Saye It Ain’t So: Surprising and notable results from Week 2
Ranking the most surprising and notable games of the weekend:
1. Seckinger 34, Archer 27: Seckinger (2-0) of Class 5A recorded the biggest victory in the school’s three-year history when it defeated 39-point favorite Archer of Class 6A, making it the Maxwell Ratings’ biggest upset of the week. Seckinger was 3-14 the past two seasons playing a non-region schedule in a lower classification, with the wins coming against Oglethorpe County, Heritage of Newnan and Cross Keys.
2. Calhoun County 40, Terrell County 14: Calhoun County, which had been playing eight-man football since the COVID-19 pandemic essentially shut down the varsity program in 2020, got its first victory of the new era when it defeated 37-point favorite Terrell County. Calhoun County’s last 11-man win came on Oct. 18, 2019, against Randolph-Clay.
3. Fannin County 28, Rabun County 7: Fannin County entered the rankings this week at No. 5, the highest in school history, after a victory over 14-point favorite and then-No. 4 Rabun County in a Class A Division I game. It was Fannin County’s first win against a top-10 team since 1995, and its second overall, breaking a 32-game losing streak in those games.
4. Dodge County 19, Bleckley County 16: Dodge County, a 1-9 team last season, defeated 15-point favorite Bleckley County in its season opener and the debut of head coach Phillip Brown. The victory propelled Dodge County into the Class A Division I rankings at No. 7, the spot previously held by Bleckley County, which fell out of the top 10.
5. East Jackson 14, Commerce 13: East Jackson, a 14-point underdog, beat then-No. 6 Commerce of Class A Division I for its first victory in three tries against its rival from about five miles up the road. It was East Jackson’s first win against a top-10 opponent in the history of a school that opened in 2007. The Eagles had been 0-25 against ranked opponents.
Worth noting: Campbell is 2-0 for the second time since 2015 after defeating 14-point favorite South Forsyth 48-7. It was the Spartans’ second-largest margin of victory in 10 years. Campbell is giving up just 3.5 points per game after allowing 30.8 in 2023. … Cook defeated 16-point favorite Bainbridge 13-10 for its first victory in the series since 1954 (although this was just the seventh meeting since). Bainbridge started the season No. 5 in Class 3A but is now 0-2 for the first time since 2016. … East Paulding ended a six-game losing streak against its county rival when it defeated 24-point favorite North Paulding 43-23. It was the second consecutive week in which North Paulding was involved in an upset. The Wolfpack defeated eight-point favorite Parkview in Week 1. … Pike County, an 0-10 team last season, is 2-0 after a 21-20 victory over 14-point favorite Haralson County. Pike County is playing its first season under head coach Stephen Holmes, who led Manchester to a runner-up finish in Class A Division II last season. … Walnut Grove defeated Walton County rival Loganville 48-19 for its first victory in the nine-game history of the series. Loganville, favored by 17 points in this one, had won the first eight meetings (most recently 39-0 in 2021) by an average of 27 points.