While the national spotlight was focused on Walton's game with Milton on Friday, all other East Cobb schools were battling for playoff spots, or firming up post-season positioning.

Walton put on a defensive show to down Milton 27-7 in a game played on ESPNU. The Raiders, 6-2 overall and 4-1 in Region 5-AAAAAA, used turnovers to lead to most of their scoring plays.

The win helped Walton keep pace in region play with Lassiter, the No. 2 team in Class AAAAAA. The Trojans (8-0, 5-0) jumped out to an early lead against Wheeler and got four more touchdown passes from Eddie Printz in a 38-23 win.

Pope also has developed a penchant for grinding out wins with good defense, as the Greyhounds (6-2, 3-0) showed again Friday in a 13-10 win over Riverwood to stay at the top of Region 7-AAAAA Subregion B.

Next week, Pope will play for the subregion champioonship at Kell, which needed a second-half rally against Sprayberry to win 33-21. The Longhorns are now 7-1 and 3-0.