Cairo clinched the top seed and Carver-Columbus clinched the No. 2 seed in Region 1, but the final two spots are still open for five teams: Columbus (4-3), Westover (4-3), Hardaway (3-4), Northside-Columbus (3-4) and Americus-Sumter (3-4). Hardaway and Westover play tonight, and on Friday, Columbus plays Northside-Columbus and Americus-Sumter plays Carver-Columbus. The team that needs the most to go its way is Americus-Sumter as they only own the tiebreaker against one (Northside-Columbus) of the other four teams still fighting for a spot. That means, the Panthers would need to beat Carver-Columbus, have Northside-Columbus beat Columbus, and Westover to top Hardaway tonight in order to set up a potential three-way tie between Northside-Columbus and Columbus for the No. 4.
In Region 2, Mary Persons, Upson-Lee and Howard have already secured three of the four playoffs berths. Mary Persons can lock up the No. 1 seed with a win over Howard, and a Mary Persons victory also guarantees Upson-Lee will be the No. 2 seed. A potential three-way tie could only happen if Howard beats Mary Persons and Upson-Lee beats Spalding. The No. 4 seed will go to the winner of Perry vs. West Laurens.
Baldwin is the No. 1 seed in Region 3 and Burke County is the No. 2 seed. The winner of Richmond Academy vs. Thomson will take the No. 3 seed and the loser will take the No. 4.
The No. 1 seed in Region 4 is Eastside, Salem is the No. 2 seed and Woodward Academy is the No. 3. Henry County owns the tiebreaker over Hampton and can clinch the No. 4 seed with a win over Druid Hills. Hampton would need to score a victory over Eastside and see Henry County fall to the Red Devils in order to take the fourth seed.
The winner of Cartersville and Troup will be the top seed in Region 5 and the loser will take the No. 2. Sandy Creek is already locked in as the No. 3, and the winner of Chapel Hill and Cedartown will decide the No. 4.
Pickens completed its first perfect regular season and captured its first region title last week and is the No. 1 seed out of Region 6. Ridgeland is the No. 2 seed. The winner of Heritage-Catoosa and Northwest Whitfield will take the No. 3 seed and the loser will be the No. 4.
Blessed Trinity is the top seed in Region 7 and Marist is the No. 2 seed. Flowery Branch has the No. 3 seed locked up and the No. 4 seed will go to either White County or Denmark. White County owns the tiebreaker, so the only way Denmark can make it would be a win over Flowery Branch with a White County loss to Blessed Trinity.
St. Pius is the No. 1 seed in Region 8, North Oconee secured the No. 2 and the remaining two spots are still up for grabs. Oconee County owns the tiebreaker over Stephens County, and will be playing Madison County, which sits in the basement of this 5-team region. Madison County could only make it in if they defeat Oconee County and St. Pius defeats Stephens County. If Oconee County handles business against Madison County, then Stephens County will be the No. 4 seed regardless of the results against St. Pius.
As for the overall Class AAAA playoff picture, the first round pairings are as follows:
Region 1 vs. Region 4
Region 2 vs. Region 3
Region 5 vs. Region 8
Region 6 vs. Region 7
And here’s what we know so far:
*TBD indicates the results are dependent on more than one game, or that a potential three-way tie could be possible. Any one game that will directly determine a seed or seeds this week, however, is included. Lastly, each team in bold is already determined.
2018 Class AAAA State Playoffs First Round Pairings
R4#3 Woodward Academy @ R1#2 Carver-Columbus
R3#4 Richmond Academy vs. Thomson loser @ R2#1 TBD
R6#3 Heritage-Catoosa vs. NW Whitfield winner @ R7#2 Marist
R5#4 Chapel Hill vs. Cedartown loser @ R8#1 St. Pius
R1#3 TBD @ R4#2 Salem
R2#4 Perry vs. West Laurens winner @ R3#1 Baldwin
R7#3 Flowery Branch @ R6#2 Ridgeland
R8#4 TBD @ R5#1 Cartersville vs. Troup winner
R2#3 TBD @ R3#2 Burke County
R1#4 TBD @ R4#1 Eastside
R5#3 Chapel Hill vs. Cedartown winner @ R8#2 North Oconee
R6#4 Heritage-Catoosa vs. NW Whitfield loser @ R7#1 Blessed Trinity
R3#3 Richmond Academy vs. Thomson winner @ R2#2 TBD
R4#4 TBD @ R1#1 Cairo
R8#3 TBD @ R5#2 Cartersville vs. Troup loser
R7#4 TBD @ R6#1 Pickens
Here are the teams that have already clinched playoff berths
Region 1: Cairo, Carver-Columbus
Region 2: Mary Persons, Upson-Lee, Howard
Region 3: Baldwin, Burke County
Region 4: Eastside, Salem, Woodward Academy
Region 5: Troup, Cartersville, Sandy Creek
Region 6: Pickens, Ridgeland
Region 7: Blessed Trinity, Marist, Flowery Branch
Region 8: St. Pius, North Oconee
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