Five region championships and nine playoff berths remain unclaimed in Class AAAAAA heading into the final weekend of the football regular season.
Defending state champion Lee County (Region 1), Johns Creek (Region 7) and Dacula (Region 8) secured their region titles last week. The other five 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 1-4. We’ll look at Region 5-8 on Thursday.
Region 1
*Clinched playoff berths: Lee County (3-0 region record), Valdosta (3-1)
*Eliminated: None
*Still in contention: Coffee (1-2), Northside-Warner Robins (1-2), Houston County (0-3)
*What’s at stake: Lee County is the region champion and Valdosta is the runner-up. Northside can secure the No. 3 seed with a victory against last-place Houston County that would eliminate the Bears and clinch fourth place for Coffee (regardless of what it does this week against Lee County). If Northside and Coffee both lose, they would be in a three-way tie with Houston County for third place, a tie that would be broken by points allowed against region opponents. Houston County is hopelessly behind in that tiebreaker. The Bears’ only real shot, and it’s a long shot at that, is to beat Northside and hope Coffee upsets Lee County. That would put Coffee in third place and leave the Bears tied with Northside for fourth place and holding the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage.
Region 2
*Clinched playoff berths: Glynn Academy (3-0), Richmond Hill (2-1), Bradwell Institute (2-1), Effingham County (1-2)
*Eliminated: Brunswick (0-4)
*Still in contention: None
*What’s at stake: Glynn Academy can clinch its third consecutive region championship with a victory against Bradwell Institute. Richmond Hill will be the No. 2 seed if it beats Effingham County and Glynn Academy wins. Bradwell Institute still has a shot to win its first region title since 1997. If the Tigers beat Glynn and Richmond Hill loses, Bradwell and Glynn will be tied for first place and Bradwell would win the head-to-head tiebreaker. Two three-way ties remain a possibility as well. If Richmond Hill and Bradwell win, they will be tied with Glynn for first place. If Richmond Hill and Bradwell lose, they will be tied for second place with Effingham County.
Region 3
*Clinched playoff berths: Grovetown (4-0), Evans (3-1)
*Eliminated: Alcovy (0-4)
*Still in contention: Lakeside-Evans (2-2), Greenbrier (2-2), Heritage-Conyers (1-3)
*What’s at stake: The winner of the Grovetown-Evans game will be the region champion. Grovetown, seeking the first region title in school history, will be the No. 2 seed if it loses. Evans, the defending region champion, might finish second with a loss but could fall further. Lakeside clinches a berth if it beats Heritage, which would be eliminated with a loss. Greenbrier clinches a berth if it beats last-place Alcovy on Thursday or if Heritage loses. If Evans loses and Lakeside and Greenbrier win, they’ll all be tied for second place. If Heritage beats Lakeside and Greenbrier loses, they’ll all be tied for third but only two will make the playoffs.
Region 4
*Clinched playoff berths: Stephenson (7-0), Tucker (7-0), Lovejoy (5-2)
*Eliminated: Morrow (2-5), Forest Park (2-5), Mount Zion-Jonesboro (2-6), M.L. King (1-6)
*Still in contention: Mundy’s Mill (3-4), Drew (3-4)
*What’s at stake: This is the most straightforward region in Class AAAAAA. The winner of Friday’s Stephenson-Tucker game will be the region champion and the loser will be the runner-up. Lovejoy is locked in as the No. 3 seed. The final berth will go to the winner of the Mundy’s Mill-Drew game at Twelve Oaks Stadium.
