Sixteen teams made it past the first round of the Class AAA football playoffs Friday, and Saturday morning we are greeted with a second-round schedule loaded with key games across the state.
Only one region -- Region 4 which is located in Middle Georgia -- advanced all four seeds to the second round. Peach County, Westside-Macon, Jackson and Pike County advanced. The big surprise was fourth-seeded Pike County's 9-3 overtime victory against No. 1 seed Crisp County in Cordele. Pike, you may recall, is playing for the memory of Dylan Thomas, who collapsed during a mid-season game against Peach County and later died.
Here's the breakdown on how each of the eight regions performed in Round 1:
Region 1: All four seeds lost -- Crisp County, Monroe, Cook and Worth.
Region 2: The region just north of Savannah placed No. 1 seed Pierce County and No. 3 seed Liberty County into the second round.
Region 3: The Savannah region advanced top-seeded Benedictine and third-seeded Jenkins.
Region 4: All four teams advanced -- No. 1-seed Peach County, No. 2 Westside-Macon, No. 3 Jackson and No. 4 Pike County.
Region 5: No. 1 Cedar Grove, No. 2 Lovett and and No. 3 Westminster advanced. No. 4 seed Pace Academy lost to Monroe Area.
Region 6: Top-ranked and defending state champion Calhoun is the only survivor following a brutal night for Northwest Georgia teams. The Jackets will face Lovett in the second round.
Region 7: No. 1 seed Greater Atlanta Christian, No. 2 Dawson County and No. 3 North Hall moved on to the second round.
Region 8: No. 1 seed Monroe Area stands alone following losses by the three other seeds.
Some second-round build-up:
Top left quadrant: Dawson County vs. Monroe Area will headline the show in this area of the bracket, and Pierce County will look to remain 11-0 against Jackson.
Bottom left: Cedar Grove shouldn't have trouble with North Hall, but it will be interesting to see how Westside-Macon holds up against a quality Benedictine team.
Top right: Clearly, Westminster and Greater Atlanta Christian might generate the most buzz, but don't overlook a Liberty County team traveling to Peach County. Both games could be very interesting.
Bottom right: Lovett has the opportunity to upend Calhoun after beating Morgan County 40-7 in the first round. In the other game, Jenkins and Pike will battle to earn a likely berth against Calhoun in the quarterfinals.
Second round schedule
Region 4, No. 3 seed Jackson at Region 2, No. 2 seed Pierce County
R7 #2 Dawson County at R8 #1 Monroe Area
R4 #2 Westside-Macon at R3 #1 Benedictine
R7 #3 North Hall at R5 #1 Cedar Grove
R2 #3 Liberty County at R4 #1 Peach County
R5 #3 Westminster at R7 #1 Greater Atlanta Christian
R4 #4 Pike County at R3 #3 Jenkins
R5 #2 Lovett at R6 #1 Calhoun
First Round Results
Region 4, No. 3 seed Jackson 33, Region 1, No. 2 seed Monroe 6
R2 #1 Pierce County 49, R3 #4 Windsor Forest 21
R7 #2 Dawson County 44, R6 #3 Haralson County 22
R8 #1 Monroe Area 38, R5 #4 Pace Academy 22
R4 #2 Westside-Macon 32, R1 #3 Cook County 18
R3 #1 Benedictine 45, R2 #4 Tattnall County 0
R7 #3 North Hall 41, R6 #2 Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 6
R5 #1 Cedar Grove 49, R8 #4 Hart County 0
R2 #3 Liberty County 38, R3 #2 Southeast Bulloch 14
R4 #1 Peach County 48, At Large Ringgold 7
R5 #3 Westminster 35, R8 #2 Jefferson 7
R7 #1 Greater Atlanta Christian 49, R6 #4 North Murray 17
R3 #3 Jenkins 29, R2 #2 Appling County 22
R4 #4 Pike County 9, R1 #1 Crisp County 3
R5 #2 Lovett 40, R8 #3 Morgan County 7
R6 #1 Calhoun 55, R7 #4 Fannin County 17
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