Savannah football team snaps 37-game losing streak in new stadium’s debut

Multiple losing streaks — including a 37-game drought — were snapped in Week 5 of Georgia high school football.

These wins were among several notable surprises of the weekend. Here are the top five, plus others worth noting.

1. Walnut Grove 24, Monroe Area 14: Walnut Grove pulled off the biggest upset of the week by a GHSA team, according to Maxwell Ratings, with a victory over 20-point favorite Monroe Area. The win gave Walnut Grove its first season sweep of fellow Walton County schools Monroe Area and Loganville in the school’s 17-year history. The Warriors were 3-19 against the two county rivals coming into the season.

2. Islands 31, Groves 18: Islands, a one-point favorite, ended a 37-game losing streak with a victory in the first-ever game played at the new Groves High School stadium. Ethan McKinney and Zyon Patrick combined for a reported 408 yards rushing. It was the Sharks’ first victory since a 41-2 win, also against Groves, on Oct. 9, 2021. Groves has lost 10 straight since beating Islands 25-22 last season.

3. Northgate 35, Newnan 21: Northgate, a 10-point favorite, beat Coweta County rival Newnan for the first time in six all-time meetings and improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2016. Northgate was 0-4 against the same schedule last year, with no game closer than 20 points. Newnan, which came in averaging 55.3 points, was seeking its first 4-0 start since 2020.

4. M.L. King 29, Jackson (Atlanta) 27: M.L. King has matched its victory total from last year and is 4-0 for the first time since 2019 after a victory over 18-point favorite Jackson of Atlanta in the teams’ Region 4-4A opener. Jackson won 28-27 last year in a game that ultimately decided the third and fourth playoff positions from the region. The loss was the first of the season for Jackson.

5. Chamblee 36, Decatur 10: Chamblee went 2-8 overall and 2-5 in 4-5A last season but was still within eight points of a playoff berth out of the eight-team region. The Bulldogs are off to a better start this year, beating 16-point favorite Decatur in the teams’ region opener and avenging a 43-7 loss to Decatur. Chamblee opened this season 0-3 with losses to likely playoff teams from Class 4A.

Griffin has won back-to-back games for the first time since the 2022 season after a 29-18 victory over 14-point favorite Westover. The Bears were one-point favorites when they beat Spencer 41-13 on Sept. 5. Griffin opens Region 3-4A play at Starr’s Mill this week.

Josey ended a 22-game losing streak with a 38-14 victory over three-point favorite Twiggs County. It was the first win for Josey, under first-year coach Gene Clemons, since beating Savannah 28-26 in the 2023 season opener. Twiggs County beat Josey 42-14 in 2024.

LaFayette ended a nine-game losing streak against 13-point favorite Trion with a 32-14 victory, the Ramblers’ first win in the series since 2011 and just their third in the past 20 meetings. LaFayette is 3-1 after going 0-10 in 2024 and is seeking its first winning season since 2008 (6-4).

North Cobb, which was upset by 21-point underdog Cass of Class 4A in its previous game, got back on track with a 41-6 victory over six-point favorite Walton in the teams’ Region 5-6A opener. North Cobb won the region title four of the past five seasons.

South Effingham ended a 13-game losing streak that was tied for the longest in school history with a 20-14 victory over eight-point favorite Lakeside of Evans in a Region 1-5A game. South Effingham (1-2, 1-0) went 0-10 last season and lost to Lakeside 49-6.