A pair of titanic non-region showdowns and some key region matchups highlighted another solid night of prep football around the northeast Georgia area Friday night.
Buford and Archer staged perhaps the biggest matchup of the night in the entire state as the Class 5A No. 1-ranked Wolves played host to the Class 7A No. 6-ranked Tigers, and it was not a letdown. Buford went for two in overtime and converted to beat Archer, 29-28 at Tom Riden Stadium.
In Flowery Branch, the Falcons and Gainesville renewed the annual rivalry with The Branch using their ground attack and a few timely big plays against the Red Elephants' ground attack in a 35-21 win at home. It is the first back-to-back wins in the series for Flowery Branch since the 2006-07 seasons. The Falcons won 28-19 in 2018 at City Park Stadium, and the 14-point win Friday was their largest margin of victory ever in the series.
Habersham Central made it three straight wins with a 34-19 victory over Franklin County in Carnesville. The Raiders will be riding a lot of momentum when they open Region 8-6A play next week at home against Class 6A eighth-ranked Lanier.
Riverside Military Academy went toe-to-toe for a half with No. 4-ranked Prince Avenue in a Region 8-A crossover game. The Eagles could not hold on as the Wolverines blew out the Eagles in the second-half, 70-27, in Bogart.
Meanwhile, Regions 7-3A, 8-3A, and 7-4A all got their all-important region schedules underway on Friday. In Region 7-4A, defending Class 4A state champion Blessed Trinity beat West Hall 38-6; Denmark blew past Chestatee 58-0, and Marist pounded out a 35-20 over White County in Atlanta.
In Region 7-3A, Dawson County rolled past rival Lumpkin County 45-0 in Dahlonega; Greater Atlanta Christian pulled away from East Hall in the second half for a 49-7 win in Valhalla, and North Hall ended a two-game losing streak knocking off Cherokee Bluff 42-14 at The Brickyard.
In Region 8-3A, Hart County struggled a bit against the Bulldogs early but used a big second half to roll to a 56-13 win over Jackson County in Hartwell. Jefferson had no trouble scoring in a 70-6 win on the road.
All three area teams in Region 8-2A continued their strong starts with road wins. Banks County whipped Oglethorpe County 49-14 in Lexington; Rabun County routed Monticello 49-20, and Union County hammered Putnam County 70-57 in Eatonton.
(Scroll down for a look at the scores from area teams and a look at next week's schedule.)
AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCORES FOR SEPT. 27
Athens Academy 77, Towns County 6
Banks County 49, Oglethorpe County 14*
Blessed Trinity 38, West Hall 6*
Buford 29, Archer 28 OT
Commerce 42, Madison County 14
Dawson County 45, Lumpkin County 0*
Denmark 58, Chestatee 0*
Flowery Branch 35, Gainesville 21
George Walton Academy 55, Lakeview Academy 12
Greater Atlanta Christian 49, East Hall 7*
Habersham Central 34, Franklin County 19
Hart County 56, Jackson County 13*
Jefferson 70, East Jackson 6*
Lanier Christian Academy 28, Central Academy 0
Marist 35, White County 20*
North Hall 42, Cherokee Bluff 14*
Prince Avenue 70, Riverside 27
Rabun County 49, Monticello 20*
Union County 74, Putnam County 57*
AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FOR OCT. 4
Banks County at Rabun County*
Buford at Johnson*
Cherokee Christian at Lanier Christian Academy
Chestatee at Marist*
Dawson County at East Hall*
Denmark at West Hall*
East Jackson at Monroe Area*
Elbert County at Union County*
Fannin County at Cherokee Bluff*
Franklin County at Jefferson*
Gainesville at Dacula*
Hebron Christian at Lakeview Academy*
Lanier at Habersham Central*
Morgan County at Jackson County*
North Hall at Greater Atlanta Christian*
Riverside Military at Towns County*
White County at Flowery Branch*
(* -- denotes region game)
