Class 6A blog: Calmer week expected after 4 top-10 teams fall

After four top-10 football teams lost last week, it should be a calmer week two in Class 6A. Here are things to know to this week in the highest class.

-The top-10 teams that lost last week were No. 1 Buford lost to Milton; No. 3 Grayson to Collins Hill; No. 9 Westlake to Hughes; and No. 10 Newton to Eastside. Buford stayed No. 1. The rest dropped out of the rankings.

-No. 1 Buford kept its spot despite a 13-10 loss to Milton, a consensus top-10 team in the nation. Milton won Class 7A last year and is playing 5A this season. Buford will play at home Friday against Benedictine, the preseason No. 1 from 4A that lost its opener to Rabun Gap. Buford’s defense was stout, holding down a team that has four offensive players among the nation’s top 400 senior players. The offense, slowed by wet conditions, needs to be better.

-The top-10 team most vulnerable this week is No. 10 Collins Hill. The Eagles face No. 7 Woodward Academy of Class 5A. The Maxwell Ratings show this game as a tossup. Woodward lost to Class 6A No. 2 Carrollton 24-14 last week. Collins Hill would probably get any Class 6A team-of-the-week award for its 20-19 victory over then-No. 3 Grayson last week. Jaylen Burroughs scored on a 3-yard run with 2:11 left, then caught the winning two-point-conversion pass. Collins Hill’s pass rush was fierce.

-No. 6 Mill Creek at Norcross is 6A’s top game this week, televised on PSN. Mill Creek beat Lambert 56-26 in the opener. Daniel Smith rushed for 199 yards on 15 carries. Shane Throgmartin was 8-of-17 passing for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Luke Metz, a linebacker committed to Alabama, had 10 total tackles and a TD reception. Devin Ancrum, a defensive lineman committed to North Carolina, blocked two kicks. Mill Creek outrushed Lambert 305-69. Norcross opened with a 31-10 victory over Lanier. Dillon Mohammed was 17-of-22 passing for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Kobe Robinson rushed for 151 yards. Jahsaun Clarke had nine receptions for 118 yards. Esias Tompkins had three hits behind the line. Mill Creek is a 14-point favorite.

-The other three top-10 teams in action – No. 3 Douglas County, No. 5 Walton and No. 9 Valdosta – are heavily favored.

-Grayson can get itself ranked again if it defeats Thompson, which fell just short last year of winning Alabama’s Class 7A title for the fifth straight year. That game is on ESPN2. Grayson has LB Tyler Atkinson, the state’s top junior recruit. Both teams have more than a handful of major Division I prospects.

-Peachtree Ridge is playing in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday night against Monarch of Florida. Peachtree Ridge was a surprise team last season, finishing 10-2 and winning its first playoff game since 2016. The Lions lost their opener to Roswell 21-6. Monarch is Florida’s No. 79 overall team, according to MaxPreps. Peachtree Ridge’s third-year coach, Matt Helmerich, formerly coached in Florida and wants to have his team play more interstate games.

-No. 3 Douglas County plays Jonesboro on Friday. Douglas County is heavily favored and a fun team to watch. In a 42-7 victory over Cedar Grove last week, D.J. Bordeaux was 12-of-23 passing for 142 yards and three touchdowns, two to Rah’Keith Kelly, who also scored on a 23-yard run. Wide receivers Devin Carter and Aaron Gregory are probably the best WR pair in the state if not the nation. They are juniors.

-Valdosta QB Todd Robinson, committed to Georgia as a running back, was said to be a better passer now. He was 19-of-28 passing for 319 yards and four touchdowns in Valdosta’s 65-19 victory over Tucker last week. Valdosta plays Mundy’s Mill on Friday.

Things to know: Mill Creek has won seven of the past eight games in this series after Norcross won the first eight. Mill Creek beat Lambert 56-26 in the opener. Daniel Smith rushed for 199 yards on 15 carries. Shane Throgmartin was 8-of-17 passing for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Luke Metz, a linebacker committed to Alabama, had 10 total tackles and a TD reception. Devin Ancrum, a defensive lineman committed to North Carolina, blocked two kicks. Mill Creek outrushed Lambert 305-69. Norcross opened with a 31-10 victory over Lanier. Dillon Mohammed was 17-of-22 passing for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Kobe Robinson rushed for 151 yards. Jahsaun Clarke had nine receptions for 118 yards. Esias Tompkins had three hits behind the line. Norcross and Mill Creek showed off good specialists last week. Mill Creek’s Brady Lane had five touchbacks and three punts downed inside the 20. Norcross’s Jack Rouille kicked a 37-yard field goal and had four touchbacks and one punt downed inside the 5.

Here are Maxwell’s projections for games involving Class 6A teams:

Archer vs Seckinger -39

Banneker at South Cobb -18

Brookwood at Shiloh -23

Buford vs Benedictine -10

Carrollton vs Columbia -40

Cedartown vs Berkmar -39

Central Gwinnett vs Stone Mountain -35

Colquitt County vs Monroe -42

Creekview vs North Forsyth -7

Dacula at Meadowcreek -9

Denmark at River Ridge -4

#3 Douglas County vs Jonesboro -35

Duluth vs Centennial -4

Dutchtown at South Gwinnett -1

East Coweta vs Newnan -15

Greenbrier vs Grovetown -4

Harrison at Wheeler -7

Heritage (Conyers) at Salem -18

Kell at Alpharetta -4

Lanier vs Mountain View -1

Lowndes vs Mount Zion (Jonesboro) -42

Marietta vs West Forsyth -5

#6 Mill Creek at Norcross -14

New Manchester vs Discovery -26

Newton vs Alcovy -34

North Atlanta vs Paulding County -15

North Cobb vs McEachern -16

North Paulding vs East Paulding -24

Osborne vs Chapel Hill -2

Richmond Hill vs Glynn Academy -7

Rockdale County vs Forest Park -7

Sequoyah vs Cherokee -8

South Forsyth vs Campbell -14

Sprayberry at Etowah -7

#9 Valdosta vs Mundy’s Mill -34

#5 Walton vs Lambert -22

Westlake vs Douglass -34

Winder-Barrow at Forsyth Central -7

Woodward Academy at #10 Collins Hill 0

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