St. Pius X High School, Atlanta, put last week’s loss to Marist School behind them and shut out Salem High School, the number one-ranked team in region 8-AAAA, 24-0. Coming into the game Salem’s offense was averaging 27 points a game and their stingy defense was only giving up nine points a game. But it was the resounding roar of the Golden Lion defense that held the Salem offense to 88 total offensive yards (45 rushing and 43 passing). The defense also forced four Salem fumbles, three in the second half. A first-quarter field goal by St. Pius senior Chris Philpott provided the only scoring of the game until the fourth quarter. St. Pius offensive linemen Kent Cleveland, Wilson Fish, Kevin Hatter, Matt Simzik, Richard Taylor, Jeremy Sorrentino and Jack Storrs dominated the line of scrimmage, which allowed sophomore running back Cole Moon to rush for three fourth-quarter touchdowns. St. Pius (8-3) travels north to take on Rome High School (9-1) in their second round game of the state playoffs Friday, Nov. 23.

Holy Spirit Preparatory School, Atlanta, lost to Tiftarea Academy of Chula 22-15 in double overtime. Holy Spirit finishes the 2007 season with an overall record of 7-4.

For the first time in nearly 15 years Marist School, Atlanta, lost in the first round of the state playoffs. Habersham Central High School defeated the War Eagles 24-7. Both teams held each other scoreless in the first quarter, but Habersham Central struck first on a 30-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Bo Hatchett to fellow senior wide receiver Tavarres King in the second quarter. Habersham Central added a field goal in the third quarter, but Marist senior running back Derek Heyden also found his way to the end zone to cut the lead to 10-7. Marist was unable to get any closer the rest of the night and Habersham Central added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to close the deal. Marist completes the season with a record of 8-3.

The winningest football season in Pinecrest Academy, Cumming, history came to an end on their home field after losing to Windsor Academy 30-16. Pinecrest was only down by six points late in the fourth quarter, but they were unable to get a fresh set of downs when they failed to make a first down on a fourth-down attempt. Windsor took over with about 3:30 left in the game and added another touchdown and two-point conversion to put the game out of reach. Pinecrest closes out their season at 9-3.