GHSA redraws football brackets

By Todd Holcomb

For the AJC

The state playoffs just got harder for Buford and Sandy Creek. And perhaps easier for Hiram and Holy Innocents'.

The Georgia High School Association re-drew the football playoff bracket Monday morning after finding errors in the original. First- and second-round pairings remain the same, but potential quarterfinals have been altered significantly.

Here are some of the highlights:

No. 2 North Gwinnett (10-0), originally seeded to face No. 7 Northside of Warner Robins (9-1) in the Class AAAAA quarterfinals, is now in the same quarter with No. 4 Lowndes (9-1) and No. 8 Camden County (8-2). No. 6 McEachern (10-0) and 2008 runner-up Peachtree Ridge (8-2) are now grouped with Northside.

While that's probably a fair trade, other classifications are seeing more jarring changes.

In AAAA, No. 4 Hiram (10-0) got good news because it is now seeded to face unranked Lakeside of Evans (9-1) rather than No. 5 Thomas County Central (9-1) in the quarters. No. 3 Sandy Creek (9-1) is quartered with Thomas Central (9-1).

In AAA, No. 1 Gainesville (10-0) is now seeded to play No. 5 Baldwin (8-2) instead of No. 3 Peach County (10-0). Peach moves into the quarter with No. 4 St. Pius (10-0).

The expected quarterfinal showdown between No. 1 Calhoun and No. 2 Fitzgerald has been erased. Now, Calhoun is more likely to meet No. 4 Jefferson County (10-0), while Fitzgerald is quartered with unranked Callaway (8-2). Defending champion Buford's draw got tougher because now Fitzgerald is in Buford's half.

In A, No. 2 Savannah Christian has been moved into the same quarter as No. 3 Lincoln County (9-1), while Holy Innocents' (9-1) inherits Emanuel County Institute (9-1), a team that Savannah Christian has beaten 34-0.

The draws for basketball, baseball, soccer and tennis also must be corrected and will be addressed later, according to GHSA spokesperson Steve Figueroa.

"This resulted from moving just one region in a well-intentioned but misguided effort to prevent the same regions from being in the same half of the draw every year,'' Figueroa said. "Didn't work out the way we intended."

New brackets:

Class AAAAA

First round

Chapel Hill (7-3) at Northside, Warner Robins (9-1)

Union Grove (8-2) at Windsor Forest (6-4)

Brookwood (5-5) at McEachern (10-0)

Kell (6-4) at Peachtree Ridge (8-2)

Valdosta (7-3) at Newnan (10-0)

Jenkins (4-6) at M.L. King (9-1)

Marietta (5-5) at Grayson (10-0)

Collins Hill (8-2) at Roswell (9-1)

Centennial (5-5) at North Gwinnett (10-0)

Dacula (7-3) at Woodstock (9-1)

Newton (6-4) at Camden County (8-2)

East Coweta (7-3) at Lowndes (9-1)

North Forsyth (7-3) at Lassiter (10-0)

Etowah (8-2) at South Gwinnett (9-1)

Bradwell Institute (6-4) at Stephenson (10-0)

ColquittCounty (8-2) at Westlake (7-3)

Class AAAA

First round

Alcovy (7-3) at Thomas County Central (9-1)

Glynn Academy (5-5) at Richmond Academy (7-3)

Loganville (6-4) at Sandy Creek (9-1)

Tucker (8-2) at Dalton (7-3)

Harris County (5-5) at Griffin (10-0)

Evans (8-2) at Ware County (5-5)

Starr's Mill (6-4) at Apalachee (10-0)

Sprayberry (7-3) at Marist (8-2)

Chamblee (7-3) at Hiram (10-0)

Rockdale County (7-3) at Banneker (7-3)

Statesboro (6-4) at Lakeside, Evans (9-1)

Mount Zion, Jonesboro (8-2) at Westside, Macon (9-1)

Northwest Whitfield (7-3) at Southwest DeKalb (9-1)

Mays (8-2) at Clarke Central (8-2)

Hephzibah (7-3) at Brunswick (7-3)

Bainbridge (6-4) at North Clayton (8-2)

Class AAA

First round

Spalding (5-5) at Peach County (10-0)

Troup (6-4) at Washington County (9-1)

Franklin County (5-5) at St. Pius (10-0)

Ringgold (8-2) at North Hall (8-2)

Monroe (7-3) at Jackson (10-0)

Liberty County (7-3) at LaGrange (8-2)

Towers (7-3) at Eastside (8-2)

Creekview (9-1) at Carrollton (9-1)

Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (7-3) at Gainesville (10-0)

Elbert County (7-3) at Dunwoody (6-4)

Northside, Columbus (5-5) at Baldwin (8-2)

Woodland, Stockbridge (7-3) at Cairo (7-3)

Flowery Branch (7-3) at Ridgeland (9-1)

Grady (9-1) at Hart County (8-2)

BurkeCounty (7-3) at Carver, Columbus (9-1)

Worth County (5-5) at Woodward Academy (7-3)

Class AA

First round

Greene County (4-6) at Fitzgerald (10-0)

McIntosh County Academy (7-3) at Swainsboro (9-1)

Riverside Military (5-5) at Callaway (8-2)

Westminster (7-3) at Armuchee (7-3)

Cook (5-5) at Northeast (7-3)

Vidalia (7-3) at Appling County (9-1)

Heard County (6-4) at Jefferson (10-0)

Pepperell (9-1) at Buford (9-1)

Avondale (6-4) at Calhoun (10-0)

North Oconee (7-3) at Lamar County (7-3)

Tattnall County (7-3) at Jefferson County (10-0)

Henry County (7-3) at Thomasville (7-3)

Chattooga (9-1) at Lovett (9-1)

Manchester (7-3) at East Jackson (9-1)

Dublin (7-3) at Charlton County (9-0-1)

Brooks County (8-2) at Putnam County (8-2)

Class A

First round

Marion County (7-3) at Clinch County (7-3)

Hawkinsville (6-4) at Emanuel County Institute (9-1)

Social Circle (4-6) at Holy Innocents' (9-1)

Bremen (6-4) at Wilkinson County (8-2)

Pelham (5-5) at Greenville (10-0)

Treutlen (8-2) at WilcoxCounty (8-2)

Whitefield Academy (6-4) at Wesleyan (10-0)

Washington-Wilkes (5-5) at Bowdon (9-1)

Trion (6-4) at Lincoln County (9-1)

Athens Academy (7-3) at Eagle's Landing Christian (8-2)

Irwin County (5-5) at Savannah Christian (10-0)

Brookstone (8-2) at Miller County (8-2)

Warren County (4-6) at Darlington (6-4)

Landmark Christian (6-4) at Commerce (6-4)

Savannah Country Day (5-5) at Twiggs County (9-1)

Seminole County (8-2) at Chattahoochee County (8-1)