Treutlen sent Bobby Driggers Stadium out a winner, Brentwood's hopes of a third-straight GIAA title were dashed in the first round, Wheeler County hung 50 on the board to clinch another region title and Dodge and Montgomery counties got back in the win column in the rest of the area's week 12 football action.
The Falcons kept it close through three quarters, but the Irish poured on three touchdowns in the fourth to win another drama-filled chapter in the schools' crosstown grudge match.
The Raiders' 22-12 win over Windsor Forest, combined with a 33-28 Harlem loss to New Hampstead later Friday night, made them region champions for a second-straight season.
Last Tuesday's 13-6 win over Dodge County was a big boost for the Falcons as they continue to build up momentum ahead of the state playoffs.
Dublin was joined by three other Heart of Georgia neighbors in the ranks of region champs Friday as the GHSA regular season drew to a close.
GHSA members wrap up the regular season, and make their final playoff cases before brackets are set this weekend, as GIAA qualifiers begin the first round of postseason play Friday night.
Unexpected upsets, and some wins for top teams to snap region and playoff races into much clearer focus, marked a busy next-to-last week of regular-season play in the Heart of Georgia.
Their young 2026 team wasn't one many would have picked to win it all. But the Raiders, in a season-long process of growing and improvement, discovered the makings of their program's second-ever fastpitch state title.
The Irish didn't miss a step, out of only a few short ones that were left, on the pathway to their sixth victory in a row and eighth of the season Friday at Buck Cravey Field.
The Royals got more of a scare than they bargained for out of the Falcons, who led twice in the first half and mounted a last-minute threat to tie or go-ahead, to make this the rivals' closest game in a decade.
