Games at 7:30 p.m. unless noted. Rankings are compiled by the Georgia High School Football Daily and are composite rankings from AJC, GPB, ScoreAtlanta, 680 The Fan, Maxwell, and MaxPreps.

Friday

GHSA

Class 6A

No. 4/4A Perry at Houston County, 1-0

          The Panthers are, perhaps surprisingly, only 4-5 against Houston County schools since Kevin Smith took over in 2017, facing Houston County and Veterans. This is the fourth straight time Perry has opened with the Bears, who are 4-6 in their last 10 games against ranked teams in any class. It’ll be a big test for Houston County sophomore QB Antwann Hill, who was 20 of 25 for 260 yards and two TDs last week. Perry QB Armar Gordon passed for 2,990 yards last year, going for 301 yards on 20-of-28 passing against the Bears.

Class 5A

No. 3/5A Jones County, 1-0 at Dacula, 0-1

          Dacula went 9-5 last year, and the winning team in the 14 games scored 35 or more points nine times. And one of the teams was held to single digits in seven. So the Falcons are off a roller coaster season, and face a visiting team that’s pretty steady, and won 34-28 at North Gwinnett. The Falcons have a number of weapons to deal with on offense against a team that can run and throw.

Veterans, 1-0 at Griffin, 0-1 (GM)

          The Warhawks are off a sluggish home win, by three over a 3A team that went 2-8 last year. Griffin, led by former Rutland head coach Rusty Easom, went 4-6 last year and had a surprisingly disappointing opener, a 46-18 loss to Ola. That was its worst non-region loss since 54-14 to No. 4/3A Peach County in 2020.  

Class 3A

Howard, 1-0 at Central, 0-1 (Ed DeFore), 8 p.m.

          The Huskies are going for their second straight 2-0 start, both times beginning with Southwest and Central. Howard’s 45 points last week was its highest point total since beating Spalding 53-30 in the 2020 finale, improving to 8-2 in its last 10 games against Bibb County public schools.

No. 13/6A Northside, 0-1, at No. 3/3A Peach County, 1-0, 8 p.m.

          The Eagles have a tough task in hopes of avoiding their first 0-2 start since 1996 when they opened with losses to Griffin (37-21) and Peach County (21-0) en route to a 6-5 season. Peach County QB Colter Ginn needed only a half to pass for 275 yards and three touchdowns last week. Peach County was seriously outgained in last year’s 28-14 loss, yet blew chances down the stretch to tie or pull ahead. It’s the second straight week Northside will face a balanced offense with multiple weapons.

No. 9/A-I Lamar County, 1-0, at Upson-Lee, 0-1

          The Trojans are off a solid road win, and the Knights .. The counties are next to each other, but Upson-Lee and Lamar County have never played. The Knights battled Class 5A Union Grove, 6-5 last year, well on the road, and haven’t faced a Class A team in more than a decade.

Spalding, 1-0, at No. 13/3A Mary Persons

          Spalding has gone from an afterthought for several years – 9-31 from 2017-20 – to a playoff team, and is off a 37-28 win over 5A Eagle’s Landing. Mary Persons led Northeast 14-12 early in the third quarter when weather ended last week’s game. The Bulldogs were a little sluggish on both sides, in part because of a delay and the weather issues. Mary Persons leads the series 9-1, the lone loss coming in 2009.

Class AA

Baldwin, 0-1, at No. 9/AA Putnam County

          The opener was pretty much a burn-the-video – or delete it – outing for Baldwin, which didn’t get much done properly en route to a 37-13 halftime deficit. Putnam County isn’t on Peach County’s level, but has some playmakers on both sides. The War Eagles are breaking in a new QB, but WR Jalon Kilgore eases that transition. Putnam County’s D gets a challenge with power-5 prospect Micah Welch at RB. The neighbors haven’t played since 1977, a 0-0 tie, and the series is locked at 3-3-1.

West Laurens at No. 14/AA Dodge County, 0-1

          The Indians were put on their heels more than expected in a 33-6 loss to ranked Class A Bleckley County in the big rivalry game, making for a notable week of practice. West Laurens is in its season opener, and despite last week’s result is unlikely to overlook  the team that’s won the last two meetings, the last two years, 27-19 and 21-14. THe Indians haven’t been 0-2 since 2010.

Westside, 1-0, at Southwest,0-1 (Henderson), 5:30 p.m.

          Westside is a strong favorite to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2018, a start that included a 21-0 win over Southwest. The Patriots, meanwhile, are hoping to avoid their second straight 0-2 start, but only second since 2013’s 0-10 season.

No. 4/A-I Swainsboro, 1-0, at No. 11/AA Washington County

          New Golden Hawks head coach Robert Edwards better strap in for an opponent it is 19-18 against, and a series recently that’s tight, with margins of two, five, six, and two in four of the last five meetings. Swainsboro won two straight at the House of Pain, in 2019 and 2020. Both have 1,000-yard rushers back, Washington County’s DJ Braswell and Swainsboro’s Ty Adams.

Class A

ACE Charter, 1-0, at No. 12/A-II GMC Prep, 0-1

          Both teams had notable openers, for different reasons. ACE beat Crawford 70-53 in clearly a wild – and unexpectedly wild – one, while GMC was humbled 42-14 by unranked Wheeler County, a 5-5 team last year in Class A. The AA Gryphons lost 41-6 to GMC last year when both were in Region 7-A Public. ACE’s Aaron Davis ran for 208 yards last week.

No. 5/A-I Bleckley County, 1-0, at No. 5/A-II Wilcox County, 0-1

          A nice early playoff-type game in Rochelle pits a pair of ranked teams. Bleckley County is going for only its second 2-0 start since 2006, the Royals going undefeated in the regular season in 2021, including a 21-19 win over Wilcox County a year ago.

Dooly County, 0-1, at No. 6/A-I Irwin County, 0-1

          Dooly County has a battle, facing the Class A Public runner-up and team that’s been in the Class A Public final seven of the last eight years, with wins in 2019-20. Irwin County leads the series 5-2, the teams last playing in 2016, a 42-0 Indians win.

Hancock Central, 1-0, at Harlem, 1-0

          The Bulldogs started last season with a forfeit, and lost the next five games, including going three straight games without scoring a point. The 52 points scored last week is Hancock Central’s highest total since, surprisingly, only last year when it beat Twiggs County 54-8. The Bulldogs have had at least one 50-point game in six straight season, including a 50-8 win over Greene County in 2019 that was forfeited.

No. 3/A-II Macon County, 0-1 at No. 6/A-II Clinch County, 1-0

          Avoiding an 0-2 start, Macon County’s second since 2019, won’t be easy. Clinch County went to six straight semifinals with two consecutive titles from 2015-2020, and last year missed the playoffs for the first time since 1994. And the Panthers recall last year’s 26-0 loss to the Bulldogs in the opener, leading to a 3-7 season.

Pike County, 0-1, at Jasper County, 0-1

The Hurricanes welcome a 3A team that went 3-7 last year, and will try to win for the first time since Nov 9, 2020, a 36-22 win over region foe Southwest.

Rutland, 1-0, at Hawkinsville, 0-1

          Hawkinsville was the victim that broke Rutland’s 23-game losing streak in 2019, and the Red Devils haven’t started 0-2 since then. The Hurricanes are eyeing their first 2-0 start since 2013 when they opened 4-0 en route to a 6-5 season, Rutland’s last playoff trip.

Taylor County, 0-1, at Crawford County, 0-1

          Not all 0-1s are the same. Taylor County was stunned at home by GIAA Southland Academy – which went 4-7 last year in GISA  – in head coach Byron Byram’s debut, while Crawford County got some confidence in the 70-53 loss at ACE. Terrel Ashley ran for 165 yards and caught four passes for 91 yards for the Eagles, and big Judd Puckett was 8 of 13 for 142 yards.

Twiggs County at Portal, 1-0

          The Cobras are on the road in hopes of their first season-opening win since 2016. The series is tied 1-1.

GIAA

Central Fellowship, 1-0, at SW Georgia, 0-1

          The defending GAPPS champs rolled in their opener with their fifth shutout in their last nine games. SW Georgia lost 14-7 to Terrell on the road.

FPD vs. Chambers, Ala., 0-1, at West Georgia, Saturday

          The teams play in the Southeastern Commission of Independent Schools event in Carrollton. It’s the opener for FPD.

John Milledge, 1-0, vs. Lamar, Miss., 0-2

          The teams play in the Southeastern Commission of Independent Schools event in Carrollton. JMA thumped Brentwood 42-7 last week.

Memorial Day, 1-0, at Fullington, 0-1

          The Trojans lost 36-35 to Aucilla, Fla., and Memorial Day nipped Palmetto, S.C. 7-0.

Mount de Sales, 1-0, at Brentwood, 0-1

          Mount de Sales’ second game back in the GIAA is against the defending AA champs, who didn’t play well in the opening 42-7 loss to defending AAA champ John Milledge. They haven’t played each other since 2011, a 42-6 Cavs win, and the eighth straight W in the series.  

Piedmont, 0-1, at Terrell, 1-0

          Piedmont lost a heartbreaker to Trinity Christian 41-40, and got past SW Georgia 14-7. Terrell leads the series 2-0.

Stratford at Westfield, 0-1

          The teams played last year, Westfield shorthanded without head coach Rob Fitzpatrick and OC Greg Robinson out with COVID. Stratford won 49-14, breaking a seven-game losing streak to the Hornets, including 34-31 in the GISA 3A title game in 2013, Stratford’s final game before moving to the GHSA. The Hornets lost a shootout last week, 45-28 at home to Deerfield-Windsor, which went 3-7 in GHSA Region 1-A Private last season.

Tattnall, 0-1, at St. Anne-Pacelli, 1-0

          The team with the loss might be better than the team with the win, Tattnall giving GHSA Class A-II No. 1 Schley County a huge battle last week, maybe letting one slip away. Pacelli went 8-3 last year in GHSA Class A Private, including wins over Central and Lamar County.

Trinity Christian, 1-0, at Gatewood

          TCS came up with the surprise win last week in an impressive shootout over Piedmont. Gatewood is a 5-7 season, the Gators’ first sub.-500 year since 2014.