Cedar Grove, Valdosta grab notable wins

Valdosta delivers 1st shutout of Warner Robins since 2017.

Three defending champions and two No. 1-ranked teams were beaten Friday night in the fourth weekend of Georgia high school football.

Cedar Grove, a defending champ and a No. 1 team, wasn’t among them. The Saints actually contributed to the carnage with a 40-6 rout of Class 7A’s Collins Hill in a game between 2021 champions.

Cedar Grove won 3A last season; this was the second consecutive 7A team the smaller school has beaten. The Saints defeated Westlake last week and next weekend face another 7A team, No. 3 Mill Creek.

Collins Hill, rebuilding after its first state title, was ranked No. 5 last week.

Warner Robins and Benedictine, also 2021 champions, both lost, each for the second time.

Valdosta, an unranked 7A team, beat Warner Robins 25-0. Valdosta was 4-6 last season and banned from the playoffs. The shutout was Warner Robins’ first suffered since 2017. Warner Robins, which lost to Class 6A power Lee County in its opener, has won Class 5A for the past two seasons.

Benedictine, the 4A reigning champion and No. 1 team, lost to Ware County, the No. 3 team in 5A. Ware County beat the Cadets 14-10. Ware County is the No. 3 team in 5A. Benedictine had remained No. 1 despite a loss to Christopher Columbus of Miami.

The other No. 1 team that lost was Clinch County of Class A Div. I. Cook, the No. 6 team in Class 2A, beat Clinch County 43-13. Another high-profile game took place in Leesburg, where No. 4 Colquitt County of Class 7A defeated No. 2 Lee County of 6A 48-27.

In another matchup of top-five teams, No. 3 Cedartown of 4A took a 21-7 victory over No. 4 Calhoun of 5A.

Oconee County and Peach County, two 3A schools, defeated top-10 teams from a higher classification. Oconee County, ranked No. 7, beat Class 5A’s No. 8 team, Jefferson, 9-7. Peach County, ranked No. 8, beat 5A’s No. 10 team, Jones County, 35-3.

Three unranked teams beat top-10 teams from the same or higher classification. Those were Lovett, 30-20 over Pace Academy of Class 4A; Northeast-Macon, 26-8 over No. 2 Carver-Columbus of 3A; and Wheeler County, 21-7 over No. 10 Montgomery County of A Div. II.

Several other top-10 teams lost to higher-ranked or larger schools. Those included Schley County to Bleckley County, Columbia to Cartersville, Marist to Woodward Academy, Roswell to Milton, Sandy Creek to East Coweta, South Paulding to North Paulding and Wilcox County to Pelham.

Charlton County, the No. 3 team in Class A Division I, lost to Florida’s University Christian 33-0.

JASON GETZ/JASON.GETZ@AJC.COM Cedar Grove linebacker Keith Bass takes down Collins Hill running back Jacarri Thomas during the first half Friday at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee. Class 3A defending champ Cedar Grove’s win was its second straight over a 7A team this season.