St. Anne-Pacelli fielded its first varsity football team in 1960. Its coach, Dwight Jones, got his first high school coaching job in 1979. Neither had won a state championship until last week, when fate smiled on the two.

Bowdon hadn’t won a road playoff game since 2013, and things weren’t looking good Friday night, when the top-ranked Red Devils trailed third-ranked Early County 19-0 in the first half of their Class A Division II quarterfinal.

New Wayne County coach Jaybo Shaw came from a program that had won 10 games and made the quarterfinals each season since 2015. That was Rabun County. Shaw’s expectations were the same at Wayne County, but maybe not this soon. But after an 0-9 season last year, Wayne County has arrived.

Cass is GHSF Daily’s state Team of the Week, and there hasn’t been a more clear-cut choice this season. The Colonels’ 27-17 victory over fourth-ranked Jefferson in the Class 5A first round last week was their first postseason win since 1983 and the first over a ranked opponent from the same classification in school history.

Harlem won its first region title since 1974 last week with a 27-13 victory over Morgan County in Region 4-3A. The victory was especially satisfying for coach Mark Boiter, a Harlem alumnus who has worked at his alma mater the past 17 years, or since leaving college.

When odds are long, Stephens County thrives. The Indians were given a 5.9% chance of winning Region 8-3A in preseason by the computer Maxwell Ratings. Region rivals Oconee County, Monroe Area and Hebron Christian have been ranked in the top 10 at various times this season.

Spencer High hasn’t won a region title since Odis Spencer retired in 1972, but it’s determined to honor its historic coach with a championship this season. Spencer’s 14-13 victory last week over Northeast put the Greenwave in first place in 2-2A.

Cambridge, a north Fulton County school that opened in 2012, is one victory from its first region title. The Bears won their biggest game of the season last week, a 42-24 victory over then-No. 5 Kell, to take first place in Region 6-5A.

Valdosta is back, and so is the Winnersville Classic, arguably the state’s best football rivalry. After enduring a 4-6 finish and playoff ban last season, Valdosta is 7-0 and ranked No. 4 in Class 7A. Its 13-6 victory over Lowndes last week was played before sold-out crowd of some 12,000 fans at Lowndes’ Martin Stadium.

Hebron Christian has made the playoffs six straight seasons and reached the Class A Private quarterfinals in 2019, but the Lions’ biggest headlines came this offseason when the Dacula private school hired Jonathan Gess, a six-time state champion at Eagle’s Landing Christian, as its head coach and volunteered to play up in Class 3A.

Social Circle hadn’t beaten a ranked opponent in its football history, which began in 1978, and was a 29-point underdog Friday night against No. 8 Lamar County, which came to Redskins Field undefeated.

Dutchtown got its Region 4 schedule started in a big way last week with a 14-7 victory over defending Class 5A champion Warner Robins.

Class 4A Cedartown beat then-No. 5 Calhoun of Class 5A 21-7 last week, its first victory over a top-five team from the same or higher classification since 2005, and is now ranked No. 1 for the first time since 1995.

Perry achieved another milestone last week when it earned a 42-14 victory over then-No. 3 Jones County of Class 5A. That was the fifth top-10 team that Perry has beaten in three seasons but the highest-ranked opponent since 1998.

Osborne has had six football coaches since GHSF Daily started publication in 2009. Each time, when chronicling the state’s newly hired coaches, GHSF Daily has named Osborne the toughest job in its classification.

Columbia, a Class 2A DeKalb County school, went 8-4 last season and won its first playoff game in 24 years, but the Eagles were never ranked. That’s because they hadn’t scored a signature victory to earn it. Now, they have.