On the most important night of the high school football season to this point, a half-dozen northeast Georgia area teams put themselves in positions to capture region titles as some huge games Friday night around the area and state got the final month of the season off to an exciting start.
Two-time defending Class 4A state champion Blessed Trinity served up another overtime win against Flowery Branch 20-17 on the road in the first skirmish of Region 7-4A unbeatens. Jefferson also made another big push for its first region title since 2016 holding off Morgan County at Memorial Stadium, 47-12, as the Dragons have now won two straight Region 8-3A contests of region unbeatens as well.
Buford also put itself within a game of winning its fourth consecutive Region 8-5A title after a 30-7 thumping of Loganville at Tom Riden Stadium. Johnson's upset bid against Cedar Shoals came up short, 26-21. Rabun County and Union County both continued along their collision course for the Region 8-2A title. The Wildcats routed a good Elbert County squad, 52-14, at The Granite Bowl while the Panthers, playing without star quarterback Pierson Allison pulled a close one off against Banks County, 14-7 in Homer.
And, Commerce and Riverside Military Academy each took another big step to setting up a showdown in two weeks for the top spot in Region 8-A Subregion B with big wins Friday night. Hebron Christian outfired Commerce, 21-7, at Tiger Stadium and Lakeview Academy shocked Riverside for the Lions' first win of the season, 21-20, in Gainesville.
Other teams like North Hall, which beat Fannin County 38-0 and Cherokee Bluff, which won its second straight game in a 41-12 win over East hall, stayed alive for playoff spots in Region 7-3A. White County beat West Hall 42-0 in Cleveland to keep its Region 7-4A playoff hopes alive.
East Jackson extended its losing streak to four games with a 35-14 loss to Franklin County.
You can look below for all the scores on Friday night's action and next week's schedule for area teams. You can read about all of Friday night's games on our Friday Game Night page.
AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES FOR OCT. 18
Cherokee Bluff 41, East Hall 12
Franklin County 35, East Jackson 14
Blessed Trinity 20, Flowery Branch 17
Hebron Christian 21, Commerce 7
Cedar Shoals 26, Johnson 21
Lakeview Academy 21, Riverside Military 20
North Georgia 35, Lanier Christian Academy 14
Buford 30, Loganville 7
Greater Atlanta Christian 49, Lumpkin County 6
Jefferson 47, Morgan County 12
North Hall 38, Fannin County 0
Rabun County 52, Elbert County 14
Union County 14, Banks County 7
White County 42, West Hall 0
AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FOR OCT. 25
Cherokee Bluff at Greater Atlanta Christian*
Chestatee at Blessed Trinity*
Denmark at White County*
East Jackson at Hart County*
Fannin County at Dawson County*
Franklin County at Jackson County*
Gainesville at Winder-Barrow*
Habersham Central at Dacula*
Hebron Christian at Riverside Military*
Jefferson at Monroe Area*
Lanier Christian Academy at Community Christian
Marist at Flowery Branch*
North Hall at Lumpkin County*
Oglethorpe County at Union County*
Prince Avenue Christian at Lakeview Academy*
Putnam County at Banks County*
Social Circle at Rabun County*
Towns County at Commerce*
(* -- denotes region game)
