Remarkably, there were no major hitches in Week 1 of the 2023 high school football season. Unless you want to count Riverside Prep canceling its opener with Lumpkin County because of a lack of available players as the Eagles worked to get their Acclimation requirements done.
And lack of press box space at some of the more high-profile matchups. (That’s another story down the road.) Other than that, it was a near-perfect weekend of football.
Overall, area teams covered by AccessWDUN went 12-11, but that included four matchups between area teams. Against outside competition, Northeast Georgia-area teams went 8-7 for the week.
East Forsyth, Lumpkin County, and Riverside Prep were off last week and will get things underway this week.
Among the highlighted matchups in Week 1, Buford won a nationally-ranked battle over Baltimore’s St. Frances Academy at Tom Riden Stadium. Gainesville won a ranked showdown in Class 6A over Marist at City Park, and Flowery Branch looked sharp in a win over Decatur at home.
However, Habersham Central lost a heartbreaker to arch-rival Stephens on a field goal with just 5 seconds left. Johnson’s losing streak increased to 33 with a loss at Banks County, while both Cherokee Bluff and North Forsyth were beaten up in games in the Corky Kell Classic.
Those are among the things covered in our first prep football notebook of the season:
ALREADY A POWER REGION? Region 8-2A which houses Banks County, East Jackson, and Union County, was perfect in Week 1 -- the only region in the state in all classifications to go unbeaten with every team playing non-region contests The region went 6-0 and did it in impressive fashion. The six teams, including Union County’s 50-12 destruction of Fannin County, won by an average of 32.1 points, with only East Jackson’s 14-7 win over Oglethorpe County being decided by less than 35 points.
So, are any of the other Northeast Georgia-area regions among the early power brokers in the state?
-- Region 8-7A went 4-2 last week. Buford and Mill Creek, ranked first and third, respectively, in Class 7A, both won.
-- Region 8-6A had a rough start going just 3-4. Gainesville, Jackson County, and Lanier all won with Habersham Central losing in the final seconds
-- Region 8-5A opened strong going 6-1, including wins by Jefferson and Flowery Branch at home.
-- Region 8-4A, considered a preseason power region in Class 4A, went just 4-4 last week, with three of the losses coming to lower classification teams. The most stunning was Walnut Grove’s loss to Class A Jasper County.
-- Region 7-3A also had a rough start going just 2-4, with Lumpkin County off last week. But three of the losses came to higher class teams.
-- Region 8-A Division 1 went 3-0 but Athens Christian did not play in Week 1.
-- Region 8-A Division 2 went just 3-3 with both Lincoln County and Washington-Wilkes dropping their openers, as did Towns County.
RUNNING BACK WATCH: There were some big performances last week for running backs in our area (of those where stats were provided to AccessWDUN).
-- Gavin Hall of Gainesville had a tremendous Red Elephants’ debut against Marist. Hall finished with 203 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries, including an electrifying 38-yard touchdown run.
-- West Hall got 176 yards rushing from Elijah Hayes.
-- Malik Dryden pounded out 140 yards with a TD for Flowery Branch in a win over Decatur.
-- Union County's Braylen Rader rushed for 135 yards and 4 TDs in a big win over Fannin County.
-- Jackson County’s MJ Spurlin had 120 yards and a TD in a win over Dawson County.
-- Jaiden Daniels and Jacari Huff both rushed for over 100 yards for Commerce in the Tigers' win over Southside Christian (SC).
-- Reid Giles had 86 yards rushing and 31 yards receiving with 2 total TDs in his first start for Rabun County.
BUILD THAT WALL: Meanwhile, there were some stellar defensive showings in the opening week as well. Buford and Jackson County pitched shutouts while Gainesville’s defense shut down Marist in the second half. With the game still in doubt, the Big Red defense, behind a swarming D-line rush, forced five TFL, including three sacks, gave up no first downs, and held Marist to minus-20 total yards over its last three drives. ... East Jackson held Oglethorpe County to just one score as the Eagles avenged a loss to the Patriots last year. Oglethorpe was a playoff team from 2022 and averaged just under 27 ppg and the 7 points was a regular season low going back to the end of the 2021 season.
NEW COACHES: Three coaches took the field for the first time with new teams. Only one, however, came away with a victory.
Korey Mobbs got a win in his first game with Jackson County. He spent seven seasons at Lanier.
Lakeview Academy’s Lee Coleman and Chestatee’s Stuart Cunningham did not fare as well in their debuts. Lakeview let a late lead slip away in a loss to King’s Ridge while Cunningham’s War Eagles were roughed up by Hebron Christian.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE for AUG. 25
Adairsville at Cherokee Bluff
Athens Christian at Lakeview Academy
Banks County at Oglethorpe County
Buford at Mallard Creek (Charlotte, NC)
Commerce at Murphy (NC)
East Forsyth at Seckinger
Flowery Branch at St. Pius -- WDUN AM 550
Forsyth Central at North Forsyth
Gainesville at Mountain View -- FM 94.5 The Lake
Habersham Central at White County
Jackson County at Duluth
Jefferson at Wren (SC)
Johnson at West Hall -- WDUN FM 102.9
Lambert at Dawson County
Rabun County at Stephens County
Riverside Prep at Walker
Social Circle at East Jackson
Towns County at Lake Oconee Academy
Union County at Lumpkin County
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
