GAINESVILLE — The opening weekend of the Georgia High School Association football season was everything we were expecting it to be.
Two marquee statewide matchups involving Northeast Georgia teams lived up to the hype Friday night.
In Jefferson, a battle of No. 1 teams, saw Malaki Starks and the host Dragons hold off Gunner Stockton and Rabun County, 22-13, in a game that was delayed 97 minutes for lightning in the first half. Neither Starks nor Stockton, both Georgia-commits, put up big numbers but both defenses were the reasons why. In the end, the Dragons stopped the Wildcats deep in their territory late in the fourth quarter and the offense ran out the final four minutes to preserve the win.
Over in Acworth, Class 6A No. 1-ranked Buford was able to overcome an early deficit against Class 7A third-ranked North Cobb, to win, 35-27, in the Corky Kell Classic.
Class 4A No. 8-ranked Flowery Branch exorcised some demons for their first-ever win over an Atlanta-area private school, 21-14, beating Class 5A eighth-ranked St. Pius X on the road. The Falcons rallied from a 14-0 deficit to tie the game 14-14 by halftime. There were a combined four possessions in the second half with Branch's David Renard scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to lift the Falcons to the victory.
At City Park, Gainesville's offense blasted out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but Johns Creek scored 26 unanswered points to win the lightning-shortened game, 26-10, in the Corky Kell Classic at City Park.
In all, 19 games involving Northeast Georgia area teams were completed on Friday.
Region 7-3A as a whole had a solid start to the season with Cherokee Bluff, North Hall, and West Hall all winning their openers. The Bears routed Johnson 57-7 at home while the Trojans held off Paulding County 23-14. Cass whipped Dawson County 27-19; West Hall outlasted East Jackson 14-7, and Stephens County knocked off White County 34-20 at The Reservation. Lumpkin County fell 20-6 to Franklin County, and East Forsyth, playing its first game in school history, dropped a 20-0 decision to Ridgeland at home.
Towns County opened the season with a 29-6 road win over Kings Academy. Riverside Military Academy and Notre Dame Academy game was called due to rain. The two schools will reschedule.
You can find stories on Friday night’s action on our Friday Game Night page.
AUGUST 20 SCORES
Buford 35, North Cobb 27
Cass 27, Dawson Co. 19
Cherokee Bluff 57, Johnson 7
Commerce 10, Banks County 0
Fannin County 34, Union County 7
Flowery Branch 21, St. Pius 14
Franklin Co. 20, Lumpkin Co. 6
Johns Creek 26, Gainesville 10
Jefferson 22, Rabun County 13
Lanier Christian Academy 68, Covington 0
Madison County 28, Habersham Central 25
Mt. Paran Christian 48, Lakeview 13
North Forsyth 37, Alcovy 7
North Hall 23, Paulding County 14
Ridgeland 20, East Forsyth 0
Riverside vs. Notre Dame Academy (POSTPONED)
Stephens County 34, White County 20
Towns County 29, Kings Academy 6
West Hall 14, East Jackson 7
