Two region championships and eight playoff berths remain unclaimed in Class AAAAAA heading into the final weekend of the football regular season.
Richmond Hill clinched the Region 2 championship on Oct. 25, and Evans (Region 3), Mays (Region 5), Harrison (Region 6), Johns Creek (Region 7) and Dacula (Region 8) secured their region titles last weekend. The other two championships will be decided on Friday.
The top four teams in each region qualify for the playoffs, and the top two from each region will be at home in the first round.
Here are the playoff scenarios that will play out this weekend in Regions 5-8. To see the scenarios for Regions 1-4, click here.
Region 5
*Clinched playoff berths: Mays (7-0 region record), South Paulding (6-1), Creekside (6-1)
*Eliminated: Northgate (3-4), Hughes (2-6), Tri-Cities (0-7), New Manchester (0-7)
*Still in contention: Alexander (4-3), Douglas County (4-3)
*What’s at stake: Mays clinched its third region championship in four seasons when it beat Alexander 40-35 last week. Defending region champion Creekside and South Paulding will play Friday in a game that will decide the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds. The winner of the game between Alexander and Douglas County will earn the fourth playoff spot. Douglas County was the region runner-up last season. Alexander finished in sixth place and had a five-year streak of playoff appearances come to end.
Region 6
*Clinched playoff berths: Harrison (7-0), Allatoona (6-1)
*Eliminated: River Ridge (2-5), South Cobb (1-7), Osborne (0-7)
*Still in contention: Creekview (4-3), Dalton (4-3), Sequoyah (4-3), Sprayberry (4-3)
*What’s at stake: Region champion Harrison and runner-up Allatoona have clinched the region’s top two playoff spots. After that, not much is clear, as defending region champion Creekview, Dalton, Sequoyah and Sprayberry are tied for the final two spots. Those teams don’t play each other on the final weekend, so there are too many possibilities to explain, but the advantage definitely lies with Dalton and Sprayberry because they each have victories over two of the other three tied teams and they both play weaker opponents this week. Dalton is a 41-point favorite over winless Osborne and Sprayberry is a 22-point favorite over River Ridge, according to the computer Maxwell Ratings. Meanwhile, Creekview is a 30-point underdog against Harrison, and Sequoyah is a 20-point underdog against Allatoona. Barring a major upset in one of those games, Sprayberry would be the No. 3 seed and Dalton the No. 4.
Region 7
*Clinched playoff berths: Johns Creek (7-0), Alpharetta (6-1), Northview (4-3)
*Eliminated: Chattahoochee (2-5), Dunwoody (2-5), Centennial (0-7)
*Still in contention: North Atlanta (4-3), Pope (4-4), Cambridge (3-4)
*What’s at stake: Johns Creek clinched its third region championship in four seasons with a 31-16 victory over Alpharetta last week. The loss locked Alpharetta in as the No. 2 seed. North Atlanta, which hasn’t reached the postseason since 1996, can claim the No. 3 seed with a victory this week. Northview has clinched a playoff berth, according to tiebreaker scenarios released by the region this week. The Titans will be the No. 4 seed unless North Atlanta loses. Both are favored this week (North Atlanta by 11 and Northview by 29). The only path to playoffs for Pope, which is off this week, is for North Atlanta and Cambridge to lose and Northview to win. That would leave Pope and North Atlanta tied for fourth place, with Pope holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. Cambridge’s only way in is to beat Alpharetta, a 12-point favorite, and hope for losses by North Atlanta and Northview. That would create a four-way tie for the final two playoff spots, and Cambridge would get the No. 3 seed based on the region’s quality points tiebreaker.
Region 8
*Clinched playoff berths: Dacula (4-0), Lanier (3-1), Gainesville (3-1) Winder-Barrow (2-2)
*Eliminated: Habersham Central (0-4), Apalachee (0-4)
*Still in contention: None
*What’s at stake: Dacula clinched its fourth consecutive region title last week. The Falcons, who are scheduled to move up to Class AAAAAAA next season, are 19-0 in region games since dropping from the highest class in 2016. Lanier and Gainesville will play this week to determine the region’s No. 2 and No. 3 seeds. Winder-Barrow clinched the No. 4 seed with a 41-40 victory over Habersham Central last week.
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