A quartet of Northwest Georgia football programs earned critical wins Friday night to improve their playoff chances and/or seeding with just two more regular-season games remaining for most GHSA teams.
Trion topped Pepperell in a first-place showdown in Region 7-A Division I, but the Bulldogs (8-0, 4-0) will still need to defeat 2022 region champion Darlington in two weeks to win the league title outright.
In the same region, Dade County won its second consecutive league game, routing Chattooga, and with two games remaining, the Wolverines (3-5, 2-2) control their own fate when it comes to making the postseason.
In Region 7-AAAA, Heritage beat Northwest Whitfield, handing the Bruins their first league loss. The Generals (5-3, 2-1) need one more win in their final two games to clinch a playoff spot, and they could win the region outright with a pair of wins and a little help.
In Region 6-AAA, Ringgold kept its postseason hopes alive with a 35-7 victory over Ridgeland. To reach the playoffs, the Tigers (4-4, 2-3) will need to win their final two games, against Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and Gordon Lee.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night's Chattanooga-area prep football games)
Trion 35, Pepperell 14: Trion senior Toby Maddux had another big game with 141 yards rushing, 112 receiving and four touchdowns, and quarterback Kade Smith led the Bulldogs with 149 yards rushing -- including a touchdown -- while also throwing for 245 yards as the winners racked up 583 total yards.
The Bulldogs, who did all their scoring in the first half, also had three long touchdown passes wiped out by penalties.
"Our kids played well despite having the touchdowns called back," Trion coach Sean Patrick said. "We would have had well over 700 yards of offense, but we will take the win. We've had big games like this before the last couple of years and haven't performed very well, so it was nice to get the win tonight in front of a great crowd."
Maddux had touchdown runs of 1, 1, 2 and 23 yards, and Smith added a 63-yard score. The Dragons (4-4, 3-1) twice trimmed the Trion lead to seven, the last time on Tyler Rogers' 17-yard run in the second quarter, but the Bulldogs responded with a pair of Maddux touchdown runs to lead by 21 at halftime.
"This team is doing some special things," Patrick said. "We know that we still have to beat Darlington to win our first region championship since 2003, and we still have Armuchee next week. We have the opportunity to go 10-0, something that hasn't happened here since 1974."
Dade County 42, Chattooga 7: Landon Williams rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries, and the Wolverines held Chattooga (1-8, 0-5) to 115 total yards. Bryson Shrader passed for 148 yards for Dade, which has games against Pepperell and Armuchee remaining.
Heritage 28, Northwest Whitfield 21: Brayden Slaughter rushed for 129 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Brady Chandler hooked up with Max Owens for two touchdown passes as the Generals downed the Bruins (6-2, 2-1) in Ringgold.
The Heritage defense held Northwest to 31 yards rushing and forced four turnovers.
Bremen 44, Coahulla Creek 7: The Colts (4-4, 3-2 Region 6-AAA) were held to 77 total yards by the Blue Devils (7-1, 5-0), who remain tied with Adairsville (6-2, 5-0) atop the league standings. Chase Ward connected with Nate Tilley on a 22-yard touchdown pass for Coahulla Creek's lone score.
Other area scores:
Cedartown 45, Sonoraville 0
Christian Heritage 48, Asheville (N.C.) Christian Academy 33
Fannin County 42, Murray County 14
North Murray 21, Model 14
Rockmart 43, Gordon Central 7
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.