The 10th-ranked Hillgrove Hawks entered their matchup with No. 6 McEachern having given up just 13 points through seven games. The Indians passed that mark in the first half Friday night on the way to a 35-14 victory.

Freshman Ty Nolan made the most of a fourth-down conversion on McEachern’s opening drive, finding the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead and the first touchdown given up by the Hawks defense all season. A promising Hillgrove possession ended in a blocked field goal attempt in the second frame, and the Indians added another score just before the break.

The Hawks found some success in their running game in the second half, getting third-quarter touchdown runs from quarterback Donovan Mack and Jaiden Moore, but McEachern answered each time with a touchdown of its own, including a 1-yarder from Henry Pullen to reclaim a two-score lead midway through the fourth.

Now 8-0 for the first time since 2019, McEachern has just South Cobb and Osborne ahead on the regular schedule. Hillgrove, meanwhile, drops to 7-1 and will look to bounce back next week against Harrison.

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DRIVE FOR THE GHSA STATE TITLE TV GAME (WATCH HERE): TOP-RANKED HUGHES PULLS AWAY FROM NORTHGATE IN SECOND HALF, REMAINS LAST UNBEATEN IN REGION 3-AAAAA WITH 40-5 WIN

The top-ranked team in Class 5A now stands alone atop the Region 3-AAAAA standings following an emphatic 40-5 Panthers win over visiting Northgate and Newnan’s upset of former unbeaten Lovejoy.

Hughes got off to a relatively quiet start, holding a narrow 6-5 lead late in the opening half before Xavier Tiller scored for the first time for a 13-5 edge at the break. The Panthers outscored the Vikings 27-0 in the third and fourth quarters, however, getting touchdowns from Tiller, Jamarion McKinney, Darnell Kelly and Omari Harris while allowing zero first downs on defense.

“Just got to clean up and execute a little better,” head coach Andrico Hines of his message to his players at halftime. “They had a great game plan, great coaching. Their kids played hard. They made it tough for us, but we came out and made some adjustments, and we were able to move the ball.”

The 8-0 Panthers will travel to Morrow and Lovejoy to wrap up the regular season, while 7-1 Northgate hosts Lovejoy and Dutchtown.

See the class-by-class glances below.

CLASS 6A: No. 2 Buford led Central Gwinnett 41-0 at the break before cruising to a 75-0 victory — the second time this season the Wolves have broken 70 points. Dylan McCoy contributed a pair of first-half rushing scores to go with one from Tyriq Green, who also found the end zone on a kick return in the second quarter. … Walton’s 42-8 win over Etowah (3-6, 1-4) marks the first time this season that the Raiders have won back-to-back games. They are now 5-4 on the year and 3-2 in Region 5 play and will close out their regular season next week at North Paulding (6-2, 3-1). … Third-ranked Carrollton put up 50 first-half points to force a running clock through the remainder of its 50-23 win over host East Coweta. The undefeated Trojans will host Douglas County after a bye next week for the Region 2 title.

CLASS 5A: Newnan led host Lovejoy 28-7 at the break and held on through a Wildcat rally, securing the 38-28 upset with a 30-yard field goal by Quint Johnson. The loss is the first of the year for Lovejoy, which still has both Northgate and Hughes left on its schedule. … Rome senior Darnell Collins hauled in a pair of touchdown passes from his quarterback, along with another from South Paulding’s on a 20-yard pick-six in the eighth-ranked Wolves’ 62-22 win over the visiting Spartans. … Houston County is 8-0 for the first time in program history following a comfortable 45-21 win over Coffee. The Bears still have their biggest tests of the season ahead, however, in No. 2 Thomas County Central and No. 7 Lee County.

CLASS 4A: Flowery Branch recovered from last week’s loss to Madison County with a 49-28 win over Walnut Grove, setting up a Week 11 showdown for the Region 8 title with top-ranked North Oconee. … No. 10 Cass got its season back on track following last week’s loss to Cartersville with a 48-16 victory over Dalton, getting two touchdown passes from Brodie McWhorter to Elijah Slocum and another to Chase Tatum, along with two rushing scores apiece from McWhorter and Kalil Charles. Eighth-ranked Blessed Trinity bounced back from a brutal 3-0 loss to Kell with a 56-0 rout of Westminster. Senior Ahmontae Pitts had four first-half touchdowns for the Titans, who host Centennial next week.

CLASS 3A: Calhoun junior Hudson Chadwick had five total touchdowns — four on the ground and another on a 70-yard touchdown reception — in the third-ranked Yellow Jackets’ 49-22 victory over visiting Gilmer. … Fifth-ranked North Hall improved to 8-0 with a 35-12 win over visiting Lumpkin County. A victory next week over winless Johnson (Gainesville) will lock up a second-straight Region 6 title for the Trojans. … Top-ranked Sandy Creek trailed host Whitewater 21-20 midway through the second before closing out the night with 42 unanswered points to remain undefeated. … Troup County improved to 8-0 with a 38-24 statement win over sixth-ranked LaGrange, getting touchdown passes from Garrison Edwards to Davis Moncus and Blaize Bell, touchdown runs from Edwards and Trent Hodo, a scoop-and-score from Jeremiah Culpepper, and a McCarty Harrelson field goal that made it a three-score game with 7:18 to play.

CLASS 2A: Morgan County quarterback Davis Strickland threw a trio of touchdown passes in the first half and four on the night in the Bulldogs’ 42-18 win over Jackson. Christian Monfort added a pair of scores for Morgan County, which got a fumble recovery and interception on defense from Makai Owens and Zeki Locus, respectively. … Junior Chip Dickens had a scoop-and-score in Prince Avenue Christian’s 45-14 victory over Franklin County. The Wolverines are now 6-2 on the year and are averaging 47 points a game on offense over their last five outings. … After starting the season 5-0, East Jackson has now lost three straight, most recently a 21-6 result against host Hart County. The Eagles appeared poised to snap the streak with a 6-0 advantage at the break before giving up 21 second-half points. … Crisp County trailed No. 2 Pierce County 10-0 in the second quarter before closing out the Region 3 match on a 28-6 scoring run to complete the upset. The Bears will look to recover from their first loss of the season on the road against Tattnall County next week.

CLASS A DIV I: Dublin trailed visiting Bleckley County 10-7 after the opening frame and held a narrow 14-13 edge at the break before pulling away with 21 third-quarter points for a 42-19 final. The ninth-ranked Fighting Irish travel to face winless Central (Macon) next week before closing their regular season at home against a Dodge County squad that is also 6-1 in region play. … Pepperell outscored visiting Haralson County 22-7 in the second half to defeat the Rebels 48-42. The Dragons are now 5-0 in Region 6 and 6-3 on the year and will have a bye next week to prepare for fifth-ranked Heard County in the regular-season finale.

CLASS A DIV II: The Trion Bulldogs improved to 4-5 on the year and 2-1 against Region 7 foes with a 26-20 overtime victory over Greenville. The loss marked the fourth straight for the Patriots, who host No. 3 Bowdon next week. Trion, meanwhile, will have a week off to prepare for Bowdon’s visit on Halloween. … Top-ranked Lincoln County routed Lake Oconee Academy by a margin of 41-3 to improve to 8-0 on the year and 2-0 in Region 8 ahead of next week’s showdown with fellow region unbeaten Warren County (4-4, 2-0).

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