Sometimes a team might only lose two region games, and that’s all it takes to end a season.
Class A Division I No. 9 Mount Bethel knows that pain.
The Eagles, ranked in the top 10, put together a 15-7 overall record while finishing 7-2 in Region 6, but those two losses kept the team from the postseason. It happened by virtue of a league that has 10 teams, four ranked, including No. 1 Mount Vernon, No. 5 St. Francis, No. 6 Paideia and Bethel.
On the other hand, Irwin County’s girls finished the regular season 0-25 and 0-6, but will play an extra postseason game by virtue of the four-team Region 1.
But that was last week.
This week, 128 Divisions I and II teams of Class A will begin tournament play, hoping for a trip to Macon for the GHSA state finals.
Here’s a bullet-by-bullet look at the first round of the playoffs:
Toughest quadrant(s)
Boys
Division I: Three ranked teams in one quadrant tend to give a hint toward its difficulty. Two quadrants qualify – the bottom-left and the top-right. In the bottom, No. 5 St. Francis will play No. 3 Darlington in the first round. Also in the quadrant is No. 2 Savannah, which will play host to Dublin to open the tournament. In the top-right quadrant, No. 10 Bleckley County will travel to No. 4 Woodville-Tompkins, and No. 8 Trion will host Mount Pisgah.
Division II: There are at least two ranked teams in each of the bracket’s quadrants, but in the bottom-left, No. 7 Early will face Wilcox County, No. 2 Portal will host Charlton, No. 3 Christian Heritage will host Taylor County and No. 10 Warren County will host Wilkinson County. If Early and Portal win, the teams meet in the second round. If Christian Heritage and Warren win their openers, that’s the second-round matchup.
Girls
Division I: There are three ranked teams in the top-left and bottom-left quadrants and with a glance at the bracket, it seems top-ranked St. Francis – in the bottom-right -- might have a great draw. In the top-left, No. 2 Galloway will play host to Armuchee, No. 5 Oglethorpe will play host to Elbert County and No. 6 Swainsboro will play host to Savannah. In the bottom-left, No. 4 Rabun County will be at home to Jasper County, No. 8 Bryan County will play host to Bleckley County, and No. 10 Mount Pisgah will travel to Darlington. St. Francis is in the bottom-right quadrant and will face Dade County in the first round, and either Commerce or Prince Avenue in the second round. East Laurens, ranked No. 9, opens at home against Screven County in the first round.
Division II: The top-right quadrant features the only ranked-vs.-ranked matchup in the first round -- No. 8 Terrell County travels to No. 4 Wilcox County. Also in the quadrant is No. 1 Greenforest, which will take on Schley County. In the bottom-left quadrant, No. 5 Early County will travel to Treutlen, No. 2 Montgomery County will be at home against Charlton County, and No. 7 Lake Oconee Academy will play host to Twiggs County.
Class A Division I boys top-10
1. Mount Vernon
2. Savannah
3. Darlington
4. Woodville-Tompkins
5. St. Francis
6. Paideia
7. East Laurens
8. Trion
9. Mount Bethel Christian
10. Bleckley County
Class A Division II boys top-10
1. Greenforest Christian
2. Portal
3. Christian Heritage
4. Mitchell County
5. Calhoun County
6. Macon County
7. Early County
8. Treutlen
9. Lanier County
10. Warren County
Class A Division I boys first-round schedule
R4 #3 Lamar County at R1 #2 Pelham
R3 #4 Screven County at R2 #1 Swainsboro
R7 #3 Chattooga at R6 #2 No. 6 Paideia
R8 #4 Tallulah Falls at R5 #1 Jasper County
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R1 #3 Brooks County at R4 #2 Heard County
R2 #4 Dublin at R3 #1 No. 2 Savannah
R6 #3 No. 5 St. Francis at R7 #2 No. 3 Darlington
R5 #4 Social Circle at R8 #1 Athens Christian
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R5 #3 Prince Avenue at R8 #2 Rabun County
R6 #4 Mt. Pisgah at R7 #1 No. 8 Trion
R2 #3 No. 10 Bleckley County at R3 #2 No. 4 Woodville-Tompkins
R1 #4 Bacon County at R4 #1 Temple
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R8 #3 Elbert County at R5 #2 Oglethorpe County
R7 #4 Coosa at R6 #1 No. 1 Mt. Vernon
R3 #3 Bryan County at R2 #2 No. 7 East Laurens
R4 #4 Crawford County at R1 #1 Irwin County
Class A Division II boys first-round schedule
R4 #3 Wheeler County at R1 #2 No. 5 Calhoun County
R3 #4 Montgomery County at R2 #1 No. 9 Lanier County
R7 #3 Mt. Zion-Carrollton at R6 #2 Manchester
R8 #4 Towns County at R5 #1 Twiggs County
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R1 #3 No. 7 Early County at R4 #2 Wilcox County
R2 #4 Charlton County at R3 #1 No. 2 Portal
R6 #3 Taylor County at R7 #2 No. 3 Christian Heritage
R5 #4 Wilkinson County at R8 #1 No. 10 Warren County
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R5 #3 Johnson County at R8 #2 Greene County
R6 #4 Chattahoochee County at R7 #1 No. 1 Greenforest
R2 #3 Turner County at R3 #2 McIntosh County Academy
R1 #4 Randolph-Clay at R4 #1 No. 8 Treutlen
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R8 #3 Lincoln County at R5 #2 Hancock Central
R7 #4 Atlanta Classical at R6 #1 No. 6 Macon County
R3 #3 Jenkins County at R2 #2 Clinch County
R4 #4 Dooly County at R1 #1 No. 4 Mitchell County
Class A Division I girls top-10
1. St. Francis
2. Galloway
3. Athens Christian
4. Rabun County
5. Oglethorpe County
6. Swainsboro
7. Lamar County
8. Bryan County
9. East Laurens
10. Mount Pisgah Christian
Class A Division II girls top-10
1. Greenforest
2. Montgomery County
3. Taylor County
4. Wilcox County
5. Early County
6. Clinch County
7. Lake Oconee Academy
8. Terrell County
9. Seminole County
10. Chattahoochee County
Class A Division I girls first-round schedule
R4 #3 Temple at R1 #2 Brooks County
R3 #4 Savannah at R2 #1 No. 6 Swainsboro
R7 #3 Armuchee at R6 #2 No. 2 Galloway
R8 #4 Elbert County at R5 #1 No. 5 Oglethorpe County
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R1 #3 Bacon County at R4 #2 Heard County
R2 #4 Bleckley County at R3 #1 No. 8 Bryan County
R6 #3 No. 10 Mt. Pisgah at R7 #2 Darlington
R5 #4 Jasper County at R8 #1 No. 4 Rabun County
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R5 #3 Social Circle at R8 #2 No. 3 Athens Christian
R6 #4 Paideia at R7 #1 Trion
R2 #3 Dublin at R3 #2 Metter
R1 #4 Irwin County (0-26) at R4 #1 No. 7 Lamar County
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R8 #3 Commerce at R5 #2 Prince Avenue
R7 #4 Dade County at R6 #1 No. 1 St. Francis
R3 #3 Screven County at R2 #2 No. 9 East Laurens
R4 #4 Crawford County at R1 #1 Pelham
Class A Division II girls first-round schedule
R4 #3 Telfair County at R1 #2 Randolph-Clay
R3 #4 Emanuel County Institute at R2 #1 No. 6 Clinch County
R7 #3 Bowdon at R6 #2 No. 10 Chattahoochee County
R8 #4 Towns County at R5 #1 Johnson County
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R1 #3 No. 5 Early County at R4 #2 Treutlen
R2 #4 Charlton County at R3 #1 No. 2 Montgomery County
R6 #3 Macon County at R7 #2 Christian Heritage
R5 #4 Twiggs County at R8 #1 No. 7 Lake Oconee Academy
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R5 #3 Wilkinson County at R8 #2 Warren County
R6 #4 Schley County at R7 #1 No. 1 Greenforest
R2 #3 Turner County at R3 #2 Portal
R1 #4 No. 8 Terrell County at R4 #1 No. 4 Wilcox County
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R8 #3 Greene County at R5 #2 Glascock County
R7 #4 Mt. Zion-Carroll at R6 #1 No. 3 Taylor County
R3 #3 Jenkins County at R2 #2 Atkinson County
R4 #4 Hawkinsville at R1 #1 No. 9 Seminole County
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