So it’s time to climb out on the limb.
The high school football playoffs have reached the quarterfinals, and it has been -- for the most part -- easy pickings through the first three rounds.
Now it gets harder with four great Class 3A matchups where games could be decided by one dropped pass, one big fumble, one missed tackle, one mental mistake.
The computer-generated Maxwell Playoff projections., listed each week on this online page, has had a banner postseason, correctly picking 170 of 188 games played thus far.
When it comes to Class 3A, I think the computer might miss two more. Two of my four selections agree with Maxwell’s projection for the quarterfinal winners. Two games – Cedar Grove at Crisp County and Appling at Greater Atlanta Christian– do not.
Of the remaining teams – No. 5 Greater Atlanta Christian, No. 8 Appling County, Carver-Atlanta, No. 4 Crisp County and No. 6 Pierce County – are three victories away from a first state title. That seems like a long road ahead.
So let’s look at the here and now. Here are the picks:
No. 8 Appling County at No. 5 Greater Atlanta Christian
My pick: Appling County.
Maxwell projection: GAC over Appling 21-20.
No. 3 Peach County at No. 2 Oconee County
My pick: Oconee County.
Maxwell projection: Oconee County over Peach County 20-14
Carver-Atlanta at No. 6 Pierce County
My pick: Pierce County.
Maxwell projection: Pierce County over Carver 28-14.
No. 1 Cedar Grove at No. 4 Crisp County
My pick: Crisp County.
Maxwell projection: Cedar Grove over Crisp 21-12.
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