The Walton football team under first-year coach Daniel Brunner remains undefeated and has now sewn up a state playoff spot.
The Raiders did that on Friday night at Raider Valley in a 42-19 win over East Cobb rival Lassiter in a key Region 4AAAAAAA contest. 
Although starting Walton quarterback Austin Kirksey didn’t return following a third-quarter injury, running back D.J. Soyoye more than made for his loss with two touchdown scores in the second half as the Raiders (8-0) pulled away from the Trojans (4-3) down the stretch.
Walton, which has regular season games remaining against Etowah and Woodstock, is the first East Cobb high school football team to qualify for the state playoffs.
Lassiter is still in contention for a post-season berth and will close out against Cherokee and Etowah.
Sprayberry was hopeful at the start of the season with a new coach, former Yellow Jackets player Brett Vavra. After winning their opener, however, they lost six in a row. On Friday at home, Sprayberry ended that skid with a 17-14 win over River Ridge. Sprayberry doesn’t have a post-season shot, but has two games left against Creekside and Sequoyah to try to finish with some momentum.
The three other East Cobb teams suffered some heartbreak on Friday, with playoff berths within reach.
The Kell Longhorns took a 28-7 lead at home against Carrollton, with a chance to nail down a home playoff game. But Carrollton surged back and kicked a field goal with time expiring to earn a 45-42 victory. The Longhorns (4-4) are still in the hunt for the post-season, and play Woodland and Hiram over the next two weeks.
Pope fell behind early at Chattahoochee on Friday, then mounted a comeback that fell short in another wild finish, a 46-41 loss. The Greyhounds are 3-5 and have an outside playoff chance, with games remaining against Centennial and Northview.
Wheeler led a good bit of the night on Friday at Campbell, but were defeated 35-23 to fall to 2-6 on the season. The Wildcats also are winless in regional play and will close out their season against Westlake and Pebblebrook.
