5 Things: What we learned from Week 10 of high school football

Playoff spots were clinched, region championship matchups were set and enough upsets were sprinkled in along the way to make for a very interesting Friday of high school football in Northeast Georgia.

Here are five things we learned from Week 10:

1. Cherokee Bluff-North Hall "Part Two" will once again decide 7-3A

This is one sequel that looks like it could be better than the original. Cherokee Bluff and North Hall will meet at The Brickyard this Friday with the Region 7-3A championship trophy in the building. It's the second year in a row the two have met with these stakes. The Bears held off Dawson County 21-14 thanks to a stifling defense that picked off Tigers' quarterback Zach Holtzclaw three times. The Trojans, meanwhile, had a BYE week to rest up Friday as they prepare for a chance at revenge against the team that ended their region title hopes in 2020. A Cherokee Bluff win this week would give the Bears their second straight region crown, while a North Hall win would put the Trojans one win away if Dawson County wins against underdog Lumpkin County. That scenario would also keep the Tigers alive for the 7-3A championship. It will be a contrast of styles between North Hall's wing-t attack and Cherokee Bluff's pro-style offense. Last year, the Trojans had the lead midway through the third quarter, only to see the Bears dominate the final quarter and a half in Flowery Branch to win 41-24.

2. Flowery Branch regrouping ahead of another likely playoff run

If you forgot about Flowery Branch after their back-to-back region losses to Jefferson and North Oconee, you may have made a mistake. The Falcons are starting to look like their old selves again and it showed Friday night in a 32-8 rout of Madison County in Danielsville. It was their second win a row with both being must-wins after an 0-2 start in Region 8-4A play. Now they are just one win away from clinching a playoff spot for the fifth year in a row, and if they stay on their current pace, they'll enter the bracket playing some of their best ball of the year. They beat Cedar Shoals and Madison County by a combined 66-22 tally and have largely done it with a stifling defense that has stifled opponents, allowing their offense to grind out points. That defense is allowing just 15 points per game on the season, which will give you a chance against anybody in the postseason. While Flowery Branch will enter the playoffs as a road seed, they look much better than your average third seed and will be a team that no one will want to see in the first round.

3. White County offense starting to click, just in the "Nix" of time

White County's mid-season struggles appear to be well behind them. The Warriors are now firmly back in the playoff picture after blowout road wins over West Hall and Lumpkin County and they can clinch a playoff spot this Friday with a win over Gilmer in Cleveland. The turnaround can be directly correlated with the turnaround of the offense behind the quarterback play of freshman Tripp Nix. Nix struggled early in the year, but is now playing nothing like a freshman. He threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns in the team's 49-13 rout of Lumpkin County in Dahlonega Friday night. White County averaged less than 14 points per game through the first four games of the season (1-4 in that stretch), but since then they are averaging more than 34 points per game. With weapons like Darius Cannon, Silas Mulligan and Bryson Cronic, they are starting to look like a unit that could provide some problems for teams late in the year. Those with good memories will recall that this is the same team that routed Cherokee Bluff in the final week of the regular season in 2020 just a week after the Bears had wrapped up the Region 7-3A championship.

4. East Jackson finding footing in Pettus' third year

Patience can pay off, and that has been true on both small and large scales for East Jackson football. On the small scale, the Eagles have played a slower pace of play in 2021 than in years' past, leaning on a rushing attack led by Tyler Crow and a stingy defense to limit opponents' possessions and win lower-scoring games. On the larger scale, they finally seem to have some footing in head coach Cameron Pettus' third year in Nicholson. After a 3-0 start his first year on the job in 2019, East Jackson then lost 17 of their next 18 games stretching into the early part of this season. Since then, they are 3-3 and have been looking much more competitive. Now they are still alive for a possible playoff spot after snapping a 24-game losing streak in region play with a 26-0 shutout of Franklin County Friday night. A playoff berth would have to come via an upset in the murderer's row that is Region 8-3A, but the fact that East Jackson is playing meaningful football in late October is a sign that fortunes may be changing for a program that hasn't made the postseason since 2009.

5. "Battle of Oakwood" will be for pride alone, but that will be plenty

This year's Battle of Oakwood between West Hall and Johnson will be a unique one. While it is a non-region game, as it has been since 2012, it will be in Week 11, making it the penultimate game for both teams rather than the early-season contest it has traditionally been. Because of that, both teams' playoff fates have already been decided. The Spartans had their playoff hopes dashed with a 26-21 loss at Gilmer Friday night while the Knights were also eliminated with a loss at Greenbrier. That means this year's edition of the rivalry will be for nothing other than pride, but don't think that will mean the game won't be spirited. The disdain between the two programs hasn't gone anywhere and it will likely be on full display as both teams look for a chance to have a sweet win late in a disappointing season. West Hall won last year's matchup 50-0 at Billy Ellis Memorial Stadium, but this year the series shifts back to the Hot Gates of Spartan Field. The last time the Battle of Oakwood was played there, Johnson stunned the Spartans on a walk-off field goal 30-27.