One week remains in the regular season of high school football, but we learned a lot after Week 11's games came to a close.
Here are five things we learned from Week 11:
1. REGION 6-3A...WHO KNOWS?
North Hall is the region champion. White County and Johnson are eliminated. Outside of that, who knows? Chestatee, GAC, Pickens, Dawson County and Lumpkin County are all still alive after Week 11 came to a close, with a lot of thanks to the Dragons for knocking off GAC. Dawson County needs the most help to get in, while GAC could end up on the outside of the top four in the region with a loss and some other shenanigans. Needless to say, there will be a lot of scoreboard watching across the region after 9 p.m. Friday night as teams have to start thinking about potential tiebreaker scenarios.
2. JEFFERSON MAKES A MASSIVE STATEMENT
No one thought that this game would look like it did. The way Cherokee Bluff had been playing, we all thought this would be a nailbiter. Jefferson took all the drama out of the game early, leading by 35 points in the fourth quarter on their way to the big win. Now, the attention shifts to Oconee County. If the Dragons win, they win the region. If Oconee County wins, let's get the calculators out to figure out the three-way tiebreak, assuming the Bluff gets a win this week against East Hall at home.
3. BANKS COUNTY IS ON THE UP AND UP
The Leopards got their first win of the season a week ago and then proceeded to give Commerce a massive scare this week. The 27-10 final score does not tell the story as the Leopards were down just four points with four minutes to play in the game. Credit to the Tigers for finding a way to win the game and keeping pace for second place in Region 8-A DI, but watch out for Banks County in the coming years. They are going to be a factor sooner rather than later.
4. BUFORD SETS UP MASSIVE RIVALRY GAME
With their dominant win over Mountain View Friday night, Buford is playing their best football of the year, and have been doing so for a while. Now, one of the youngest rivalries in Northeast Georgia will take place this week as the Wolves battle Mill Creek. More rides on this game than any other game this year in 8-6A. If Buford wins, they win the region. If Mill Creek wins, it's another case of a three-way tiebreak that will need broken by the calculators. There won't be an empty seat in the house Friday, so get there really early.
5. ALL THE OTHER DRAMA. WE LOVE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL.
Even though some of the drama went the wrong way for our area's teams, it doesn't take away from why we love high school football. Union County found themselves in a triple overtime thriller against Sonoraville, Chestatee had to hold on late to knock off White County and Gainesville's loss at Roswell literally came down to the final play of the game. Oh, and East Hall won a shootout in Rabbittown against West Hall, a game that was low scoring early on before both offenses exploded in the second half, while Rabun County's comeback fell just short against Athens Academy. What drama will unfold in the final regular season week? We can't wait to sit and watch.
