Class 6A Blog: McEachern and Hillgrove square off in battle of unbeatens

Class 6A has six remaining undefeated teams heading into Week 10 and that number is guaranteed to shrink as Region 3 gets set for a massive showdown between McEachern and host Hillgrove. Both teams have opened up the year 7-0 and are 4-0 in region play. McEachern has already defeated Harrison this season and Hillgrove will have to play Harrison next Friday. If McEachern wins then the Indians would have to defeat either South Cobb or Osborne to guarantee the region title. Hillgrove has a more difficult path—needing to beat both McEachern this week and then Harrison before taking on South Cobb in the season finale to avoid a log-jam at the top of the standings.

Hillgrove’s 7-0 start has been equally impressive on both sides of the football and the Hawks have not allowed a single point through their first four region games while accumulating a 210-0 scoring advantage. Last week, Hillgrove produced its fourth-straight shutout and fifth one of the season in a 54-0 win over Campbell. So far, Hillgrove has only allowed 13 points all season and that came in a 46-7 win over Mountain View and a 34-6 road win over Marietta. Additionally, Hillgrove won this game 30-23 last season at McEachern and the Hawks will have confidence to go out and win this battle.

McEachern has also produced an impressive resume through the first seven games of the season—starting with a 50-17 win over Walton in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Indians followed that victory with a 21-0 shoutout win over North Cobb and then defeated Marietta 16-13 in the closest game of the season. Last week, McEachern dominated Pebblebrook 51-14 and that win came just one week after its 48-21 win over then-unbeaten Harrison. In Against Pebblebrook, senior Calvin Pittman was an efficient 8-of-9 passing for 165 yards and three touchdowns and sophomore Coby Pittman came in and added 83 yards and a touchdown. McEachern’s efficiency passing the ball against Pebblebrook was able to dominate and against Hillgrove it should be expected to see senior Henry Pullen lead a more run-oriented game plan.

Region 1 will have a region-wide bye week this week so Lowndes will remain undefeated for at least another week as the 8-0 Vikings get prepared to close out the season with Richmond Hill and Valdosta. In Region 2, East Coweta is coming off a bye and will have to travel to 8-0 Carrollton. The Trojans will take on Douglas County in their season finale in a game that will determine the region champion if they can get past the Indians. In Region 4, undefeated Grayson will be off on a bye this week. The big matchup will be South Gwinnett against visiting Archer. Currently, South Gwinnett is the only team without a region loss and although the Comets still have to face Grayson and Newton—a win over Archer would be massive in earning a high seed.

Region 5’s Marietta is on a well-deserved bye after its 36-35 comeback win over North Cobb. The Blue Devils will have Cherokee and North Paulding remaining on their schedule when they return to action next week. Meanwhile, West Forsyth leads a crowded Region 6 standings with three games left. The Wolverines will face North Forsyth on Thursday and then will have matchups with North Atlanta and Alpharetta remaining. West Forsyth has already defeated Denmark and Lambert and has a two-game cushion over both North Forsyth and North Atlanta heading into Week 10.

All of Region 7 was off last week and is back in action with all eight teams playing. Norcross at Berkmar, Parkview at Duluth, Peachtree Ridge at Brookwood and Meadowcreek at North Gwinnett will all have playoff implications. Currently, North Gwinnett is at the top of the standings with a 4-0 region record, but Brookwood, Norcross and Peachtree Ridge are all 3-1. In Region 8, Mill Creek survived a 20-14 overtime victory against Collins Hill last week to remain at the top of the standings with undefeated Buford. Those two teams will meet on Oct. 31 to play for the region crown.  

CLASS 6A WEEK 10 STANDINGS AND SCHEDULE

REGION 1

Lowndes 3-0, 8-0

Valdosta 2-1, 7-1

Colquitt County 2-1, 6-2

Richmond Hill 2-1, 6-2

Camden County 0-3, 5-3

Tift County 0-3, 3-5

Friday, Oct. 17

REGION BYE WEEK

Friday, Oct. 10

Lowndes 35, Camden County 14

Colquitt County 39, Tift County 20

Valdosta 41, Richmond Hill 0

Friday, Oct. 3

Colquitt County 18, Valdosta 17

Lowndes 35, Tift County 0

Richmond Hill 24, Camden County 20

REGION 2

Carrollton 2-0, 8-0

Douglas County 2-0, 6-2

Westlake 0-2, 3-5

Chapel Hill 0-1, 1-6

East Coweta 0-1, 1-6

Friday, Oct. 17

Carrollton vs. East Coweta

Chapel Hill vs. Westlake

Friday, Oct. 10

Carrollton 56, Chapel Hill 7

Douglas County 45, Westlake 20

Friday, Oct. 3

Douglas County 42, East Coweta

Carrollton 48, Westlake 9

REGION 3

Hillgrove 4-0, 7-0

McEachern 4-0, 7-0

Harrison 3-1, 6-1

Paulding County 2-2, 2-5

Campbell 1-3, 4-3

Pebblebrook 1-3, 2-5

Osborne 1-3, 1-6

South Cobb 0-4, 2-5

Friday, Oct. 17

Harrison vs. Osborne

Hillgrove vs. McEachern

Paulding County vs. Campbell

South Cobb vs. Pebblebrook

Friday, Oct. 10

Hillgrove 54, Campbell 0

McEachern 51, Pebblebrook 14

Paulding County 34, Osborne 14

Harrison 49, South Cobb 7

Friday, Oct. 3

McEachern 48, Harrison 21

Hillgrove 52, Paulding County 0

Pebblebrook 35, Osborne 12

Campbell 26, South Cobb 10

REGION 4

Grayson 4-0, 8-0

South Gwinnett 3-0, 5-2

Archer 2-1, 4-3

Newton 2-1, 4-3

Rockdale County 1-3, 4-3

Grovetown 0-4, 3-5

Heritage-Conyers 0-3, 1-6

Friday, Oct. 17

Heritage-Conyers vs. Newton

Rockdale County vs. Grovetown

South Gwinnett vs. Archer

Friday, Oct. 10 (REGION GAMES)

Archer vs. Grovetown

Heritage-Conyers vs. Newton

Friday, Oct. 3 (REGION GAMES)

Newton 30, Grovetown 0

Grayson 41, Heritage-Conyers 0

Archer 38, Rockdale County 14

REGION 5

Marietta 4-0, 4-4

North Paulding 2-1, 5-2

North Cobb 2-1, 4-3

Walton 2-2, 4-4

Wheeler 2-2, 3-5

Etowah 1-3, 3-5

Cherokee 0-4, 1-7

Friday, Oct. 17

Etowah vs. Walton

North Cobb vs. Cherokee

Wheeler vs. North Paulding

Friday, Oct. 10

Wheeler 34, Etowah 24

Marietta 36, North Cobb 35

Walton 34, Cherokee 9

Friday, Oct. 3

Wheeler 21, Cherokee 8

North Paulding 33, Etowah 20

Walton vs. Marietta 41, Walton 38 (2OT)

REGION 6

West Forsyth 4-0, 6-1

Denmark 3-1, 4-3

Lambert 3-1, 4-3

North Atlanta 3-2, 4-4

North Forsyth 2-2, 4-3

Alpharetta 2-3, 2-6

South Forsyth 0-4, 2-5

Forsyth Central 0-4, 0-7

Thursday, Oct. 16

Lambert vs. Forsyth Central

North Forsyth vs. West Forsyth

Friday, Oct. 17

South Forsyth vs. Denmark

Friday, Oct. 10

Lambert 34, Alpharetta 17

Denmark 34, Forsyth Central 6

North Forsyth 10, North Atlanta 6

West Forsyth 42, South Forsyth 10

Friday, Oct. 3

Denmark 10, North Forsyth 7

West Forsyth 42, Forsyth Central 14

Lambert 33, North Atlanta 31 (3OT)

Alpharetta 40, South Forsyth 14

REGION 7

North Gwinnett 4-0, 6-1

Brookwood 3-1, 5-2

Norcross 3-1, 5-2

Peachtree Ridge 3-1, 5-2

Duluth 2-2, 4-3

Parkview 1-3, 2-5

Berkmar 0-4, 0-7

Meadowcreek 0-4, 0-6

Friday, Oct. 17

Berkmar vs. Norcross

Brookwood vs. Peachtree Ridge

North Gwinnett vs. Meadowcreek

Parkview vs. Duluth

Friday, Oct. 10

REGION BYE WEEK

Friday, Oct. 3

Duluth 54, Berkmar 7

Brookwood 57, Meadowcreek 7

Norcross 22, Parkview 16

North Gwinnett 45, Peachtree Ridge 14

REGION 8

Mill Creek 3-0, 5-2

Buford 2-0, 6-0

Collins Hill 2-1, 4-3

Dacula 1-1, 3-3

Mountain View 1-2, 1-6

Central Gwinnett 0-2, 2-3

Discovery 0-3, 0-6

Friday, Oct. 17

Central Gwinnett vs. Buford

Mill Creek vs. Discovery

Mountain View vs. Dacula

Thursday, Oct. 9 (REGION GAMES)

Buford 58, Dacula 7

Central Gwinnett 47, Mountain View 17

Friday, Oct. 10 (REGION GAME)

Mill Creek 20, Collins Hill 14 (OT)

Friday, Oct. 3 (REGION GAMES)

Buford 34, Collins Hill 3

Mill Creek 37, Dacula 17

Mountain View 34, Discovery 20

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