AJC Varsity reporter and GHSF Daily editor Chip Saye ranks the most surprising and notable games of the weekend.
1. Defending champs fall: Three reigning state champions — Creekside, Carver (Columbus) and Bowdon — lost their season openers Friday night. Creekside lost 29-20 to Alabama’s Clay-Chalkville, a Birmingham-area school that has won three of the past five Class 6A titles in Alabama. Two-time defending champion Carver had its 27-game winning streak come to an end with a 28-7 loss to Douglass, which was projected as a 12-point underdog by the computer Maxwell Ratings. Bowdon, which has won four straight state titles, lost 38-19 to 16-point underdog Bremen in a west Georgia rivalry game.
2. Toombs County 58, Benedictine 21: Toombs County, the new No. 1-ranked team in Class 3A, recorded perhaps the most impressive victory with a lopsided win over 16-point favorite Benedictine, then the No. 2 team in 5A. Toombs County was 1-4 in its previous five tries in the series, although the teams hadn’t met since 2017. Toombs County was the Class A Division I champion in 2024 and lost in the final last year. Benedictine has won four state titles since 2014.
3. Droughts ended: Two long losing streaks came to an end at the Bibb County Gridiron Classic. Central (Macon) broke a school-record 22-game losing streak with a 30-0 victory over five-point favorite Greenville in a game that ended late in the first half because of bad weather. Rutland, an eight-point favorite, snapped a 21-game losing streak with a 54-6 victory over Crawford County. Neither Central nor Rutland had won a game since late October 2023.
4. Sandy Creek 21, Grayson 13: Sandy Creek, the Class 3A champion now competing in 4A, beat 7A power and 12-point favorite Grayson, sending the Rams to an 0-2 start for the first time since 2013. Sandy Creek will be tested by another Class 7A top-10 team this week when it meets No. 7 Douglas County. Grayson began the season as the No. 3 team but dropped out of the rankings after losing to now-No. 3 North Gwinnett on Aug. 12.
5. Calhoun County 22, Pelham 20: Calhoun County pulled off the biggest upset of the week, according to Maxwell, with its victory over 38-point Pelham in a Class A game. The game was the first for the Cougars under new head coach Deshon Brock, who spent the past five seasons at Bradwell Institute. A small roster limited Calhoun County to three games or less each season from 2021 to 2023, but the Cougars are 6-13 since then.
Worth noting: Dalton spoiled the debut of Rockmart coach Rich Fendley with a 35-21 victory over the Yellow Jackets, who were 11-point favorites. Fendley won state titles the past four seasons at Bowdon. Dalton coach Chris Prewett started last season 0-5 after inheriting a team that went 0-10 in 2024 but has gone 4-3 since. … Glenn Hills is 1-0 for the first time since 2017 after a 28-6 victory over 23-point favorite Butler. Glenn Hills was 0-10 last year and 6-51 over the past six seasons. Butler won 52-6 last year. … McIntosh ended a nine-game losing streak against Starr’s Mill with a 24-14 victory over its Fayette County neighbor, which was a 13-point favorite. The win was just the second in the 21-game history of the series for McIntosh and the Chiefs’ first as the visiting team. … North Springs, under first-year coach Walter Vaughn, is 1-0 for the first time since 2017 with a 48-12 victory over Fulton County rival Riverwood, a 19-point favorite. North Springs had lost 11 of the past 14 meetings but leads the overall series 25-19-1. … Utopian Academy, which began playing varsity football in 2024, picked up the second win in program history when it defeated 20-point favorite B.E.S.T. Academy, 20-13. Utopian Academy’s other victory also came against B.E.S.T. Academy, 14-12 in last year’s season opener.
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