The Georgia high school football season is down to seven games and two days. Here is a primer on the culmination that will be played out today and Saturday at the Georgia Dome.
*Defending champions: Colquitt County and Buford are the only 2014 winners still alive. Colquitt can become the first school to put together back-to-back 15-0 seasons in the highest classification since Parkview's record 45-0 streak from 2000 to 2002. Buford can win a fourth consecutive championship. Only West Rome (1982-85) and Buford (2007-2010) have done that.
*Underdogs: Westminster and Glynn Academy are unranked. Nine unranked teams have won state titles in the past 30 seasons, most notably Gainesville in 2012 with quarterback Deshaun Watson. Pace Academy is a No. 4 seed. The only team to win a state title seeded fourth was Peachtree Ridge in 2006.
*Newcomers: Playing in their first state-championship games are Allatoona, Blessed Trinity and Pace Academy. All opened or started football in 2000 or later.
*Return to glory: Fitzgerald, a perennial Top 10 team for the past 15 seasons, has not won a state title since 1948, when a player named Lauren Hargrove, the fabulous phantom of Fitzgerald, was the state's most famous schoolboy. Glynn Academy won its only state championship in 1964. Irwin County got its only title in 1975. Westminster has won three, none since 1978.
*Top players: The only players among the state's consensus top-25 senior recruits still playing are Clinch County defensive end Chauncey Manac (No. 10, committed to Georgia) and Roswell linebacker Tre Lamar (No. 13, Clemson). Cartersville's Trevor Lawrence, the top-rated sophomore quarterback in the country, has thrown for 3,585 yards. Fitzgerald fullback J.D. King has rushed for 2,377 yards. Some of the most important players start on both sides of the ball, such as RB/CB Milton Shelton of Blessed Trinity, OL/DL Andrew Thomas of Pace Academy and FB/LB D.J. Pollard of Irwin County.
*Notable coaches: Tim McFarlin of Blessed Trinity can become the 15th coach in GHSA history to win state championships at two schools. He won with Roswell in 2006. Buford's Jess Simpson can win his eighth state title, moving him past Valdosta great Nick Hyder for third all-time in Georgia. Colquitt County's Rush Propst can earn his seventh state title. The first five came in Alabama. Roswell's John Ford can join a list of fewer than 12 who have won GHSA championships as coach and player. He won with Brookwood in 1996.
*Pride of Homerville: Two alumni of Clinch County, a high school of 358 students on the Florida border, are head coaches in title games. They are Clinch County's Jim Dickerson and Fitzgerald's Jason Strickland. The Panthers can win their sixth state championship, something that only Americus, Buford, Carrollton, Hawkinsville, Lincoln County, LaGrange and Valdosta have done.
*Pride of Buckhead: Westminster and Pace Academy are about 1.5 miles apart in Buckhead. They will be in the same region next year, but they're going for separate state titles this year.
*Pride of Roswell: Blessed Trinity and Roswell are a mile from each other in Roswell. No schools that close have won state titles in the same season.
*Pride of Cobb: The Cobb County school system is the second-largest in Georgia, but it has never had a state champion in football. Allatoona seeks to become the first.
*Pride of Gwinnett: At least one Gwinnett County team has won a state title each season since 2006. For the first time since 2009, there is only one Gwinnett finalist, Buford.
*What's next: The GHSA will add another classification in 2016, meaning there will be eight state finals next season. There were only four as recently as 1999. In 2017, the finals are expected to move to the Falcons' new home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That would end a 10-year run at the Dome.
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