Blessed Trinity, Cedar Grove and Eagle’s Landing Christian are defending state titles at Georgia State Stadium while Crisp County, Harrison and Wesleyan are trying to win their first championships in the final weekend of the high school football season.
The eight games will be played with 10 a.m. start times on Friday and Saturday. With Georgia State as the host site, the finals are scheduled outdoors for the first time since 2007 as the GHSA declined to forego the more expensive Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here is a look at some of the teams, games and story lines for the 2019 finals.
Newcomers: Crisp County is the only first-time finalist. Marietta (last appearance in 1967), Brooks County (1994) and Oconee County (1999) are in for the first time this century, and Harrison (2000), Dublin (2006), Lowndes (2007) and Wesleyan (2008) are making their first appearances this decade.
Regulars: Blessed Trinity, Cedar Grove, ELCA, Irwin County and Warner Robins are back in the finals from last season.
Reign makers: ELCA can become the first team in GHSA history to win five straight state titles. Buford (2007-10) and West Rome (1982-85) also won four straight. Blessed Trinity can become the 12th to win three straight.
Cinderella: Marion County, which has won eight start after a 3-2 start, is the only unranked team in the finals. The playoffs have not veered far off course.
Rematches: Three of the eight finals will be rematches of regular-season games. With the original winner listed first, those matchups are Harrison vs. Allatoona, Dublin vs. Brooks County and ELCA vs. Wesleyan. In 31 previous state-title rematches, the original winner is 16-13 with two ties but only 3-10 since 2008.
Close encounter: Allatoona and Harrison are just 5.9 miles apart, making them the fourth-closest finalists in GHSA history, according to Georgia High School Football Historians Association research. Their school districts border each other in northwest Cobb County. The record for proximity is the 2.3 miles from 1993 finalists Thomasville and Thomas County Central.
Best matchup: Lowndes and Marietta, the Class AAAAAAA finalists, are nationally ranked. Lowndes, a five-time former state champion, is No. 1 in the state polls and 14-0 with nine wins over top-10 teams, two from Florida. The Vikings' senior class has no top-100 Georgia prospects. Marietta, aiming for its first title since 1967, has six top-100 Georgia seniors, including preseason AJC Super 11 members Harrison Bailey at quarterback and Arik Gilbert at tight end.
Best storyline: Irwin County, without a state title since 1975, has been the Class A public-school runner-up four for the past five seasons. This summer, the coach who brought this latest success, Buddy Nobles, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. When able, he's coached at midfield while sitting in a wooden stand constructed by the school's agriculture department. Irwin is 12-0 and ranked No. 1.
Others to watch: Buford and Warner Robins have 15 state titles between them, and each is 13-1 under a first-year head coach, Bryant Appling at Buford and Marquis Westbrook at Warner Robins. The computer Maxwell Ratings peg Buford as a one-point favorite in the closest projected game. ... Oconee County, with LSU-bound quarterback Max Johnson, is aiming for its first state title in 20 years against two-time champ Blessed Trinity.
Born to run: Irwin County and Dublin won their semifinals without completing a pass last week. Dublin didn't attempt one. Wesleyan and Marietta are the only finalists that average more yards passing than rushing.
For fans: Tickets are $20 at the schools, $22 online and $23 at the game. Fans are encouraged to pre-purchase parking online for $10.
TV/radio: The games will be televised live by Georgia Public Broadcasting and broadcast on GNN Network and 680 The Fan.
Schedule:
Friday 10 a.m. - ELCA vs. Wesleyan (A private)
1 p.m. - Dublin vs. Brooks County (AA)
4:30 p.m. - Warner Robins vs. Buford (AAAAA)
8 p.m. - Harrison vs. Allatoona (AAAAAA)
Saturday 10 a.m. - Marion County vs. Irwin County (A public)
1 p.m. - Crisp County vs. Cedar Grove (AAA)
4:30 p.m. - Oconee County vs. Blessed Trinity (AAAA)
8 p.m. - Lowndes vs. Marietta (AAAAAAA)
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