The marquee matchup of the night at Memorial Stadium in Jefferson did not disappoint.
The No. 1-ranked Dragons dominated No. 7 Flowery Branch, 27-7, in both teams Region 8-4 openers. Jefferson's powerful rushing game was too much for a good Falcons defense as Sammy Brown had three touchdown runs, including a 57-yard scramble in the second half. East Hall dropped its opener 42-8 to Cedar Shoals on the road.
Meanwhile, Region 7-3A finally got its journey to the playoffs going with three huge showdowns across the area. Dawson County rallied from 14-points down in the third quarter to beat White County 31-28 in Cleveland on a field goal with 28 seconds left. And Cherokee Bluff shook off a slow start scoring 34 unanswered points to stay unbeaten in region road games since last year with a 40-6 win over Gilmer in Ellijay. And North Hall got a huge game from its wing-T offense in a 38-14 win over West Hall at The Hot Gates in Oakwood.
In Region 8-6A, Buford hammered Central Gwinnett on the road, 41-0, to open its region schedule. Habersham Central, however, suffered a tough offensive night in a 45-14 loss to Winder-Barrow at Raiders Stadium in its Region 8-6A opener.
Jackson County nearly pulled the biggest upset of the night in Athens. But Clarke Central cashed in a late Panthers turnover for a 34-30 win in a huge Region 8-5A contest.
Commerce snapped its losing streak with a 20-13 win over Mt. Paran at Tiger Stadium. Towns County knocked off previously-unbeaten Bethlehem Christian 14-11 on the road for the Indians' best start (4-1) since 2008.
Class 2A Rabun County continued to dominate out-of-state opponents with a 70-14 demolition of Pickens (SC) on the road. It's their third win over non-Georgia teams in 2021.
And Gainesville, after opening with a win in Region 6-7A last week, stepped out of the region for the last time in 2021 and pushed its win streak to four straight with a solid 20-7 win over Hillgrove in Powder Springs.
You can find stories on Friday night’s action on our Friday Game Night page.
SEPTEMBER 24 SCORES
Buford 41, Central Gwinnett 0*
Cedar Shoals 42, East Hall 8*
Cherokee Bluff 40, Gilmer 6*
Clarke Central 34, Jackson County 30*
Commerce 20, Mt. Paran 13
Dawson County 31, White County 28*
Gainesville 20, Hillgrove 7
Haralson County 56, Banks County 0
Jefferson 27, Flowery Branch 7*
Lanier Christian 65, Praise Academy 6
Loganville 42, Johnson 0*
Murphy (NC) 54, Union County 24
North Hall 38, West Hall 14*
Rabun County 70, Pickens (SC) 14
Toombs County 62, Riverside Military 0
Towns County 14, Bethlehem Christian 11
Winder-Barrow 45, Habersham Central 14*
(* -- denotes region game)
