It's the final week of the high school football regular season. Finally, all the blather of predicting or proclaiming who's who in Class AA comes to an end.
After this week's matchups, there will be definitive seedings for the state playoffs.
So let's take a look at the seeding possibilities for each region. All records posted below are not overall records, only region records. Overall records are meaningless, because region records are what determine playoff seedings.
Current standings: 1) Brooks County (6-0); 2) Fitzgerald (4-1); 3) Early County (3-2); 4) Pelham (2-3); 5) Berrien (1-4); Thomasville (1-4); Seminole County (1-4)
Outlook: Brooks County has already clinched the region, having beat Fitzgerald. Early County lost to Fitzgerald. So the top three spots are settled. In all likelihood, the No. 4 spot comes down to the Berrien at Pelham matchup, assuming Thomasville doesn't beat Early County and Seminole County doesn't beat Fitzgerald - two safe assumptions.
Current standings: 1) Benedictine (6-0); 2) Bryan County (5-1); 3) Vidalia (4-2); 4) McIntosh County Academy (3-3); Bacon County (3-3)
Outlook: Benedictine is the region champ. Bryan County plays Vidalia to determine the No. 2 seed. If Vidalia wins, Bryan County is the No. 3 seed. If Bryan County wins, Vidalia drops into a tie with the winner of the McIntosh Academy-Bacon County matchup. If McIntosh Academy beats Bacon County, McIntosh becomes the No. 3 seed, with Vidalia the No. 4 seed. If Bacon County beats McIntosh, Vidalia is the No. 3 seed, with Bacon County claiming the region's final playoff spot.
Current standings: 1) Jefferson County (5-0); 2) Screven County (4-1); 3) Swainsboro (3-2); 4) Metter (3-2)
Outlook: Jefferson County claimed the No. 1 seed by beating Screven County. Swainsboro is locked in to the No. 3 seed. The No. 2 seed is at stake with Screven County playing Metter. The winner of that game earns the No. 2 seed, with the loser settling for a No. 4 seed.
Current standings: 1) Lamar County (4-0); 2) Macon County (4-0); 3) Putnam County (2-2); 4) Northeast (Macon) 1-3; Monticello (1-3)
Outlook: Lamar County and Macon County square off in the season finale to determine the No. 1 seed. The loser automatically gets the No. 2 seed. Putnam County owns the No. 3 seed. Northeast and Monticello play this week for the final playoff spot.
Current standings: 1) Heard County (4-0); 2) Manchester (3-1); 3) Bowdon (2-2); 4) Bremen (2-2); 5) Chattahoochee County (1-3)
Outlook: Heard County is the region champ. Manchester is locked in at No. 2.
For Bowdon, a win over Chattahoochee County means a No. 3 seed, with Bremen the No. 4 seed - just like the current standings demonstrate. This is the most likely scenario.
However, there is a possibility that Chattahoochee County wins, and Bremen beats Heard County, which would create a three-way tie between Bowdon, Bremen and Chattahoochee County for the final two playoff spots. This is a highly unlikely scenario. However unlikely, in that scenario, Chattahoochee County will have beaten Bowdon, and Bowdon has beaten Bremen, while Bremen has beaten Chattahoochee County.
According to GHSA bylaws, tiebreaker rules are decided by each region. At the time of this blog post, the AJC had not heard back from Region 5 coaches on what the tiebreaker rules are.
Current standings: 1) GAC (6-0); 2) Wesleyan (5-1); 3) Lovett (5-2); 4) Pace Academy (5-2)
Outlook: GAC and Wesleyan square off to decide the region. If GAC beats Wesleyan, then Wesleyan, Lovett and Pace all stand at 5-2, with Wesleyan having beaten Pace, Lovett having beaten Wesleyan and Pace having beaten Lovett. That three-way tie would mean a coin flip at Holy Innocents on Saturday morning. The odd man out takes the No. 2 seed. The remaining two seeds are determined by head-to-head results.
Current standings: 1) Darlington (5-0); 2) Model (5-1); 3) Chattooga (4-1); 4) Gordon Lee (2-3); Dade County (2-3)
Outlook: Darlington is in the driver's seat for a region title and all it has to do is beat Chattooga. If that happens, Model is the No. 2 seed and Chatooga is the No. 3 seed. However, if Chattooga wins, a three-way tie is created between Darlington, Chattooga and Model. In that event, Model wins the region, followed by Chattooga, then Darlington.
Adding to the possible parity for the region, not even the No. 4 seed has been decided - Gordon Lee and Dade County face off on Friday to determine that.
Current standings: 1) Rabun County (5-0); 2) Washington-Wilkes (4-1); 3) Union County (4-1); 4) Greene County (3-2)
Outlook: Rabun County already locked up the region. Union County plays Greene County for the No. 2 seed, the loser taking the No. 3 seed. Greene County is the No. 4 seed regardless.
—
For a look at how the final week of the regular season may shake out, take a look at this week's Maxwell Projections.
To see how the Class AA playoffs align, go here.
CORRECTION: Story updated to reflect Region 6 scenarios.
About the Author
