St. Pius dropped its first game of the football season and lost the region championship Nov. 7 to Dunwoody High School 20-14. St. Pius was going after its first regional title since 1968, but Dunwoody, who also came into the game undefeated, had its own hopes of wearing the crown.

Just 2:07 into the game, on fourth down and 1 yard to go for a first down, Dunwoody running back Treavor Scales broke off a 36-yard touchdown run for Dunwoody’s first score. With 41 seconds remaining in the quarter, Scales scored his second touchdown to put Dunwoody up 14-0. St. Pius trailed by the same score at halftime.

St. Pius saw its offense kick-start in the second half when senior running back Brendonn Jones ran the opening kickoff back 78 yards. The team put its first touchdown on the board on a 5-yard run by Cole Moon 58 seconds into the third quarter. Dunwoody added a field goal in the third quarter and another one early in the fourth quarter to extend its lead to 20-7. Moon added his second touchdown of the night to pull St. Pius within six, but that is as close as the team would get the rest of the game. St. Pius (9-1) will host Cartersville High School (7-3) in the first round of the state playoffs Friday, Nov. 14.

Blessed Trinity High School, Roswell, saw its season end after a 14-10 loss to Westminster School Nov. 7. Westminster overcame a 10-0 deficit to eliminate Blessed Trinity from playoff contention. Quarterback Kohl Hegetschweiler completed 13 of 23 passes for 196 yards and one touchdown in his final game as a senior. Senior running back Sam Burkhalter finished his illustrious season at Blessed Trinity with 18 touchdowns and 1,555 yards. He holds the school record for touchdowns (45) and yards (3,698).

Holy Spirit Preparatory School, Atlanta, secured its first playoff victory in school history with a 27-7 win over John Millage Academy in Milledgeville Nov. 7. Holy Spirit quarterback Curtis Johnson ran for an 82-yard touchdown on the second play of the game. Holy Spirit held a 20-0 lead at halftime. Tre’ Blanchard had three interceptions on defense and six catches for 124 yards on offense. In the second round playoff game Holy Spirit (6-5) travels to Albany to face Deerfield-Windor School (9-2) on Friday, Nov. 14.

Marist School, Atlanta, scored 34 points in the first half and cruised to a 48-0 win over Lakeside High School on homecoming night Nov. 7. All seven touchdowns came on runs between 4 and 29 yards by Marist running backs Patrick Sullivan, Matt Connors and Sam Culley and quarterbacks Patrick Sullivan and Andy Perez. As a team Marist had 355 total offensive yards. Since Marist dropped the opening game of its season, the team has racked up nine wins in a row. The offense is averaging 34 points per game and the defense is holding its opponents to 12 points per game. Marist (9-1) plays host to Northgate High School (6-4) of Newnan in its first round playoff game Friday, Nov. 14.

Pinecrest Academy, Cumming, advanced to the second round of the state playoffs with a 28-7 win over Trinity Christian School of Dublin Nov. 7. Pinecrest running back Kevin Metz had three touchdowns in the game and quarterback Zach Wilson compiled 208 offensive yards on the ground and in the air. Junior cornerback Javier Callejas was the Pinecrest defensive standout of the game as he intercepted a pass on the Trinity Christian 15-yard line to set up one of the Pinecrest touchdowns. In the second round of the playoffs Pinecrest travels to Macon to take on two-time defending state champion Tattnall Square Academy on Friday, Nov. 14.