Coming off a five-touchdown game in the quarterfinals, Bryce Hicks was hard pressed to top it last week. The Carrollton running back did what he could, rushing for a career-high 205 yards on 37 carries and throwing a 9-yard touchdown pass in a 35-27 victory over second-ranked Colquitt County in the Class 7A semifinals.

Thomson entered the fourth quarter of its quarterfinal game against South Atlanta with a 10-point lead, then was torched by four touchdowns. But South Atlanta couldn’t keep the ball away from Jontavis Curry, who ran back two kickoffs for touchdowns.

Jeremy Hecklinski has had better games on paper, but probably never on the field. Walton’s junior quarterback was 21-of-39 passing for 315 yards and three touchdowns and scored a touchdown in 42-35 victory over No. 1-ranked Buford in a Class 7A second-round playoff game last week.

Devin Ingram was having an outstanding game before his team got down 38-26 with five minutes to play in the Class 4A first round last week. Then he finished it. The junior running back from Stephenson returned a kickoff 60 yards for a touchdown and scored on a 58-yard run with 1:15 left give Jaguars a 40-38 victory over Pace Academy.

A team needs play-makers to win its second consecutive region title, and Brunswick has Terry Mitchell. The junior wide receiver – listed at 5 feet, 8 inches and 150 pounds – scored on a 53-yard reception and a 73-yard punt return in the first half as Brunswick took a 20-6 lead over Effingham County in the game that decided the Region 2-6A championship.

Gainesville’s hopes for its first region title since 2013 were looking bleak Friday night until destiny met Darius Cannon. With his team down 21-7 in the third quarter, the senior wide receiver returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. Gainesville still trailed 21-19 with 4:18 left when Cannon caught the game-winning touchdown on a 69-yard tunnel screen.

Jefferson’s Sammy Brown scored all six of his team’s touchdowns, one on a 97-yard run, another on a 30-yard over-the-shoulder catch, in the Dragons’ 42-6 victory over then-No. 3 Loganville in a game that decided first place in Region 8-5A.

Justice Haynes’ 214 yards against Mill Creek in a game between unbeaten teams last week moved him ahead of NFL rookie and former Florida and Bainbridge star Dameon Pierce into 11th place all-time in Georgia rushing history.

Prince Avenue Christian’s Aaron Philo threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Christian with 1:11 left in a 42-35 victory over Baylor of Chattanooga, the No. 1-ranked team in Tennessee’s Class II-AAA.

First-year Worth County coach Jeff Hamond inherited a program that hadn’t had a winning season since 2016, but he also found a rising senior quarterback who had rushed for 1,002 yards and passed for 1,921 in just 10 games the prior season.

Eddrick Houston’s job as an edge rusher is to pressure quarterbacks and make negative-yards plays. The Buford junior added two sacks and another tackle for a loss to his totals last week in a 14-0 victory over Marietta.

East Coweta’s Brady Tillman has the speed, strength, size and hands to be an elite receiver, but the best thing he does is score touchdowns.

Valdosta defensive end Eric Brantley Jr., his region’s defensive player of the year in 2021, had four tackles for losses and two sacks in a 25-0 victory over Warner Robins.

It's doubtful that any Georgia football player means more to a good team than Kameron Davis, Dougherty’s junior quarterback. He showed why Friday in a 33-30 victory over Stockbridge.

Troup quarterback Taeo Todd rushed 1,457 yards as a freshman but was limited to four games as a sophomore because of a knee injury. Suffice it to say, he’s back. Now a junior, Todd has rushed for 371 yards and passed for 340 in two games while playing just six quarters.

Jaden Gibson entered the season just 1,303 yards short of the 49-year-old state record for career receiving yards. At this pace, the record will fall sooner than later.