Stephenson-East Coweta headlines big week of Georgia games

Counting by sevens, here is a look at some of the best games and performances for the week that is, and was, in Georgia:

The seven best games this week:
* Stephenson (Stone Mountain) at East Coweta (Sharpsburg): These are two of the three remaining unbeaten teams in Class AAAAA. North Gwinnett is the other. The winner will be the frontrunner in Region 2-AAAAA. Each team has one of the top rushers in the state – Demarcus Godfrey of East Coweta and Willie Davis of Stephenson.

* Etowah (Woodstock) at Woodstock: This is the unofficial championship of Cherokee County. They are the leaders of Region 5-AAAAA, and the winner can expect to break the state's Top 10 rankings.

* Grady (Atlanta) at St. Pius X Catholic (Atlanta): These are the top-rated teams in Region 5-AAA. Both are averaging more than 40 points per game. Grady has AJC Super 11 WR/DB Damian Swann, who has offers from Georgia and Alabama.

* Griffin at Dutchtown (Hampton): These are the top two teams in Division A of Region 3-AAAA. Griffin has Corey Moore, a defensive back who has committed to Georgia, and defensive end Xzavier Dickson, an AJC Super 11 player with more than 30 offers. Dutchtown is a 7-year-old school that has equaled its best win total in history this year under coach Jason Galt.

* Burke County (Waynesboro) at Washington County (Sandersville): This is for the lead in Region 3-AAA. Burke must put the brakes on Washington County’s all-state running back Montravious “Whistle” Gladdin, who is 70 yards short of 1,000 for the season.

* Calhoun at Dade County (Trenton): Both are 7-0 in Region 7-AA. Calhoun made the state finals last year, while Dade is a Chattanooga-area school that is having its best season in more than 10 years under a coach, Bradley Warren, who returned to his alma mater two years ago.

* Greenville at Marion County (Buena Vista): This is for the lead in Region 4-A. Marion County is 7-0. For 6-1 Greenville, this is a must-win game to defend its region title. Greenville is coached by Jeremy Williams, whose inspiring battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) while leading a state-contending team has been the subject of many national stories.

The seven most significant games last week:
* Lowndes (Valdosta) 37, Colquitt County 27: These teams were nationally ranked in some preseason polls. Lowndes jumped to a 23-0 first-half lead and held on. Colquitt County quarterback Tyler Brown threw three touchdown passes to cut the lead to 23-20 but was intercepted early in the fourth quarter by Josh Clemons, who returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Lowndes is now the clear front-runner in famous Region 1-AAAAA with Valdosta and Colquitt each with one region loss.

* Norcross 14, Peachtree Ridge 7: Peachtree Ridge, another team that was ranked nationally in the preseason, has lost two in a row now. Trailing 7-0, Norcross scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the last one on an 88-yard drive. Norcross is now 6-1 and trails only North Gwinnett in Region 7-AAAAA.

* Northside (Warner Robins) 34, Thomas County Central 14: Northside, ranked No. 1 in Class AAAA, took control of Region 1-AAAA. Quarterback Briar Van Brunt rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown and upstaged Thomas Central quarterback Eric Dodson, who was held to 65 yards on five carries.

* Gainesville 49, Monroe Area 17: Freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson threw for 156 yards and rushed for 78 but gave way several times to the wildcat formation and linebacker A.J. Johnson, who rushed for three touchdowns. Monroe Area had been unbeaten, but Gainesville – the Class AAA runner-up last year – is back in control of Region 8-AAA.

* Swainsboro 7, Dublin 3: In a game between ranked Class AA teams, Swainsboro attempted and complete only one pass – a 42-yard TD throw from Lynquez Blair to Shaquille Cowart that set up the winning touchdown. Dewan Somerville's 5-yard run with 9:05 left in the third quarter gave Swainsboro a 7-3 lead and ended the scoring. Swainsboro is 7-0 for the first time since its state championship season of 2000.

* Fitzgerald 28, Thomasville 21: Kaleb Nobles threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Matt Taylor on a fourth-and-11 in overtime, then recovered a bad pitch from Thomasville to seal the victory. Fitzgerald had trailed 13-0 in the first half. Both of these state-ranked teams are still trailing Cook (7-0) in Region 1-AA.

* Clarke Central (Athens) 42, Apalachee 21: Clarke Central, the 2009 state runner-up in Class AAAA, beat the reigning Region 8-AAAA champion. Clarke scored on its first four possessions of the game to lead 28-7.

The seven upsets last week:
* Cedar Grove (Ellenwood) 36, Woodward Academy 23: Cedar Grove (5-3) moved into first place in Region 5-AAA Division B and kept alive its hopes for its first region championship since 1991 by knocking off a Woodward Academy team that was undefeated and ranked No. 7 last week.

* Dunwoody 20, Marist 0: Marist struggled for the second consecutive week. After barely escaping Lakeside of Atlanta 6-3 in overtime on Oct. 8, the War Eagles (5-2) lost to a Dunwoody team that was 2-4 and fell into a second-place tie with Mays and Southwest DeKalb in Region 6-AAAA.

* Carver (Atlanta) 28, Mays 21: Carver (3-4) pulled off the other surprise in Region 6-AAAA, handing Mays its second consecutive loss after starting the season 5-0.

* North Forsyth (Cumming) 21, West Forsyth 0: West Forsyth (6-2) appeared set to cruise to the 6-AAAAA title with a 3-0 region record. Now it is one of five teams, including North Forsyth, with one loss in region play.

* East Paulding (Dallas) 26, Hiram 14: Playing in the state's most competitive subregion (5-AAAA North), East Paulding (5-2 overall, 2-2 in the region) put itself back in the playoff picture by beating Hiram (6-2, 3-2), which had been in second place behind Kell.

* Evans 20, Statesboro 15: Evans is in the driver's seat in Region 2-AAAA Division B and can claim the subregion championship with victories in its final two games against Effingham County and Lakeside of Evans.

* Hephzibah 28, Butler 22: Butler, which had lost 41 consecutive games before starting this season 5-0, fell for the second consecutive week. The Bulldogs' 42-14 loss to Washington County on Oct. 8 was not a surprise, but their loss to a Hephzibah team that was 1-5 surely was.

The seven great performances last week:
* Cartersville backup running back Kendall Martinez rushed for 239 yards and four touchdowns in a 44-9 victory over Murray County.

* Clarke Central (Athens) quarterback Martay Mattox thew for 179 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 100 yards and one touchdown and intercepted a pass in a 42-21 victory over Apalachee.

* Dalton running back Tre Beck rushed for 315 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-10 victory over Ringgold.

* Jefferson County (Louisville) running back Dontavius Kitchens rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-0 victory over Southeast Bulloch.

* Josey (Augusta) quarterback Markquis Burton passed for 295 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-26 loss to Grovetown.

* Lee County (Leesburg) quarterback Justin Walker was 27-for-48 passing for 428 yards and five touchdowns in a 39-32 victory over Hardaway.

* Pepperell (Lindale) sophomore running back Janier Ferguson rushed for 332 yards and four touchdowns on 25 carries in a 47-26 victory over Adairsville.