Dawson County will win the Region 7-AAA championship if it defeats Lumpkin County on Friday night in Dawsonville. That much is clear. The rest of that region’s playoff picture is as confusing as the Sunday Sudoku puzzle.
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Credit: Stan Awtrey
Dawson County (5-3, 4-1) suffered its only region loss to Fannin County two weeks ago. That loss won’t matter if the Tigers can close their region season by beating Lumpkin, the last place team. But Lumpkin is dangerous; the Indians scored 30-plus points in their last two losses. Dawson finishes the season with a non-region game against Johnson.
Dawson County is trying to win the first region championship in school history and make the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
East Hall (4-4, 3-1) could tie Dawson County for first place if it runs the table against Fannin County and Banks County. But Dawson beat East Hall 35-22 and would win a tiebreaker based on head-to-head competition.
The other contenders are Banks County (5-3, 2-2), Fannin County (4-4, 2-2) and Franklin County (4-4, 2-2), with West Hall (3-5, 1-3) still in the picture.
It all makes for an entertaining final two weeks in the region.
Here’s a look at the other playoff scenarios:
In Division A, the winner of the Pierce County-Dodge County game will win the subregion. Pierce lost last week but a win over Dodge would leave the two tied with one subregion loss, which would go to Pierce because of head-to-head competition. Cook will be third. The winner of the Appling County-Brantley County game will be No. 4. In Division B, Southeast Bulloch clinched the title last week with its win over Jenkins. Beach will be No. 3 and Savannah will be No. 4. The region will have play-in games next week, with the top four in each subregion meeting for the right to advance to state. A year ago all four teams from Division A advanced.
Region 2: Jackson can clinch first place with wins over Southwest Macon and Rutland. Peach County plays Westside Macon this week; a win means Peach County can finish no worse than second, while a loss could leave them playing on the road in the first round. A Westside win would ensure a playoff spot. Spencer can clinch a postseason berth by closing with two wins.
Region 3: Laney will clinch first place with a win over Westside. Washington County will secure second place with a win at Hephzibah. Josey can nail down third place if it beats Butler. But this has been a screwy league and six of the seven teams are still in contention for the playoffs.
Region 4: In Division A, Cedar Grove has clinched first place and Jackson will finish second, even if it loses this week to McNair. The North Clayton-Towers will will finish third. In Division A, Blessed Trinity has the No. 1 seed and Westminster will be No. 2 if it can defeat Washington. Douglass will likely finish third if it beat Therrell. This region will have play-in games next week. Cedar Grove and Blessed Trinity will meet to determine the region championship and the No. 1 seed. The No. 2 teams will play the No. 3 teams, with the winners moving on to the state playoffs.
Region 5: The championship will be decided on Nov. 6 when Callaway plays at Central Carroll. The final two spots will be determined the next two weeks by Pepperell, Cedartown and Rockmart.
Region 6: Calhoun and Adairsville will be No. 1 and No. 2. Sonoraville can wrap up the third spot if its beats Murray County on Nov. 6. There is currently a three-way tie for fourth between Ringgold, Murray County and North Murray.
Region 8: The four playoff teams in the toughest region in Class AAA have been determined: Elbert County, Hart County, Jefferson and Oconee County (alphabetically listed). Jefferson is in the driver's seat, but closes with Oconee County and Hart County. Hart plays Morgan County and Jefferson. Elbert County, which has split with Jefferson (loss) and Hart County (win), and Oconee County ends the season with Jefferson and Elbert.
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