It’s hard to beat a good team twice, so the cliche goes, but Walton wasn’t a good team, at least not in the regular season. The Raiders lost their first game by 33 points and finished 5-5, putting them on the brink of their first losing football season in nine years.
Facing that first-game opponent again Friday night, Walton salvaged its season and carried out the upset of first round of the playoffs, slaying undefeated McEachern 28-24.
The Raiders came from 21-9 down in the fourth quarter against the undefeated opponent that crushed them 50-17 in August. Walton quarterback Christion Peacock threw a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter and scored the game-winner on a run in the final two minutes.
Berrien and Washington-Wilkes also beat heavily favored top-10 opponents Friday, and Centennial won as a 36-point underdog, but Walton’s victory resonated loudest around the state, as McEachern, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A, had won nine of its 10 games by 21 points or more, and Walton entered as a 28-point underdog.
Only four top-10 teams lost in the first round, which is not uncommon, and some of the top teams were ruthless. No. 1 Creekside of Class 4A beat Dalton 70-7, and No. 1 Worth County of Class A Division I beat McNair 69-0. No. 2 Thomas County Central of 5A beat Woodstock 73-14.
Lee County, the No. 8 team in Class 5A, beat No. 10 Sprayberry 34-21 in the only matchup between ranked teams. It was Lee County’s 10th straight first-round victory.
The other top-10 teams that lost had to be shocked.
In Class A Division I, Berrien beat No. 6 Lamar County 7-0 as a 32-point underdog. Berrien entered the game with a 3-7 record and sixth-place finish in its own region, albeit the toughest in class with top-10 teams Worth County, Fitzgerald and Thomasville.
The victory was Berrien’s first over a top-10 opponent from the same classification since 1993, against Waycross.
Lamar County entered 10-0 and was the classification’s No. 2 overall seed from the GHSA’s Post Season Rankings math model, which governs classes 3A, 2A, A and 3A-A Private.
In Class A Division II, unranked Washington-Wilkes (5-6) beat No. 9 Seminole County 32-23. Seminole County (8-3) was a 22-point favorite.
The night’s biggest upset, per the Maxwell Ratings, was Centennial’s 28-21 victory over Locust Grove, a 36-point favorite, in a game between unranked teams. Centennial (7-4) was the fourth-place finisher in Region 6-4A while Locust Grove (9-2) had just won its first region title in history.
A few teams got historic victories.
Lithonia won its first playoff game since 1994 with a 27-8 victory over Griffin, a six-point favorite. Another DeKalb County school, Miller Grove, got its first playoff victory in history Thursday with a 20-9 victory over Spencer.
Jackson County won its first playoff game in its 46 seasons with a 50-7 victory over Glynn Academy. Jackson County won Region 8-5A and was heavily favored.
How the top 10 teams did in the first round
Class 6A
- 1. Grayson (11-0) beat Norcross 44-7
- 2. Buford (11-0) beat Richmond Hill 45-0
- 3. Carrollton (11-0) beat North Forsyth 58-17
- 4. McEachern (10-1) lost to Walton 28-24
- 5. Valdosta (10-1) beat Dacula 56-28
- 6. Lowndes (10-1) beat Collins Hill 37-16
- 7. Douglas County (8-3) beat Lambert 37-14
- 8. North Gwinnett (10-1) beat South Gwinnett 49-16
- 9. Colquitt County (9-2) beat Mill Creek 35-17
- 10. Harrison (10-1) beat Marietta 45-35
Class 5A
- 1. Hughes (11-0) beat East Paulding 45-28
- 2. Thomas County Central (11-0) beat Woodstock 73-14
- 3. Roswell (10-1) beat Chamblee 51-6
- 4. Gainesville (9-2) beat Dunwoody 48-3
- 5. Houston County (10-1) beat Creekview 59-14
- 6. Milton (8-3) beat Shiloh 35-17
- 7. Rome (9-2) beat Lovejoy 47-16
- 8. Lee County (7-3) beat Sprayberry 34-21
- 9. Sequoyah (10-1) beat Coffee 31-14
- 10. Sprayberry (9-2) lost to Lee County 34-21
Class 4A
- 1. Creekside (11-0) beat Dalton 70-7
- 2. Cartersville (11-0) beat Maynard Jackson 53-0
- 3. North Oconee (11-0) beat Perry 31-15
- 4. Benedictine (8-2) beat East Forsyth 42-7
- 5. Kell (9-2) beat Hampton 35-14
- 6. Marist (10-1) beat Starr’s Mill 30-0
- 7. Central-Carrollton (11-0) beat Tucker 33-21
- 8. Cambridge (9-2) beat Ola 24-21
- 9. Blessed Trinity (7-4) beat Stockbridge 28-27
- 10. Cass (9-2) beat Mays 21-12
Class 3A
- 1. Sandy Creek (11-0) beat Cedar Grove 42-9
- 2. Calhoun (9-2) beat Lumpkin County 35-13
- 3. Jefferson (10-1) beat Dougherty 55-13
- 4. North Hall (11-0) beat Mount Zion-Jonesboro 62-26
- 5. Troup (10-1) beat Westover 45-14
- 6. Jenkins (10-1) beat Whitewater 50-45
- 7. West Laurens (11-0) beat Beach 45-6
- 8. LaGrange (8-2) vs. North Clayton (Saturday)
- 9. Cairo (9-2) beat Liberty County 36-7
- 10. Peach County (10-1) beat Cherokee Bluff 53-28
Class 2A
- 1. Carver-Columbus (11-0) beat Redan 56-0
- 2. Carver-Atlanta (11-0) beat Butler 69-6
- 3. Morgan County (11-0) beat Westside-Macon 29-8
- 4. Rockmart (10-1) beat South Atlanta 50-20
- 5. Sumter County (10-1) beat KIPP Atlanta Collegiate 42-7
- 6. Callaway (8-3) beat Franklin County 25-15
- 7. Hapeville Charter (7-4) beat Columbus 48-0
- 8. Thomson (8-3) beat Jackson 14-7
- 9. Burke County (9-2) beat Sonoraville 57-21
- 10. Appling County (8-3) beat Hart County 31-20
Class A Division I
- 1. Worth County (11-0) beat McNair 69-0
- 2. Toombs County (10-1) beat Temple 50-6
- 3. Heard County (11-0) beat East Laurens 49-0
- 4. Northeast (9-2) beat Fannin County 41-0
- 5. Thomasville (8-3) beat Putnam County 38-0
- 6. Lamar County (10-1) lost to Berrien 7-0
- 7. Swainsboro (9-2) beat Bacon County 40-21
- 8. Fitzgerald (8-3) beat ACE Charter 42-9
- 9. Dublin (9-2) beat Washington County 40-7
- 10. Bleckley County (9-2) beat Jeff Davis 26-7
Class A Division II
- 1. Lincoln County (10-0) beat Randolph-Clay 43-6
- 2. Clinch County (11-0) beat Chattahoochee County 48-20
- 3. Bowdon (8-2) beat Wilcox County 42-7
- 4. Johnson County (11-0) beat McIntosh County Academy 34-7
- 5. Brooks County (6-5) beat Taylor County 24-6
- 6. Wheeler County (11-0) beat Manchester 55-20
- 7. Screven County (11-0) beat Glascock County 48-0
- 8. Early County (8-3) beat Greene County 43-6
- 9. Seminole County (8-2) lost to Washington-Wilkes 32-23
- 10. Emanuel County Institute (8-3) beat GMC Prep 63-7
Class 3A-A Private
- 1. Hebron Christian (8-1) Bye
- 2. Fellowship Christian (8-1) Bye
- 3. Calvary Day (9-1) Bye
- 4. Savannah Christian (6-4) Bye
- 5. Athens Academy (9-1) Bye
- 6. Prince Avenue Christian (7-3) Bye
- 7. Holy Innocents’ (8-3) beat Mount Paran Christian 50-7
- 8. Greater Atlanta Christian (8-2) Bye
- 9. Aquinas (7-4) beat Darlington 52-21
- 10. Whitefield Academy (8-2) Bye
Correction
This story has been updated to correct the final score of the Walton-McEachern game.
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