Sandy Creek needed to win its final three games of the season to win the Region 6-AAA title.

The race to the region title got significantly tougher Friday for Creek, which lost to the Haralson County Rebels 24-14 in Tallapoosa in a Region 6-AAA game.

The loss dropped Creek (4-4, 3-2 in the region) into a tie with Haralson for second place in the region with two weeks left in the regular season. Had Creek won, it would have been in a three-way tie with Carrollton and Cedartown for first place in the region.

Creek struck first against Haralson, with Ragion Neal scoring on a 10-yard run in the first quarter.

Haralson answered on its next series with a 49-yard touchdown pass.

A 19-yard touchdown pass and a 23-yard field goal put Haralson in front 17-7 in the third quarter.

Running back Josh Williams answered with a 1-yard touchdown run on Creek’s ensuing series.

But Haralson came right back and scored on a 10-yard pass.

Haralson’s defense shut down Creek’s offense the rest of the way to help the Rebels hold on for the victory.