County championships are fun, but not as common as they could be

There are only two games this season that match the two best teams, with both being ranked in the top 10, from the same county playing each other voluntarily this season.

One of those games took place Thursday night, when No. 5 Swainsboro of Class 2A beat No. 5 Emanuel County Institute of Class A 28-21 in Emanuel County.

The other one is Friday night. It has No. 4 LaGrange of 5A against No. 3 Troup of Class 4A at Callaway Stadium in Troup County.

The four teams deserve medals, as several other pairs of top-10 teams that are the best in the counties aren’t playing each other this year.

The only other county championship between top-10 teams, as current rankings stand, is Valdosta vs. Lowndes. Not that they wouldn’t play anyway, as the Winnersville Classic is the state’s most famous rivalry, but it’s also a region game, meaning it’s mandatory.

Troup and LaGrange don’t have to play this season, but they are.

As Troup coach Tanner Glisson famously put it last year, “Being so close to the Alabama line, two programs with great traditions, we equate it to the Iron Bowl and Auburn-Alabama.”

Many other local Iron Bowls go unplayed, though.

GHSF Daily has researched every GHSA game between a county’s two best teams in the Maxwell Ratings. There are 25 of them — 15 nonregion and 12 region.

Twenty-nine other county championships won’t be played.

Often, it makes sense. Richmond Hill is a 7A school that would be a 39-point favorite against Bryan County, a 2A school, according to the Maxwell Ratings.

Even a top-10 Class 2A school, such as Thomasville, is not playing Class 6A power Thomas County Central this season. The average score in the Rose City Rivalry was 52-6 the past four seasons.

And grace can be given to Hughes and Roswell, the two best Fulton County teams, according to Maxwell. It’s an hour bus ride from Fairburn to Roswell when traffic is gentle.

Hughes is playing Creekside in a game between south Fulton County’s best, although it took regional alignment to guarantee it. Hughes and Creekside, only 9.2 miles apart, haven’t played since 2019 despite their proximity and their one state title apiece since then.

Other county championships would be fun to see.

Prince Avenue Christian and North Oconee share a Bogart address and recent state titles, but they haven’t shared a football field since 2009.

Buford and North Gwinnett are 6.6 miles apart, but they haven’t played each other in a regular season game since 1999.

Benedictine has never played Calvary Day or Savannah Christian.

Houston County vs. Warner Robins and Jefferson vs. Jackson County would also be local marquee games, but they’re not happening, even when school administrators statewide say travel is among their most pressing GHSA concerns.

Including Georgia Independent Athletic Association also would make for appealing county championships.