Two Georgia state powers that were ranked in preseason went to overtime on Friday in must-win situations.
Norcross survived. Lowndes did not.
Norcross, the reigning Class AAAAAA champion, got the fourth and final playoff berth in Region 7 with a 20-17 victory over Collins Hill. Norcross blocked a field goal in overtime but also saved itself in regulation after Collins Hill had a first down at the Norcross 11-yard line in the final minutes. Norcross would’ve become the first defending state champion to miss the state playoffs since Lowndes in 2006.
Meanwhile in Valdosta, Lowndes blew a 28-7 lead and lost 35-28. Ranked No. 3 after a 5-1 start, Lowndes (6-4) will miss the playoffs for only the second time in 20 years. Tift County (7-3) is in the playoffs for the first time since 2008, also the last time the Tifton school had a winning season.
In other AAAAAA happenings …
-Fourth-ranked Valdosta beat third-ranked Lee County 22-21 for the No. 2 seed from Region 1, which will go No. 1 seed Colquitt County (10-0), No. 2 Valdosta (9-1), No. 3 Lee County (8-2) and No. 4 Tift (7-3). The Valdosta victory was significant because it gives the Wildcats a home game in the first round (vs. Newton) and sends Lee County to Lovejoy.
-Newton beat Rockdale County 29-26 to finish out the seeds in Region 2, which will go No. 1 Tucker, No. 2 Lovejoy, No. 3 Newton and No. 4 Rockdale County.
-East Coweta’s 63-42 victory over South Cobb put the Indians in the playoffs for the 18th straight season. The Region 3 seeds will be No. 1 Westlake, No. 2 Hughes, No. 3 East Coweta and No. 4 Douglas County.
-Hillgrove stunned McEachern 42-37 to win Region 4. It’s stunning because Hillgrove had lost its last game to Harrison 43-42. McEachern had won seven straight games and beat Harrison 41-17 last week. Harrison (5-5) didn’t make the playoffs. The other Region 4 playoff teams are No. 3 seed North Cobb and No. 4 North Paulding.
-As an aside, Hillgrove won’t be the only AAAAAA region champion to lose to a non-playoff team. Westlake (Region 2) lost to Shiloh. In fact, Shiloh played five region champions this season and went 1-4. How is that? Well, Archer, Dacula and Grayson are co-champions of Region 8. Shiloh also played them all, plus Hillgrove, and lost 14-6.
-Milton clinched its first region title since 1952, as expected, with a 35-9 victory over Wheeler. The Region 5 seeds are No. 1 Milton (9-1), No. 2 Etowah (8-2), No. 3 Roswell (7-3) and No. 4 Cherokee (7-3). East Cobb preseason favorites Walton and Lassiter are out of the playoffs in the same season for the first time since 1997.
-Northview (7-3) has a winning season and playoff berth for the first time in the school’s 13-season history. The Titans scored the final 32 points and blew out Centennial 54-26 in a must-win game Friday after trailing briefly in the fourth quarter. Region 6 will line up No. 1 Alpharetta (9-1), No. 2 Lambert (7-3), No. 3 South Forsyth (7-3) and No. 4 Northview (7-3). Lambert won six straight down the home stretch and blew out South Forsyth 40-7 on Friday to earn the No. 2 spot.
-Watch out for Mill Creek. The Hawks wiped out ninth-ranked Peachtree Ridge 34-7 and got the No. 2 seed in Region 7, which will line up No. 1 North Gwinnett (8-2), No. 2 Mill Creek (7-3), No. 3 Peachtree Ridge (7-3) and No. 4 Norcross (7-3). Mill Creek, ranked No. 6 in preseason, belted Norcross 30-0 the week before. Mill Creek’s losses are to region champions (or co-champion) Colquitt County, Dacula and North Gwinnett.
-Region 8 settled its three-way tie with coin tosses just before midnight Friday. It will be No. 1 Archer (7-3), No. 2 Dacula (9-1) and No. 3 Grayson (9-1). Some might notice the team with the fewest wins got the highest seed. But all were even in region standings, and this tiebreaker was chosen so that teams wouldn't avoid high-risk non-region games. Archer lost to Sandy Creek and Peachtree Ridge out of region. All are considered co-region champions. No. 4 Central Gwinnett (6-4) is in the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
-Also in Region 8, Brookwood’s Mark Crews coached his final game last week, a 49-31 loss to Archer. Brookwood finished 2-8, Crews’ only losing campaign. He was 112-48 in 14 seasons and won a state title in 2010.
PLAYOFF DRAW
South Forsyth at Etowah
North Paulding at Westlake
Newton at Valdosta
Central Gwinnett at North Gwinnett
Roswell at Lambert
Douglas County at Hillgrove
Lee County at Lovejoy
Norcross at Archer
East Coweta at McEachern
Cherokee at Alpharetta
Grayson at Mill Creek
Tift County at Tucker
North Cobb at Hughes
Northview at Milton
Peachtree Ridge at Dacula
Rockdale County at Colquitt County
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