When Brookwood opens the Class AAAAA playoffs today in Snellville, the Broncos will not only have the tag of Georgia's top team, but national acclaim will follow the team onto the field against Region 6's Alpharetta.

USA Today's latest Super 25 rankings have the 24-1 Broncos in the No. 1 spot, a two-spot jump from the national newspaper's previous poll.

Brookwood has the horses on the mound. University of Georgia-bound left-hander Chase Hawkins is 10-0 with a 1.02 ERA and also leads the team in hitting with a .516 average. No. 2 starter Alex Beebe is 7-0 with a 1.53 ERA and No. 3 Matt Adams is 5-0 with a 1.56 ERA, giving the Broncos a capable arm for each of the possible three games per series.

At the plate, the Broncos can score runs in a hurry as evidenced by their 8.8 runs per game during the regular season. Junior Ronnie Freeman is right behind Hawkins in the team batting race, hitting .515 with 25 RBIs, while Jordan Erisman is at .471 with a team-high 27 RBIs and Seth Adkins adds a .422 average and 25 RBIs.

"We're not so dependent on our 3-4-5 hitters," Howard said. "We really like our guys at the bottom of the lineup; we like our lineup top to bottom. [And] that's what's been special about this group, there's nine seniors and they play the game extremely well. You go 24-1, you've got to have more than one kid step up."

The next three weeks won't be easy for Howard's club. If the Broncos get past Alpharetta, winners of five straight games coming into the playoffs, the winner of Norcross-Woodstock awaits. A tough opponent out of the foursome of East Coweta-M.L. King-Jenkins-Coffee would follow in the quarterfinals and then a semifinal dual with Lassiter could follow that. If Brookwood reaches the state championship series, any number of quality teams from the other side of the bracket, including USA Today No. 9 Harrison, could be waiting.

"You throw the seeds out," Howard said. "[Alpharetta's] a No. 4 seed, but I don't think of them as a 4-seed. They've got a No. 1 [pitcher, Colin Snow] that's as good as anybody's No. 1, so it'll be a tough three-game series.

"Anything can happen."