The final week of the Georgia high school football regular season is full of wild storylines.
To start, many region titles will be decided this week, 16 of which will be played for in de facto region championship games. Thursday night’s slate is loaded with games, and several undefeated teams put their perfect records on the line against fellow unbeatens.
Follow below for the latest highlights, notable moments and other standout information from the games.
To submit entries for consideration — highlights, notable moments or impressive stats — tag @theleoreport on X.
You can also follow live scores on AJC.com.
West Laurens beat Westside-Augusta 27-3 for the Region 3-5A championship. Both teams were 9-0 entering the Week 12 matchup.
West Laurens avenged a 28-7 loss to Westside last season and won its first region title since 2019. Westside was kept out of the end zone for the first time this season.
Bowdon, which is chasing a fourth-straight state championship, won a smaller title it didn’t win last season.
The Red Devils beat Trion 63-0 to win its region championship. Bowdon came in second last season behind Manchester.
LaGrange’s run game has had its way with Upson-Lee early.
The Grangers have already scored two rushing touchdowns to build an early 14-0 lead in the region battle.
Thomas County Central's 9-0 football team test drove its brand new indoor facility yesterday, making national headlines.
The undefeated Yellow Jackets have already wrapped up the Region 2-5A championship. They're playing for their second undefeated regular season in three years against 40-point underdog Coffee on Friday night.
Check out the indoor facility below.
A shortage of available Georgia high school football officials has caused many schools around the state to bump their games to Thursday night.
Referee scheduling puts 40+ Georgia high school football games on Thursday
By our count, nearly 50 games will be played on Thursday, a significant uptick from the usual 10-20 games played.
Industry leaders named three main reasons for the scheduling change.
- The University of Georgia's annual game against the University of Florida in Jacksonville always pulls a few extra referees away near the end of the high school football season.
- Halloween falls on Friday night this year, and many officials who already work several nights per week want to spend the holiday trick-or-treating with their children.
- With the statewide bye week scheduled for next week, some schools could be looking for an extra day off to rest before hitting playoff preparation hard next week.
Many teams are playing with postseason implications on the line tonight, but only two are playing in a de facto region championship.
That's Westside-Augusta and West Laurens of Region 4-3A. The Patriots and Raiders are both 9-0 and 7-0 in region play.
The teams played for the first time last season, and Westside-Augusta won 28-7 at home. The Patriots are 2-point road underdogs this season.
Westside-Augusta is hunting for its first region title since 2000 and its first undefeated season since 1982. West Laurens last won a region in 2019 and has never completed an undefeated season.
Two of the state's top rushers will face off tonight.
West Laurens' Ty Cummings, who famously rushed for over 600 yards in a 70-55 win over Baldwin earlier this season, is a Georgia Southern commit with 1,844 yards rushing and 24 touchdowns this season. Westside running back Tamari Curry leads the Patriots with 1,668 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Below is (hopefully) every GHSA game kicking off tonight. Nearly 50 games are listed below, a stark uptick from the average 10-20 Thursday night games.
UGA-Florida game, Halloween cause referee shortage, uptick in Thursday games
- Benedictine at New Hampstead
- Bowdon at Trion
- Cedar Shoals at Flowery Branch
- Central Gwinnett at Dacula
- Central-Macon at Bleckley County
- Central-Talbotton at Marion County
- Clarkston at Lithonia
- Cross Creek at Harlem
- Duluth at North Gwinnett
- Eagles Landing at Union Grove
- Early County at Eufala
- East Paulding at Villa Rica
- East Forsyth at Madison County
- Fannin County at Gordon Lee
- Forest Park at M.L. King
- Hillgrove at South Cobb
- Heritage at Grovetown
- Jenkins County at Savannah
- Jonesboro at Starr's Mill
- Kendrick at Carver-Columbus
- LaFayette at Calhoun
- Lovett at Washington
- Luella at Cedar Grove
- McEachern at Osborne
- Meadowcreek at Parkview
- Mount Pisgah Christian at Walker
- Norcross at Brookwood
- North Clayton at Mount Zion-Jonesboro
- North Cobb at Wheeler
- KIPP Atlanta Charter at Holy Innocents’
- Pace Academy at Jackson-Atlanta
- Paulding County at Harrison
- Pebblebrook at Campbell
- Peachtree Ridge at Berkmar
- Rock Springs Academy at Towns County
- Riverdale at Stone Mountain
- Seckinger at Lanier
- Shiloh at Dunwoody
- Sumter County at Columbus
- Towers at Social Circle
- Therrell at Hapeville
- Union County at North Cobb Christian
- Upson-Lee at LaGrange
- West Hall at Monroe Area
- Westside-Augusta at West Laurens
- Winder-Barrow at Clarke Central
Here are the 10 highest-rated games tonight, according to the Maxwell Projections.
Maxwell projections: Sandy Creek slim favorite over Troup in pivotal 3A game
- Upson-Lee at LaGrange (-24)
- Duluth at North Gwinnett (-42)
- Benedictine (-33) at New Hampstead
- North Clayton (-10) at Mt. Zion-Jonesboro
- Jonesboro (-22) at Starr's Mill
- Paulding County at Harrison (-42)
- KIPP Atlanta Collegiate at Holy Innocents' (-15)
- Luella (-7) at Cedar Grove
- Eagle's Landing (-21) at Union Grove
- Sumter County (-35) at Columbus
Hello, thank you so much for reading our live blog every Friday night throughout the season. We're excited to continue coverage into the playoffs, all the way through the last snap in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. I hope you've enjoyed it half as much as I have.
In the spirit of transparency, I wanted to inform you that this week may look a bit different.
I'll be in Valdosta all weekend bringing comprehensive coverage of the Winnersville Classic between Lowndes and Valdosta. We want to give a game of this magnitude full attention, so the live blog likely won't be updated as quickly as it has throughout the season. I will still bring statewide updates as I see them.
On Friday night, if you have an update that I need to see, let me know on X at @theleoreport or email me at jack.leo@ajc.com. I would really appreciate your help.
Thank you so much for staying with us all season. I'm excited to bring you coverage of a historic South Georgia rivalry and get back to full statewide coverage when the playoffs kick off next week.
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