The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Westlake dominates, honors late principal
Class 3A No. 1 Cedar Grove forfeits four wins, drops to 1-4.
Westlake’s football team considered postponing Friday night’s game against Lovejoy after the Fulton County school’s principal and wife drowned as he tried to save her while swimming in the ocean on vacation last week.
Instead, the players decided to play on, dedicating the game to the late Westlake principal, Jamar Robinson, and his wife, Ann Robinson. They would’ve been proud.
Westlake, the fourthranked team in Class 6A, defeated Lovejoy 51-0 — a stunning final score in a game between two one-loss teams — and clinched for the Lions the Region 4-6A championship.
“It means a ton; I’m so proud of these guys,” Westlake coach Bobby May said in an emotional interview with GPB Sports, which televised the game. “The community went through a lot of hurt, and these guys definitely put on a show for them.”
In Friday’s games, Greater Atlanta Christian, Lee County, Alexander, Cartersville, Clinch County and others also posted impressive victories, while it was learned that Cedar Grove, the No. 1 team in Class 3A, would forfeit four games.
Because of its inadvertent use of an ineligible player, Cedar Grove forfeited the games, three of them in region play, which made it possible for Greater Atlanta Christian to win Region 5-3A with a 35-20 victory over Carver of Atlanta. Cedar Grove’s record becomes 1-4, but the Saints still can make the playoffs if they win next week against Sandy Creek. Cedar Grove’s victories over Milton, Carver of Atlanta, Redan and Greater Atlanta Christian now go down as losses.
In other games, Lee County, ranked No. 1 in Class 6A, beat No. 3 Valdosta 41-7. Valdosta, now4-4, had spent some weeks, including the preseason rankings, at No. 1. Lee County is now 8-1, its only loss to No. 4 Lowndes of Class 7A.
Also in 6A, Alexander upset No. 7 Carrollton 23-22 in Region 5. It was Alexander’s first win over a top-10 team since 2017. Carrollton (5-2, 5-1) still is positioned to win the region if they beat Douglas County this week, while Alexander (6-3, 4-2) likely needs to beat South Paulding to qualify for the playoffs.
Cartersville, the No. 4 team in 5A, beat No. 5 Calhoun31-14in a game between blue-blood programs from northwest Georgia. The outcome likely put Cartersville at home and Calhoun on the road for the first round of the playoffs.
Clinch County upset No. 2 Irwin County, the defending Class 1A Public team, 13-0 by scoring all its points in the final minute of a game of old South Georgia rivals. Clinch entered 4-3 and unranked as the Panthers, the champions in 2017 and 2018, have struggled with more than their share of injuries and COVID-19 interruptions.
The weekend included cancellations, as some 25 games were called off because of COVID-19 concerns.
‘It means a ton; I’m so proud of these guys.’ Westlake coach Bobby May