The first week of high school football is in the books. Multiple big matchups headlined the opening week in Northeast Georgia, and they did not disappoint.
At City Park in a top-10 matchup in class 6A, it was Gainesville that came through as the victor in a close 34-26 win over Marist, while Buford imposed their will in Dylan Raiola's debut in an 18-0 win over St. Frances Academy.
While many will look at those two contests, there were other major results that caused some ripples in the area, including Habersham Central nearly pulling off an upset of top-10 in Class 3A Stephens County, ultimately falling 31-29, while North Hall pulled away in the second half to defeat White County in a shootout, 49-34.
East Hall went on to beat West Hall in the annual battle of cross-county rivals by a 35-28 score, and Commerce downed Southside Christian (S.C.) 21-19. Flowery Branch ran past Decatur, 38-7, and Jackson County opened the Korey Mobbs era with a 16-0 shutout of Dawson County.
You can check AccessWDUN's Friday Game Night page for game stories and video highlights.
SCORES FOR FRIDAY, Aug. 18
Banks County 53, Johnson 13
Buford 18, St. Frances Academy (Md.) 0
Commerce 21, Southside Christian 19
East Jackson 14, Oglethorpe County 7
East Hall 35, West Hall 28
Flowery Branch 38, Decatur 7
Gainesville 34, Marist 26
Hayesville (NC) 35, Towns County 2
Hebron Christian 70, Chestatee 14
Jackson County 16, Dawson County 0
Jefferson 34, Alpharetta 24
Kings' Ridge 20, Lakeview Academy 13
Lumpkin County at Riverside Prep (CANCELED)
North Hall 49, White County 34
Rabun County 45, Haralson County 21
Skipstone Academy 62, Lanier Christian 41
Stephens County 31, Habersham Central 29
SCORES FOR THURSDAY, Aug. 17
Archer 35, North Forsyth 14
Union County 50, Fannin County 12
West Forsyth 40, Cherokee Bluff 7
