Stone Smith, a senior linebacker at Roswell, is the scoutSMART Student-Athlete of the Week. Smith has a 4.0+ GPA while taking 11 AP classes, a 1570 SAT score and a 35 ACT score.

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.

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.

The Otter’s Chicken Offensive Line of the Week is Fitzgerald’s starting five of center Cason Brown, guards Xavier Walker and Christian Riggins and tackles Gabe Pearce and Roderick Morgan with tight end Khalil Williams.

Korine Talkington, a junior from defending Class A/4A champion Southeast Bulloch, is GHSF Daily’s Flag Football Player of the Week. She got her first career start at quarterback last week and led the Yellow Jackets to a 5-0 record.

Amari Wilson, a senior offensive tackle at Shaw High School in Columbus, is the scoutSMART Student-Athlete of the Week. Wilson has a 4.09 GPA while being in the school’s Communication magnet program.

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.

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.

The Otter’s Chicken Offensive Line of the Week is North Gwinnett’s unit of tackles Xavier Jean and Maddox Brix, guards Aiden Quintlen and Charles Thorpe and center Chris Beeco with tight end Will Collins.

Jacob Benjamin, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound senior offensive lineman at Cherokee Bluff, is the scoutSMART Student-Athlete of the Week. Benjamin, a Class 4A preseason all-state pick by GHSF Daily, has a 4.3 GPA and is committed to play football at the United State Military Academy.

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.

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.

The Otter’s Chicken Offensive Line of the Week is Troup’s unit of sophomores Jatorian Blackmon and Amarius Perdue and juniors Steven Davis, Jeremy Patrick, Braden Smith and Isiah Hall.

John Dutton, a 6-foot-2 senior defensive end and tight end at Peachtree Ridge, is the scoutSMART Student-Athlete of the Week. Dutton is a captain for three sports, has a 4.0 GPA and is involved in numerous clubs at the school.

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.

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.

The Otter’s Chicken Offensive Line of the Week is Wheeler County’s unit of Bryce Miller, J.T. Gillis, Jordan Bridges, Walker Bridges and Owen Stokes.

Daniel Geil, a 6-foot-3 senior defensive end at Christian Heritage, is the scoutSMART Student-Athlete of the Week. Geil, a preseason GHSF Daily all-state selection, has a 4.4 GPA, a near perfect score on the ACT and scholarship offers from Shorter and Erskine.

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.

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.