Seven regions begin region play this week, and the most highly anticipated is 1-AAAAAA, home to four top-five teams.
On Friday, No. 1 Houston County is at No. 3 Lee County, and No. 2 Northside (Warner Robins) is at No. 5 Valdosta. The region's fifth team, Coffee, also is formidable with a 4-2 record.
"I have never been in a region like this from top to bottom," Houston County coach Von Lassiter said. "It's going to be a tough but exciting year starting this Friday night."
Here is a look at all 56 regions and their four best teams as ranked in their classification by the Maxwell Ratings. Maxwell places four Region 1-AAAAAA teams in the top eight. Coffee is No. 13.
Region 1-AAAAAA isn't the only super-strong league, though.
Region 5-AAA also has four top-10 teams - No. 2 Westminster, No. 3 Pace Academy, No. 7 Cedar Grove and No. 8 Lovett - but doesn't have nearly as strong of a No. 5 team as Coffee.
Region 5-AAAAAA is arguably the deepest. Only No. 4 Mays and No. 10 Hughes are in the top 10, but there are six in the top 16. They include No. 11 Alexander, No. 12 Northgate, No. 16 Creekside and No. 17 Douglas County. Only four teams per region above Class A make the playoffs.
Another deep region is 7-A. Lincoln County is ranked No. 6 in GHSF Daily's Class A public-school rankings, but according to Maxwell, the Red Devils (3-1-1) are only the sixth-best team in their region, which has a strong mix of public and private schools. Class A's playoff berths are determined by a power rating and not region finish, so Lincoln County should be good to go in the postseason.
On the other end, three regions don't have a top-20 team, and one - 3-AAAAAA - doesn't have a top-30 team.
The regions are listed in each class based on their Maxwell rating.
Class AAAAAAA
1 (89.56) - 5. Colquitt County, 7. Lowndes, 16. Tift County, 29. Camden County
4 (88.57) - 1. Roswell, 9. Lassiter, 19. Walton, 24. Etowah
8 (86.31) - 3. Grayson, 8. Archer, 15. South Gwinnett, 18. Newton
6 (81.86) - 2. Mill Creek, 11. North Gwinnett, 14. Peachtree Ridge, 27. Mountain View
3 (81.73) - 6. McEachern, 12. North Cobb, 17. North Paulding, 25. Hillgrove
7 (79.76) - 4. Norcross, 10. Parkview, 13. Brookwood, 32. Central Gwinnett
5 (72.34) - 20. South Forsyth, 21. West Forsyth, 28. Milton, 33. Lambert
2 (69.57) - 22. East Coweta, 23. Westlake, 31. Newnan, 35. Wheeler
Best of the rest: No. 26 Cherokee (R4), No. 30 Woodstock (R4)
Class AAAAAA
1 (90.13) - 1. Valdosta, 2. Northside (Warner Robins), 6. Lee County, 8. Houston County
5 (75.46) - 4. Mays, 10. Hughes, 11. Alexander, 12. Northgate
2 (70.23) - 7. Glynn Academy, 24. Effingham County, 25. Brunswick, 30. Richmond Hill
6 (70.02) - 3. Tucker, 20. Lovejoy, 21. Stephenson, 32. Drew
4 (64.11) - 14. Lanier, 18. Dacula, 27. Gainesville, 37. Winder-Barrow
8 (63.74) - 5. Harrison, 9. Dalton, 15. Allatoona, 26. Creekview
7 (60.34) - 19. Centennial, 22. Alpharetta, 23. Johns Creek, 28. Cambridge
3 (49.06) - 34. Heritage (Conyers), 35. Evans, 45. Grovetown, 49. Greenbrier
Best of the rest: No. 13 Coffee (R1), No. 16 Creekside (R5), No. 17 Douglas County (R5)
Class AAAAA
7 (69.76) - 2. Kell, 5. Rome, 8. Carrollton, 20. Hiram
4 (68.68) - 3. Stockbridge, 6. Woodland (Stockbridge), 11. Jones County, 16. Dutchtown
8 (64.60) - 1. Buford, 14. Loganville, 23. Clarke Central, 31. Flowery Branch
1 (64.06) - 9. Thomas County Central, 18. Bainbridge, 21. Warner Robins, 26. Veterans
3 (60.81) - 10. Griffin, 13. Starr's Mill, 19. Riverdale, 32. Whitewater
2 (56.41) - 4. Ware County, 38. Wayne County, 43. Statesboro, 45. South Effingham
6 (55.53) - 7. Grady, 15. Carver (Atlanta), 35. Riverwood, 36. Banneker
5 (47.55) - 12. Arabia Mountain, 30. Southwest DeKalb, 39. Columbia, 41. Lithonia
Best of the rest: No. 17 Locust Grove (R4), No. 22 Cass (R7)
Class AAAA
5 (72.42) - 1. Cartersville, 4. Sandy Creek, 11. Troup, 14. Cedartown
8 (64.57) - 6. Jefferson, 13. Stephens County, 16. St. Pius, 17. Oconee County
2 (60.88) - 8. Mary Persons, 10. Spalding, 20. West Laurens, 22. Upson-Lee
7 (63.68) - 5. Blessed Trinity, 7. Marist, 27. West Hall, 39. Chestatee
1 (56.02) - 9. Cairo, 19. Carver (Columbus), 24. Westover, 28. Americus-Sumter
4 (59.77) - 3. Woodward Academy, 15. Eastside, 30. Salem, 32. Luella
3 (59.99) - 2. Thomson, 12. Burke County, 37. Baldwin, 44. Richmond Academy
6 (47.86) - 18. Ridgeland, 25. Northwest Whitfield, 31. Pickens, 36. Heritage (Ringgold)
Best of the rest: No. 21 LaGrange (R5), No. 23 Madison County (R8)
Class AAA
5 (63.56) - 2. Westminster, 3. Pace Academy, 7. Cedar Grove, 8. Lovett
1 (60.04) - 6. Crisp County, 10. Cook, 11. Monroe, 14. Worth County
7 (54.84) - 1. Greater Atlanta Christian, 17. Dawson County, 24. North Hall, 27. Union County
4 (54.41) - 5. Peach County, 13. Jackson, 19. Westside, 20. Pike County
2 (52.17) - 9. Liberty County, 12. Pierce County, 16. Appling County, 32. Tattnall County
6 (46.09) - 4. Calhoun, 15. Sonoraville, 25. Adairsville, 28. Bremen
8 (42.22) - 18. Hart County, 22. Morgan County, 31. Franklin County, 38. Jackson County
3 (31.51) - 21. Jenkins, 29. Southeast Bulloch, 40. Savannah, 47. Windsor Forest
Best of the rest: No. 23 Central (Macon) (R4), No. 26 Redan (R5)
Class AA
1 (61.04) - 2. Fitzgerald, 4. Brooks County, 12. Thomasville, 27. Berrien
5 (54.31) - 3. Callaway, 14. Heard County, 16. Lamar County, 17. Spencer
2 (51.27) - 1. Benedictine, 11. Vidalia, 18. Toombs County, 28. Bryan County
3 (45.72) - 9. Washington County, 13. Dublin, 20. Dodge County, 21. Southwest
8 (44.41) - 5. Rabun County, 10. Elbert County, 37. Banks County, 38. Putnam County
7 (44.17) - 7. Pepperell, 8. Model, 22. Rockmart, 30. Chattooga
6 (42.00) - 19. Hapeville Charter, 23. Douglass, 25. KIPP Atlanta Collegiate, 26. B.E.S.T. Academy
4 (41.59) - 6. Jefferson County, 15. Screven County, 24. Laney, 44. Josey
Best of the rest: No. 29 Washington (R6)
Class A
5 (53.69) - 1. ELCA, 4. Wesleyan, 7. Landmark Christian, 39. Our Lady of Mercy
2 (45.65) - 3. Clinch County, 16. Irwin County, 26. Turner County, 35. Charlton County
6 (45.28) - 9. Mount Paran Christian, 10. Mount Zion, 11. Darlington, 15. Fellowship Christian
7 (44.68) - 12. Twiggs County, 13. Stratford Academy, 18. Aquinas, 20. Tattnall Square
4 (42.89) - 2. Macon County, 6. Manchester, 24. Dooly County, 32. Marion County
3 (40.71) - 8. Calvary Day, 14. ECI, 15. McIntosh County Academy, 27. Savannah Christian
8 (39.52) - 5. Prince Ave. Christian, 25. Athens Academy, 29. Commerce, 31. Athens Christian
1 (25.30) - 33. Randolph-Clay, 38. Mitchell County, 48. Pelham, 52. Terrell County
Best of the rest: No. 19 Bowdon (R6), No. 23 Pinecrest Academy (R6), No. 21 First Presbyterian (R7), No. 22 Lincoln County (R7)
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