The race for the state playoffs in GHSA Region 7-AAA has its expected leader at the top very early in league play.
Chaos, though, reigns otherwise in the seven-team region.
Calhoun is the lone team without a loss against region competition after rolling past Ridgeland on Friday night, but four teams are tied with one loss behind the Yellow Jackets (3-3, 2-0) after Heritage was beaten by Gilmer and Northwest Whitfield eased past LaFayette.
Heritage (4-3, 2-1) defeated Northwest last week, while Northwest (6-1, 2-1) downed Gilmer (3-3, 1-1) the week before. Adairsville (4-2, 1-1), which was off Friday, owns a win over LaFayette (0-7, 0-3) but was beaten by Calhoun last week.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)
Calhoun 41, Ridgeland 7: Freshman quarterback Trace Hawkins passed for 108 yards and two touchdowns while also adding a touchdown run for the winners.
Justin Beasley had 101 receiving yards on six catches, including one of the touchdown passes by Hawkins, while Jaxon Moore caught the other. Jaden Perkins caught a touchdown pass from Cross Land, who added 94 yards through the air, and Hunter White ran for a score as Calhoun finished with a 369-138 edge in total offense over the Panthers (1-6, 1-2).
Bryson Donald, the reigning Times Free Press Player of the week led Ridgeland with 102 yards and a touchdown rushing.
Gilmer 35, Heritage 20: The Bobcats overcame an early 10-7 deficit as Kyle Cowart ran for three touchdowns.
Gilmer was up 14-10 after a Wyatt Stokes 9-yard run late in the first quarter, but Heritage drove inside the 10 before a fumble turned the ball over. The Bobcats then went on a long drive, capped by Cowart’s 7-yard touchdown run for a 21-7 lead.
Heritage closed the gap when Caden Hight hit Luke Fitzsimmons on a 6-yard touchdown pass just before halftime, but the Generals could only muster a field goal in the second half as the Bobcats held on for the win.
Northwest Whitfield 48, LaFayette 21: Cameron Collins rushed for 101 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Gavin Nuckolls passed for 210 yards three first-half touchdowns as the Bruins roared out to a 48-7 halftime lead.
Akendris Douglas, Cal Manning and Logan Stafford caught the touchdown passes from Nuckolls, while Kade Parker returned an interception for a score and Caden Ramsey scored on a short run.
Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 34, Coahulla Creek 13: Trae Lewis had a pair of touchdowns, one on a 19-yard run and the other on a 53-yard screen pass, for the winning Warriors (2-4, 1-3 Region 7-AA).
Joe Brown led LFO in rushing with 138 yards and a touchdown, with Tamoris Johnson adding a score on a 30-yard run and leading the team in total tackles with seven.
Darian Keefe passed for 205 yards for LFO, while Waelyn Baliles had 196 yards passing and accounted for both touchdowns for Coahulla Creek (0-6, 0-4), one on a run and the other on a pass to Kobe King.
Christian Heritage 28, Gordon Central 20: Carter Triplett passed for 233 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 87 yards and two scores as the Lions improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in Region 7-A Division I.
Charlie Idom caught seven passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, and Thailan Christopher rushed for 52 yards — including a 14-yard touchdown that made it 28-12 before the Warriors rallied. Jayden Shipley had 180 yards and two touchdown passes for Gordon Central (3-4, 1-3).
Trion 44, Mount Zion-Carroll 0: The dominance by the Bulldogs (7-1, 1-1 Region 7-A Division II) included holding Mount Zion (3-5, 0-2) to 147 total yards.
Lane Harris had 128 yards and touchdown runs of 13 and 18 yards, while Logan Stokes and Ethan Willingham (three catches for 68 yards) caught touchdown passes from Kade Smith.
Other area scores:
Fannin County 35, Chattooga 7
Ringgold 31, Union County 0
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.