Two of the strongest regions in Class AAAAA both went 1-3 in the opening round of the playoffs, and one of those regions will be completely eliminated this weekend when Mays (6-AAAAA) takes on Houston County (2-AAAAA) on Friday at McConnell-Talbert Stadium in Warner Robins.
Region 2 saw its numbers dwindle when defending state champion Northside-Warner Robins lost to Ware County 16-7, Jones County lost to Glynn Academy 28-22 and Warner Robins lost to Coffee 37-10.
Region 6 was cut down to one when champion Stephenson was stunned by Rome 7-6, Creekside lost to Kell 37-33 and Carver-Atlanta lost to Dalton 17-7.
Fifth-ranked Mays improved to 10-1 with a 31-0 victory over Creekview. The Raiders are the No. 2 seed from Region 6 after losing the region championship game to Stephenson. Mays lost to Northside in the state championship game last season. Region 2 champion Houston County (10-1) rolled to a 53-6 victory over South Effingham. The Bears lost to Stockbridge in the quarterfinals last season.
For more details on each second-round game in Class AAAAA, click here.
Here’s a look at the first-round results and how they’ll impact Round 2:
- No repeat: Northside's loss to Ware County means there will not be a repeat champion in Class AAAAA. But that's not unusual. The only teams in the past 20 years to successfully defend their titles were Northside in 2006-07 and Thomas County Central in 1996-97. Thomas County's final title in 1997 marked the end of one of the state's most successful runs, during which the Yellow Jackets won five championships in six years.
- It's a sweep: The only Class AAAAA region to win all four of its first-round games was Region 4, and it wasn't even close. Stockbridge, Northgate, Starr's Mill and Drew beat their Region 1 opponents by a combined score of 211-41, which averages out to 53-10. And all four teams could win again this week, as all are projected as favorites by the computer Maxwell Ratings. Maxwell likes Stockbridge by 24 points over Gainesville, Northgate by seven over Lanier, Starr's Mill by one over Allatoona and Drew by three over South Paulding.
- Putting it behind them: Third-ranked Lanier had to wait all year to avenge a first-round upset loss in the 2014 playoffs, and the third-ranked Longhorns accomplished their goal with a 27-13 victory against East Paulding. Lanier finished 10-0 for the first time in the program's short history last year but was knocked out by a Sequoyah team that came in 5-5. Now the Longhorns (11-0) turn their attention to Northgate, which can tie the school record for victories in a season (11) with a win this week.
- Undefeated: Lanier and top-ranked Stockbridge were the only AAAAA teams to make it through the regular season, and both survived the first round. That bodes well for two programs in search of their first state titles, if recent history is any indication. Six of the past 10 champions in the second-largest classification – 2013 Creekside, 2011 Tucker, 2010 Chattahoochee, 2007 and 2006 Northside-Warner Robins, and 2005 Statesboro – all finished 15-0. Only one champion during that stretch (12-3 Gainesville in 2012) finished with more than one loss. It's worth noting that there are no other ranked teams left on Stockbridge's half of the bracket.
- This week’s games:
Starr’s Mill at Allatoona
Mays at Houston County
Northgate at Lanier
Kell at Coffee
Drew at South Paulding
Rome at Ware County
Gainesville at Stockbridge
Glynn Academy at Dalton
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