You won’t know the real answers for several months, but it’s always fun to speculate which region is the best. Of course that doesn’t mean the best region will produce a state champion.
In 2014 Region 8-AAA won all four of its games in the first round of the state playoffs. Then three of its teams reach the quarterfinal round, but none of them got to the semifinals.
The eventual champion was Calhoun, which moved into Class AAA for the first time. The Yellow Jackets were the only team from Region 6 to reach the second round, but that didn’t seem to matter.
It looks like the same scenario may hold true this year, too. According to the preseason picks, Region 8 and Region 4 again offer a gauntlet for the league members to run. Each region has three teams ranked among the Top 10 in Class AAA.
Region 8-AAA was won by high-scoring Jefferson a year ago and the Dragons enter the season as the No. 5 team. But Elbert County, which finished third in 2014, is ranked ahead of them at No. 4. Hart County, which finished second in the region last year, is ranked No. 9. If those rankings hold true, that leaves Oconee County, Morgan County and Jackson County fighting for the last playoff spot.
Region 4 again features the Blessed Trinity at No. 2 and Westminster at No. 3. Both of those programs reached the semifinals a year ago. Coming in at No. 6 in the preseason poll is Cedar Grove, which has four preseason all-state selections returning from last year’s team that reached the second round before losing to Calhoun. That means teams like Jackson, North Clayton, Decatur and Washington will be fighting some difficult odds.
As far as the most underrated region, the choice here would be Region 1. Specifically Division A, which includes No. 10 Pierce County, Cook, Appling County, Dodge County and Tattnall County. That league gets overshadowed because the other subregion is weak – at least until basketball begins. But Region 1 won all of its first-round playoff games and took out two state-ranked opponents in the process. Pierce County has quietly gone about building one of the classification’s most consistent programs and Appling County always shows an ability to get in the mix.
The schools will begin to solve the puzzle this weekend, with many teams getting started on Friday or Saturday. Central Carroll, which would probably be ranked No. 11, opens its season on Thursday against Bowdon at West Georgia College. On Friday, Cedar Grove plays rival Southwest DeKalb, Callaway is at LaGrange, and Jefferson is at Rabun County.
What do you think? Is your school in a tough division or is it filled with creampuffs?
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