5 Things: What we learned from Week 11 of high school football

Region championships were clinched, postseason hopes were decided and the playoff bracket picture got a little bit clearer Friday night.

Here are five things we learned in Week 11 of high school football:

1. Defense wins (region) championships

Two region championships were clinched Friday night, and both were decided by the defenses of teams that are normally talked about for their offensive weaponry. The biggset upset of the night came in the Region 8-4A championship game as North Oconee knocked off then-top ranked Jefferson at Memorial Stadium 11-6. It was the lowest scoring output by the Dragons in head coach Gene Cathcart's five-year tenure in Jefferson and it gave the Titans their first region title in 9 years. In 7-3A, Cherokee Bluff captured their second straight region crown with a 28-26 win over North Hall at Lynn Cottrell Stadium at The Brickyard. The game was decided by three key defensive sequences by the Bears in the second half. The first was a three-play goal line stand in the third quarter that forced North Hall to kick a field goal and keep the game within one possession. The second was a fumble return for a touchdown by Cherokee Bluff's Connor Hulsey that gave the team their first lead of the game. The final one was a stop of a two-point conversion attempt in the final two minutes that preserved the two-point win. The old saying is true: defense wins championships.

2. Gunner Stockton's excellence has reached historic heights

We have written enough about Rabun County senior quarterback Gunner Stockton on this website over the last four years to fill a small novel. He has certainly given us plenty to write about. Friday night, in a 56-14 blowout of arch-rival Union County in Blairsville that gave the Wildcats their eighth consecutive Region 8-2A championship, Stockton wrote his name into another page of the Georgia high school football history books. Stockton threw a one-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to Tate Ramey which gave him the state's all-time record for career passing touchdowns, surpassing former Cartersville star and current Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Stockton went on to throw five touchdowns in the game. Earlier in the year, he set the all-time state record for career total touchdowns, surpassing former Gainesville star Deshaun Watson. Stockton and his top-ranked team will now have a week to rest before the most anticipated playoff run in program history. Rabun County has never won a state championship, but Stockton and the rest of their star-studded roster will give them what may be their best chance to date.

3. Daniels has led Commerce to the brink of another region title

The most fun story to follow in Northeast Georgia football this fall has been the rise of Commerce freshman running back Jaiden Daniels. Unless, of course, you've been one of the unfortunate defenses who have tried to slow him down. Despite playing only seven games so far, he has amassed over 1,300 yards so far this season. It's been a spark for a team that struggled offensively early in the season. Now the Tigers are one win away from a second straight Region 8-A Public championship. Daniels ran for 229 yards and four touchdowns Friday night as Commerce upset eighth-ranked Washington-Wilkes 31-20 at Tiger Stadium. With all the roster and coaching turnover the team experienced this offseason, a region title was almost unthinkable just a few short weeks ago. Now it's within reach. A win on the road at Lincoln County would give them the title, and while that is never an easy task, Daniels will certainly give them a chance. Given that he's only a freshman, one has to wonder: just how good can this kid be in the years to come?

4. Flowery Branch rounding into playoff form

If you stopped following Flowery Branch after they lost three games out of four in a stretch earlier in the season, you may have made a mistake. The Falcons have rebounded since their last loss, which was to newly-crowned Region 8-4A champion North Oconee in Week 8, Flowery Branch has won three straight, with the most recent being a 30-20 win over cross-county foe Chestatee at Falcon Field Friday night. The win booked the team's fifth straight trip to the state playoffs. The defense has been one of the best in the area, allowing just 16 points per game so far this year. The offense, meanwhile, is starting to develop a sturdy and diverse ground game. Myles Ivey has been the feature and he ran for over 150 yards against the War Eagles, but Malik Dryden has proved effective as well and quarterback David Renard has had multiple games this year with more than 100 yards rushing, including Friday night. Flowery Branch will enter the playoffs on the road as they will be the number-three seed in 8-4A, but they will be a third seed that no one will want to see in the first round of the playoffs.

5. Surprise, surprise...North Hall and Dawson County will battle for home playoff game

There are only a few things certain in life: death, taxes and North Hall and Dawson County playing at the end of the regular season with a home playoff game on the line. At least that's been the case in Region 7-3A for the last four years. The Trojans and Tigers will once again face off with the winner guaranteed the number-two seed in the region and a home state playoff game next week. The stakes were set up last week by the Trojans 28-26 loss to region champion Cherokee Bluff and Dawson County's blowout win over rival Lumpkin County. North Hall has won the last two games in the series, including a 34-21 win at The Brickyard last year. The game will be in Dawsonville this time and will once again be a clash of styles between Dawson County's high-flying passing attack and North Hall's ground-and-pound wing-t. There will likely be some fireworks in this game, as both offenses have proved to be explosive. Tigers' quarterback Zach Holtzclaw and receiver Bailey Dameron are never more than one throw away from the end zone on any snap and Trojans running back Kevin Rochester gashed Cherokee Bluff's defense for over 250 yards Friday night. It should be a fun battle to watch.

Cherokee Bluff's defense tackles North Hall running back Kevin Rochester in the Bears' 28-26 win at Lynn Cottrell Stadium at The Brickyard Friday night

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