Johnny Davis takes the lead in local College Pick 'Em Contest

The sixth week of our local ESPN College Football Pick ‘Em Contest is in the books, and Johnny Davis took over the first-place spot in the local contest standings. Davis, who was in third place last week, picked six out of 10 games correctly last Saturday and holds an eight-point lead over the rest of the group.

Jacob Ramer, who was in first place the past two weeks, dropped into the second-place spot this week. Hunter Norris, who was in fourth place last week, moved up to third place. My brother Mark Peacock dropped from second place into fourth place, and I held this week’s fifth-place spot.

LaBarin Banks was in sixth place, and Justin Jensen held down the seventh-place spot. Travis Presley was in eighth place, and Bill Bolton was in the ninth-place spot. Aaron Albritton finished the weekend in tenth place.

With eight more weeks of the contest remaining, there is still a lot of time for those of you in the reading audience to make your way into the Top 10 and into that coveted top spot. Hang in there. A lot can happen in the college football world in the next two months.

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SEC football action continued this past weekend with a slate of great games. This weekend looks to be no different as teams cross the midway point of the regular season. Great conference match-ups to look forward to this weekend include Alabama at Missouri, Kentucky at Arkansas, Auburn at Ole Miss, South Carolina at LSU, Tennessee at Mississippi State and Florida at Vanderbilt.

For what it’s worth, here are my picks for this weekend’s slate of games. I like Alabama over Missouri, Kentucky over Arkansas, Auburn over Ole Miss, South Carolina over LSU, Tennessee over Mississippi State and Florida over Vanderbilt. Texas A&M and Georgia are off this week.

Last week: 3-3. So far this season: 48-10.

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Hillcrest and Sparta both recorded varsity football wins last Friday, and both games were remarkable for a number of reasons.

Hillcrest beat region rival Wilcox Central, 45-0, at Brooks Memorial Stadium Friday night and that was Hillcrest’s biggest win since Oct. 29, 2010 when the Jags beat Georgiana, 49-0, in Georgiana. Friday night’s win was also Hillcrest’s biggest win on their home field since Aug. 26, 2005 when the Jags bested R.C. Hatch, 48-0, in Brooks Memorial Stadium.

Friday night’s win was also Hillcrest’s biggest region win since Oct. 24, 2003 when the Jags whipped Gulf Shores, 60-13, in Gulf Shores. Friday night’s win was Hillcrest’s biggest region win ever in Brooks Memorial Stadium, going all the way back to the start of region play in 2000.

Also on Friday night, Sparta beat longtime rival Jackson Academy, 41-34, at Stuart-McGehee Field in Evergreen. That game was the 17th all-time meeting between the two schools in football, and Sparta now leads the all-time series, 9-8. Friday night’s win was also Sparta’s third win in a row, which marks their longest winning streak since they put together four-straight wins to start the 2008 season.