Week Twelve saw a couple of region title games, a couple teams fighting for a playoff berth, and others getting a final tune-up before the postseason.

*keep checking back for additions to the recaps as that data becomes available.*

White County 35, Gilmer 28

The Warriors were in a do-or-die game, and came through with a playoff ticket. White County held several leads only to see Gilmer continually tie it up. Until Tripp Nix came through with a game-winning drive that ended with a TD pass to Gaines Clark for the go-ahead winner with 1:34 to go. It was the second TD connection for the duo in the fourth. Ryan Fowler also had a 30-yd TD in the first and a 1-yd plunge in the second. Nix added a rushing score in the third.

#7 Fellowship Christian 28, Union County 21(THURSDAY)

Playing for a region title on the road on Thursday night, Union County fell in dramatic fashion, 28-21 at #7 Fellowship Christian. Braylen Rader had the Panthers up early with a 40-yd TD run. That 7-0 lead was intact and was added to by the Panthers to go up 141-0 midway through the second. The Paladins raced back to tie the game up at 14 apiece heading into the break. The home team took the lead midway through the third before Union responded to knot the game up again. A 4th-and-GL stop for FC proved to be a dagger for the Panthers, as the Paladins went ahead 28-21 late. The Panthers got to the 15-yard line with under 20 seconds to go, but were unable to punch it in from there. With the loss, Union falls to the 3-seed.

#2 Jefferson 35, Eastside 0 (THURSDAY)

Jefferson left no doubt about who runs the region. The Dragons went on the road on a cold Thursday night and used their firepower to thwart Eastside’s best efforts. It was 35-0 and every bit as dominant as the score would indicate. A Sammy Brown 1-yd TD in the first got Jefferson going, and set a new single-season career high for him in rushing TDs. Kelan Butler had a big sack and fumble recovery on back-to-back drives, and Gavin Markey hit Zay Minish for a 30-yd TD early in the second for the 14-0 lead. That held to the break. In the third, Brown rushed in for his second TD to push that advantage up to 21-0. Markey and Minish connected again for a 31-yd TD midway through the third, increasing the lead to 28-0. Brown polished it off with his third rushing TD and the 35-0 lead. Jefferson cruised from there to the final horn. This makes back-to-back region titles for Jefferson, and the first undefeated regular season since 2020.

#5 Lumpkin County 42, West Hall 7

The dream season continues for Lumpkin County, as the Indians punctuated the regular season with a typical 42-7 win that gave the program its first-ever 10-0 campaign. Mason Sullens started out with a bang, notching a 50-yd TD midway through the first. The Spartans actually hung tough by tying it up early in the second. Cal Faulkner broke the tie with a TD pass to Luke Evans midway into the second. A 6-yd TD by Sullens a few minutes later started to open things up at 21-7. Just before the break, Faulkner found a wide-open Walker Scott to push it to 28-7. Early in the third, Faulkner scored on a 14-yd TD run, and Sullens capped the scoring with a 1-yd TD in the fourth.

Habersham Central 35, Shiloh 16

The Raiders got a must-win over Shiloh to punch a playoff ticket and finish the regular season at .500. It started quickly when DJ Pass hit Zeke Whittington for a TD just over a minute into the game. Whittington showed his athleticism with a 12-yd TD run on the first play of the second to stretch the lead to 14-3. It was still close at 21-3 in the fourth when the teams started to light up the board. Donnie Warren got a TD run for the Raiders to make it 28-3, but the Generals responded with a TD to get within 28-10. Warren scored on another TD run to make it 35-10, and Shiloh got a garbage-time TD.

Providence Christian 55, Banks County 14

The Leopards closed the season with a 55-14 crushing loss to Providence Christian, ending the slate with 6 straight losses following the 4-0 start.

Hebron Christian 37, #1 Stephens County 6

De ja vu. And not in a good way. This exact situation happened a year ago when the Indians had clinched the region title the week prior to playing Hebron Christian, only to have the Lions spoil the regular season finale with a tough loss to swallow. Once again, it’s a loss that really doesn’t do anything except possibly take some of the swagger, momentum, and confidence out of the team if they stew on it for too long. #1-ranked Stephens was only able to register a couple of field goals in the 37-6 beatdown.

Lincoln County 42, Towns County 7

The Indians concluded their season with a 42-7 loss to Lincoln County. That puts Towns County at 0-10 on the year.

OTHER LOCAL GAMES

#3 Buford 67, Central Gwinnett 0
#1 Gainesville 28, Jackson County 0
Flowery Branch 48, Heritage 35
Walnut Grove 25, Chestatee 8
East Forsyth 42, North Hall 39
Madison County 70, East Hall 37
#2 North Oconee 34, Cherokee Bluff 7
Midtown 33, Johnson 9
Oconee County 42, Franklin County 7
Monroe Area 23, Hart County 14
Athens Academy 59, East Jackson 21
Loganville Christian xx, Lakeview Academy (missing score)