Hall.
At City Park Stadium, Gainesville took a big step toward another playoff run with a stunning 48-21 win over Habersham Central in Region 8-6A.
In Region 8-A, Commerce routed Lakeview Academy 47-7, Riverside Military ran past Providence Christian 37-5, and Hebron Christian beat Towns County 42-20.
And Lanier Christian fell 20-8 to John Hancock on the road.
AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES FOR OCT. 11
Buford 31, Cedar Shoals 13
Cherokee Bluff 45, Lumpkin County 14
Commerce 47, Lakeview Academy 7
Fannin County 49, East Hall 26
Flowery Branch 40, Chestatee 7
Gainesville 48, Habersham Central 21
Greater Atlanta Christian 20, Dawson County 7
Hebron Christian 42, Towns County 20
Jefferson 28, Hart County 23
John Hancock 20, Lanier Christian Academy 8
Johnson 24, Walnut Grove 22, 4 OT
Marist 45, West Hall 7
Monroe Area 49, Jackson County 0
Riverside Military 37, Providence Christian 5
AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FOR OCT. 18
East Hall at Cherokee Bluff*
East Jackson at Franklin County*
Flowery Branch at Blessed Trinity*
Hebron Christian at Commerce*
Johnson at Cedar Shoals*
Lakeview Academy at Riverside Military*
Lanier Christian Academy at North Georgia
Loganville at Buford*
Lumpkin County at Greater Atlanta Christian*
Morgan County at Jefferson*
North Hall at Fannin County*
Rabun County at Elbert County*
Union County at Banks County*
West Hall at White County*
(* -- denotes region game)
