It may have only been week 3, but there were a number of high school football games around the metro Atlanta area that had that postseason feel . One of them was at St Pius, where the Woodward Academy War Eagles landed to play before a standing room only crowd. Speaking of playoffs, that was the last time these teams squared off, and the Golden Lions roared on their way to the Georgia Dome and a date in the state championship game.
This time Woodward Academy won in double OT despite some miscues that could have allowed St. Pius to win. Elijah Holyfield ran for 183 yards and 4 touchdowns. It was the prefect ending to a day that saw Holyfield make his verbal commitment to Georgia. BY the way, St. Pius is now 0-2, the same record they had a year ago when went on a winning streak that didn’t end until they faced Buford in the Class AAAA championship game.
Speaking of Buford, the Wolves had their 42 game winning streak snapped at McEachern in a showdown of teams with state championship dreams. AAAAAA McEachern avenged their loss at Buford last fall 37-14 behind 273 yards passing from Bailey Hockman. With Buford losing , Cartersville took over the top spot in AAAA by winning a 34-31 shootout against North Cobb. Mill Creek continues to be impressive ,topping Dacula 34-7 to reach 3-0 with this week off. Creekside is 3-0 after a 51-20 win over Columbus Carver. The Seminoles face Druid Hills this week. Pace Academy is 3-0 after hanging on for a 38-30 win over Landmark Christian, while Marist topped Lovett 16-15. Lovett is off to an 0-3 start for the first time since 2003.
From our “Did You See That” department, how about the Walton Raiders. After missing out on the playoffs in 2014, Raider Valley is a dangerous place to play again. Last week Walton beat Lassiter
in a showdown of unbeaten teams in Region 5-AAAAAA. Walton improves to 3-0 and next up a 3-0 Etowah team that beat Cherokee last week. How about Mundy’s Mill posting a 21-8 victory over Central Gwinnett.Last season Central made the playoffs and beat North Gwinnett in the first round. If Walton and Mundy’s Mill fail to grab your attention, it’s hard to ignore what Meadowcreek did last Friday night. The long struggling Gwinnett County program seemed to release years of frustration in a 43-18 victory over Rockdale County. Last season The Bulldogs pounded the Mustangs 58-0. It’s only Meadowcreek’s 4th win in their last 112 games, but if they can beat Clarkston this week the Mustangs will have their first two game winning streak in 15 years.
Also this week, watch for a major showdown in Gwinnett as Archer visits Grayson. Newton visits Westlake for a matchup of unbeaten teams.Eagle’s Landing travels to Jonesboro, both are unbeaten. Also on the southside Woodland, Stockbridge visits Northgate in a battle of unbeaten teams.
Get out and support your favorite school this week and tune in for the High School Football Power Hour, Saturday morning at 7am on Sports radio 92.9 The Game.