List: Most seasons played before reaching a state final

Milton Eagles quarterback Jordan Yates waits for the ball to be snapped in a Class AAAAAAA semifinal game against the Lowndes Vikings at Denmark High Stadium  on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (Adam Krohn/special)

Milton Eagles quarterback Jordan Yates waits for the ball to be snapped in a Class AAAAAAA semifinal game against the Lowndes Vikings at Denmark High Stadium on Friday, Nov. 30, 2018. (Adam Krohn/special)

Milton started varsity football in 1950 and advanced to the state finals this year for the first time. Those 69 years are a state record for most seasons played before making a championship game dating to the 1948 season, when state championships were first played in all classifications. It's not easy. There are about a dozen still-open schools that played in 1950 and still haven't arrived at the party. Notable among those are Pelham and Monroe Area, which were stopped in the playoffs this season after going 10-0 in their regular seasons.

69 - Milton (2018)

68 - Rabun County (2017)

67 - Benedictine (2014)

60 - Emanuel Co. Inst. (2007)

58 - Norcross (2012)

57 - Aquinas (2013)

53 - Swainsboro (2000)

52 - Camden County (2003)

48 - Wilcox County (2007)

48 - Coffee (2017)

47 - Lee County (2017)

47 - Heard County (2018)

46 - Hart County (1999)

46 - North Gwinnett (2007)

45 - Screven County (1994)

45 - Darlington (1998)

44 - Cartersville (1991)

44 - Lamar County (2013)

43 - Cairo (1990)

41 - Athens Academy (2017)

40 - Pepperell (1990)

40 - Carver-Columbus (2007)

39 - Villa Rica (1986)

39 - McEachern (1998)

39 - Northside-W.R. (2001)

38 - Elbert County (1995)

37 - South Gwinnett (1993)

36 - Dougherty (1998)

36 - Walton (2011)

36 - McIntosh Co. Acad. (2016)

35 - Bainbridge (1982)

35 - Wrens (1982)

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